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HOW I GOT WHERE I'M AT
By: Susan
Hutchins
Charlotte Rotary celebrated an early Thanksgiving with a wonderful
program of “How I Got Where I’m At” with four new members sharing
their personal perspectives. John
Bradberry shared his life from three perspectives:
geographic (where I’ve lived and worked), vocational (what I’ve done
for money) and personal (important people in my life). John was born
and raised in Alabama, but first came to North Carolina to attend
Davidson College. After graduation he moved around quite a bit to
“chase the dream of being a musician”. One of his more successful
moves was to meet his future wife in Virginia and complete his
Masters degree in Psychology at the University of Richmond. After
working for Ketner-Trego in Princeton, New Jersey, he finally moved
to Charlotte. After covering the geographic perspective, John listed
all the jobs he had done for money including cotton scout, barbecue
cooker and chopper, surgeon’s assistant, camp counselor, musician,
courier, counselor, bank intern, bank employee, consultant and
executive coach (just to name a few). For the past six years he has
had his own independent consulting practice working with businesses
as an executive coach. John listed the key relationships in his life
as his wife, Kristen and his two daughters, Phoebe and Isabel, and
his parents.
Natalie English
introduced herself first as the campaign manager for Kit Cramer, who
was recently elected to the CMS Board of Education. Her short answer
to the question of “How I got where I’m at” was Mary Mack, a member
of Charlotte Rotary. However, to give the longer version, Natalie
was born in Concord and grew up in Roanoke Rapids in northeastern
North Carolina. Her father was in the radio business and from an
early age, Natalie worked at the radio station as a DJ and doing odd
jobs. She graduated from NC State with a degree in Communications,
changing her major after two years from Chemical Engineering and
Pulp & Paper. She had an internship for 2 ˝ years at a public
television station in Raleigh, which led to her first exposure to
politics at the N.C. General Assembly. She began her career as an
assistant to a lobbyist and was later recruited by a law firm where
she worked with clients as a lobbyist. Her lobbying work led to an
introduction to Carroll Gray and a job with the Charlotte Chamber of
Commerce where she worked for six years. While at the Chamber, she
got to know Mary Mack who was instrumental in assisting her with
contacts for her current position as Manager of Government &
Community Relations with Goodrich.
Tim Newman introduced
himself as being from a long lineage of lint heads and haberdashers
in Rockingham County. Tim grew up in Leaksville, North Carolina and
had an early introduction to Rotary since both his maternal
grandparents were active Rotarians and Paul Harris Fellows. His
grandmother was the first female Rotarian in Rockingham County. Tim
visited Charlotte often as a child, coming with his mother and
grandparents who owned a department store to the Charlotte
Merchandise Mart. He met Tom Phillips and considered him a mentor
from an early age. Converting from an early Wolfpack fan in the
mid-1970’s to a true blue Tarheel, Tim attended the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar and worked with
Mike Roberts and the UNC Baseball Team on the business side while at
the University. He also worked with the Durham Bulls during this
time. Following graduation, he went to New York City where he met
his wife and graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of
Business. After graduation, he went to work with Morgan Stanley
concentrating in municipal and sports financing. Following the birth
of his first child, he and his wife decided to leave New York and
return to North Carolina where he accepted a job with Wachovia and
was involved in the financing arrangements for Panthers Stadium. He
was later hired by Don Beaver as General Manager of the Charlotte
Knights while trying to bring major league baseball to the Charlotte
area. After 3 ˝ years with the Knights, Tim replaced Rob Walsh as
head of Center City Partners where he has been for the past 2 years.
Tim has one daughter and twins with special needs, so spending time
with family is a top priority. Tim concluded his remarks by sharing
one rule that he lives by: work as hard as you can, be flexible, but
go where God takes you--a good rule for us all.
Our final speaker was Bill Bradley
who was born in Queens, New York and characterized himself as half
Yankee and half Southern. As he said, it took him a few years to
decide that the good half was the southern half. His parents liked
to go to big events, so as a child he attended many Yankee games,
the Woodstock Music Festival, and two Olympics in 1976 and 1980. In
1981, he came South to attend the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte and after a few challenging months with cultural issues
and a serious language problem, he got very involved in all aspects
of campus life at UNC-Charlotte. He graduated in 1987 with a degree
in Sociology. While working as a waiter at Carmel County Club, he
was fortunate to meet some important people, which led to his
current job with Hood Hargett & Associates, a property casualty
insurance agency. He has been very involved in the community
including leadership positions with the Charlotte Jaycees and served
as State Vice President of the Jaycees, which allowed him the
opportunity to travel to Europe on several occasions. He married his
wife Sherry in 1995, and his daughter, Shannon, was born in 1998.
