RSVP Now for 2013 Candidates Reception

All politics is local. And local elections are more important than many people realize or give attention to. No, there isn't a presidential or state governor's race on next month's election ballot (or a plethora of political ads bombarding you during TV commercial breaks). But there are several candidates vying for public offices whose decisions, if elected, will affect your every day life. And you have the chance to meet many of them in person in one evening.

As they've done for the last several years on the eve of elections, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Charlotte Hospitality and Tourism Alliance (HTA) are partnering to present the 2013 Candidates Reception on Thursday, October 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the Belk Action Center inside the Charlotte Chamber (330 S. Tryon St.). The free event will feature numerous local candidates for elected offices, including mayors for Charlotte and towns in Mecklenburg County (Huntersville, Matthews, Pineville, etc.), Charlotte City Council at-large and district seats, town council seats, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board.

Scene at the 2011 Candidates Reception. Photo by Jon Strayhorn/Media Arts Collective.

This will also be a great opportunity to network, since there will be a packed house of business and civic leaders and young professionals. Plus, the event will feature complimentary food and drinks from local restaurants.

The Candidates Reception is free and open to the public, but registration is required. If you plan to attend, be sure to register ASAP before it reaches capacity.

And as always, visit meckboe.org if you have any questions about the November 5th General Election in Mecklenburg County, including the list of candidates, voting locations, and more. The deadline to register to vote is this Friday, October 11, by the way.

READ FULL STORY

Nominate Your Colleagues for the Engage Charlotte Young Professional Awards

I meet young professionals in this city all the time who are doing great things--advancing in their careers while creating opportunities for others, giving back to their community, creating avenues for people to be entertained and get to know each other, and helping make Charlotte an all-around more vibrant city. Charlotte regularly ranks near the top of national studies of cities that appeal to young professionals, including last year's fourth-place ranking on the Forbes list of Happiest Cities for Young Professionals.

Now, there's a new way for some of these deserving local people to be recognized.

Engage Charlotte, the Charlotte Chamber’s young professionals’ initiative, is planning its inaugural awards gala: the Engage Charlotte Young Professional Awards (The YPs). The awards will honor Charlotte-area professionals between the ages of 21 and 39 who exemplify excellence in business, leadership, and community service. More details about the gala itself are to come, and Engage Charlotte is currently accepting nominations for four distinguished awards:

• Young Professional Newcomer of the Year
• Young Professional Entrepreneur of the Year
• Young Professional Non-Profit Leader of the Year
• Young Professional Business Leader of the Year

Attendees at a recent Engage Charlotte event. Credit: Facebook

“As Charlotte’s premier business organization, the Chamber’s YPs is an important step in elevating the profile of young professionals within the Charlotte business community,” says Rod Garvin, director of member engagement for the Charlotte Chamber.

"The Charlotte Chamber Young Professional Awards stands to recognize the very best YPs in our community for their outstanding achievements," adds Ollie Chandhok, chair of Engage Charlotte and a business development consultant for Charlotte Business Journal. "We are excited to host this inaugural event and create a benchmark for success in Charlotte."

The deadline for nominations is November 9. Visit engagecharlotte.com for more details.

READ FULL STORY

Paul C. Brunson Brings His ‘It’s Complicated Live!’ Tour to Charlotte October 17, Releases First Book, and Talks Relationships and Love with GPT

Paul C. Brunson emphatically believes that dating and finding love in 2012 (and 2013 and beyond) doesn’t have to be complicated. He’s gaining national acclaim as a leading relationship coach and matchmaker, and some lady named Oprah—you might’ve heard of her—handpicked him to co-host a show on OWN called Lovetown, USA.

Paul has made countless television appearances, has successfully helped hundreds of clients improve their relationships or find love, and he’s releasing his first book this week (October 11), It’s Complicated: But It Doesn’t Have To Be. As if his first book wasn’t already highly anticipated, he’s embarked on a cross-country tour to promote it, meet his fans, and, as he says, to inform and entertain you.

The tour, “It’s Complicated Live!” stops in Charlotte on Wednesday, October 17 at 6 p.m. at the Charlotte Chamber Belk Action Center. Tickets range from $35 to $50 and include a copy of his book. Click here for more details and to purchase tickets.

Relationship expert, TV personality, and author Paul C. Brunson. Credit: paulcbrunson.com

I talked to Paul by phone last week, while he waited in an airport in route to the next city for his tour. In the interview below, you’ll learn more about his book and upcoming event, why you should analyze relationship data you read, and why he has such a positive outlook on love.

Tell me about your tour.
The whole idea with the tour is to create awareness around the book (It’s Complicated: But It Doesn’t Have To Be), to create awareness around the TV show, Lovetown, and also to create an environment to educate. It’s an interactive discussion with live music, and it’s really a good time. We’ve done six or seven cities so far. We’ve had really good reviews. It’s a good balance of information and entertainment.

The content is for anyone that’s interested in strengthening their relationship, whether that’s romantic or platonic—and anyone who likes to have a good time. If you want both of the above, this is the perfect event for you.

The title of matchmaker gets used a lot these days. How would you describe what you do?
You get those titles as relationship expert or matchmaker, but I always look at why I started doing this. And the reason I started this was really about family, about community, and it was about how there’s a direct tie between a strong community, coming from their being a strong family. And the key piece is strong families having two parents in the household. So I look at this as almost community activism work. That’s how I perceive my work, more as community work.

What made the timing right for you to write your first book?
The book came about because whenever I would prepare for coaching or prepare for a seminar, I noticed I was always pulling from different resources. I’d pull from my favorite book on psychology or biology or digital-age dating, or pickup artistry because I think there’s some value in that about body language. So there were always six or seven books that I would go to. When I started writing my column for Essence, I started realizing there’s a way to combine all of that information and frame it in a way that’s entertaining. Once I was able to do that with the Essence column, I realized that I really do have a unique voice and that’s when I decided to write the book.

We hear a lot about people getting married later in life, and that divorce rates are really high. How do you address that?
I think the first thing to consider is where we’re getting this information and data from. For example, the notion that divorce rates are really high. What’s interesting is over the last 20 years, divorce rates are actually slightly lower, so the trend is that they’re lowering. Also, when you look at—and I address this in the first chapter of my book—people getting married later in life, a lot of it has to do with societal changes that have basically allowed us to live longer. So we’re living longer which means our marriages are just as long. So even though we’re getting married later, that’s not indicative of anything bad, per se. So a lot of the book and a lot of what I like to do is have us examine this information we’re getting from media and analyze to see if this is a good thing or a bad thing, is it trending one way or another way. When you look at the number of people in this country who believe that there’s value in marriage, that percentage, which is in the 90th percentile, is stronger than it’s ever been. Now, views on marriage have decreased, yes, but those who see value in it is higher than ever before. So I think there are a lot of positive data points.

Continue reading interview after the jump.

READ FULL STORY

Ain't No Thing but a Chicken Wing

Wednesday's Autumn AirFest, put on by the Charlotte Chamber, was a great event, with great weather, food, and networking. The highlight of the midday event was the chicken wing competition, in which five local restaurants competed: DD Peckers' Wing Shack, Fuel Pizza, Mac's Speed Shop, Nana's Soul Food, and Wild Wing Cafe. Attendees were able to sample wings from each of them; then they were allowed to cast their vote for the best using an electronic voting kiosk.

The winner, receiving the most votes, was DD Peckers', and the runner-up was Nana's Soul Food.

I differed a little from the majority. My choice for winner was Wild Wing Cafe. They served three different wings, but it was the "Crazy Daisy" wing that made them tops in my book. It's an Asian-style barbecue wing with rich, flavorful sauce and great texture--fried just right.

But like the audience, I too choose Nana's Soul Food as my runner-up. Chef Charles Rucker was on hand serving up his Zesty Garlic wings. They were hot (spicy), but not too hot, tender--meat nearly falling off the bone--and very flavorful. It possibly could've been my winner had the skin been fried harder.

Here are some of my camera phone pics from the event.

Chef Rucker of Nana's Soul Food serving guests.

This nifty tray from Big Frog of South Charlotte allowed me to hold my drink and food with one hand.

You would think someone burnt this, but it's the Ming wing from DD Peckers' and it's quite good.

READ FULL STORY

Autumn AirFest Takes Place Wednesday, October 3—I'm Judging the Wing Competition

UPDATE: Autumn AirFest has been rescheduled to this Wednesday, October 3 due to rain forecast for Tuesday.

The Charlotte Chamber's SouthWest Chapter is presenting its annual Autumn AirFest event on Tuesday, October 2 Wednesday, October 3, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Ayrsley Town Center, 9110 Kings Parade Blvd. You should break away from work and enjoy the entertainment by 102.9 The Lake, networking, sponsor giveaways, games, prizes, and food from area restaurants. There will also be a chicken-wing competition by chefs from Nana's Soul Food, DD Peckers' Wing Shack, Mac's Speed Shop, Wild Wing Cafe, and Fuel Pizza. And I have the honor of serving as one of the judges. I'll be prepared for somebody to point out that I pronounce wings like "wangs"—hey, I was born and raised in South Carolina.