After many years of community involvement and night meetings, he
decided to spend more time with his family and join a civic
organization with daytime meetings. Therefore, Charlotte Rotary was
a perfect fit for him.
Head Table:
John Bradberry, Natalie English, Gayle Smith, John Granzow,
Tom Robertson, Tim Newman, Bill Bradley
Visitors and
Guests:
Jim Kelley; Song: David Erdman; Visitors & Guests: Selena
Rogers; Health & Happiness: Russell Ranson
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2003-04
RI
Theme
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z The clothing drive to benefit Crisis Assistance
Ministry
has been extended for one more week.
Anyone needing home pickup can call Jim Adams or the Rotary
office.
z
Hunter Widener was
recently named to the Finance, Banking and Insurance Advisory
Board at the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State
University.
z
Kurt Waldthausen
was among guests who took “A Journey to India”, the theme at a
benefit gala for International House at the Westin. The 350
guests enjoyed Indian dancing, dinner, and an auction of items
including chandelier earrings created by
Donald Haack Jewelers.
z
The bad news:
Joe Becker
has resigned from Rotary. The good
news: Joe Becker
will head up the national disaster
response and military services around the world, relocating to
Washington DC in the coming weeks.
z
Sympathy is extended to
Claude and Fran Lilly upon the death
of Fran’s Father, Davis D. Smith; and to
Bill Morrison and his family upon the
death of Bill’s wife, Gerry.
z
Thanks to this month’s volunteers at Classroom Central:
Jim Adams, Tom Robertson, Bob Alexy, John Johnson and Mike
Whitehead.
The next volunteer opportunity will be Thursday, December 18th.
Please call
John Johnson
if you are able to help.
z
Thomas Moore
received a rousing round of applause for his outstanding music
on Tuesday.
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NEW MEMBER PROFILE |
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Stephen L. Montgomery
Classification: Insurance,
Property & Casualty
Aon Risk Services
121 W. Trade Street
2400 Interstate Tower (28202)
704-343-4150
steve_montgomery@ars.aon.com |
Steve Montgomery
is the Managing Director of Aon Risk Services, Inc. of the
Carolinas with responsibilities for Aon’s retail property
and casualty insurance brokerage operations in the
Carolinas. With offices in Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and
Raleigh, he spends a good bit of time on the road and loves
his satellite radio. Steve has been with Aon (or its
predecessor companies) for over 20 years.
A native of North Carolina, Steve grew up in Whitsett (rural
Guilford County) and attended Western Carolina University
where he earned his BA degree in Political Science and
Economics. Steve spent 16 years in Winston-Salem before
relocating to Charlotte in 1998. He and his wife Kathy have
two children, a daughter, Asheton, who is a junior at the
University of Georgia in Athens and a son, Cameron, who is a
senior at Myers Park High School. Steve enjoys golf, tennis,
travel, and spending time at the beach with family. He is a
member of Myers Park United Methodist Church and lives in
South Park. Steve has been involved in many professional and
civic activities, and currently serves as Chair of the Board
of Directors of Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas. |
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Attendance
Record |
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11/25/03 |
11/26/02 |
| visitors &
guests |
9 |
17 |
| club
members |
192 |
197 |
| total
attendance |
201 |
215 | | |
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Wedding
Anniversaries |
3 Lucy and Randy Minter
4 Broocks and Ed Kale |
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New Members - November |
Mary Ciminelli
Michele Matthews
Ward Matthews
David Norman
Jim Bensman
Joni Davis |
| Roaming
Rotarians |
Leigh Derby, Pinehurst, NC
Ken Samuelson, Kill Devil Hills, NC
Rex Welton, Delray Beach, FL | |
| Birthdays and
Birthplaces |
5 Don Carmichael, Raleigh,
NC
5 Nancy Dorrier, Charlottesville, VA
5 John Scharer, Derby, CT | |
| Resignations (November) |
Kurt Scholler
Joe Becker
Jon Barton |
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