You can purchase tickets for $6 in advance by clicking here; or pay $10 at the event. Follow the tweets at #CLTAirfest.

READ FULL STORY

Money Shot—Charlotte Chamber’s Economic Outlook Conference

The Charlotte Chamber held its annual Economic Outlook Conference yesterday at Charlotte Convention Center. You can read The Charlotte Observer article, "CEOs see slow economic growth in 2012," to learn what executives from five of the country's largest businesses and the Federal Reserve had to say about the economy. I just wanted to share one of the Observer's photos here because it shows how much money was in the room yesterday, which you can see from the six esteemed gentlemen on the stage (each of the corporations they represent are either headquartered in Charlotte or have a large presence here). There were also numerous CEOs, presidents, and other top executives in attendance.

Pictured from left to right: Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond; David Carroll, senior executive vice president of Wealth, Brokerage and Retirement Services for Wells Fargo; Brian T. Moynihan, president and CEO of Bank of America; Dan DiMicco, chairman and CEO of Nucor; Christopher Kearney, chairman and CEO of SPX; and Jim Rogers, chairman and CEO of Duke Energy. Photo by Jeff Willhelm/The Charlotte Observer. Click here to see full gallery.

READ FULL STORY

Fernando Is the Man, Yo

If you live in Charlotte or the surrounding area, you likely heard the big news yesterday that Chiquita is relocating its headquarters from Cincinnati to Charlotte. The multibillion-dollar company that's most known for bananas will bring 400 jobs to the city next year, with its corporate office being housed in NASCAR Plaza in Uptown. The news of Chiquita's relocation was the talk of last evening's Charlotte Chamber Annual Meeting, and was the focal point of about a third of the formal program.

Chiquita CEO Fernando Aguirre took the stage and talked about why his company chose Charlotte over remaining in Cincinnati or moving to one of the other cities that were courting them--the two biggest reasons were the financial incentives package the city and state put together and the appeal of the high number of daily, direct, and international flights that operate out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Based on the 15 minutes or so that Fernando spoke, I believe he's going to do well in Charlotte and add to the city's long lineage of savvy, forward-thinking, civic-engaged corporate executives (think Hugh McColl, Leon Levine, Jerry Richardson). I like the guy.

Fernando Aguirre appeared on CBS's Undercover Boss last year.

My first impressions of Fernando is that he's sharp, witty, and an avid tweeter (@FdoAguirreCEO). And he was thoughtful enough to don a yellow bow tie he says was sent to him by Charlotte-based High Cotton Ties in what was one of the many ways people in the city came together to help lure them here (#bananas4CLT / #bananasforCLT). But out of all the things he stated at the event, to me, one of the most important announcements was that Chiquita will be donating 15 salad bars to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools so students will have more access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The salad bars will be donated through the Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools program.

Fernando is the man, yo.

READ FULL STORY

C-SPAN's Spending the Week In Charlotte

Details below are edited from press release.

C-SPAN is visiting Charlotte for a week starting today, as it chronicles the history and literary life of the city for the cable network’s non-fiction book channel (BookTV on C-SPAN2) and history channel (American History TV on C-SPAN3). Charlotte is one of eight cities being featured in a special series called the LCV Cities Tour. The tour is given this name because C-SPAN producers are travelling in specially designed Ford Transit Connect vehicles, which they're calling Local Content Vehicles (LCVs), that are equipped with digital cameras, editing and other recording technologies, and each member of the LCV team is able to shoot and edit video on location as well as make presentations to the community about the work they do for the network.

C-SPAN Team: Mark Farkas, Tiffany Rocque, Adrienne Hoar, and Deborah Lamb. [Source]

During the week, C-SPAN producers will visit various literary and historic sites, interviewing local historians, authors and civic leaders, including Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx and Charlotte Chamber President Bob Morgan. The C-SPAN team will also visit area schools, including Central Piedmont Community College, Providence Day School, and McClintock Middle School. C-SPAN is partnering with Time Warner Cable, the network’s local affiliate, which is helping to organize the week’s many logistics.

A Tuesday, August 30 public kick-off event will be held at Charlotte Museum of History, 3500 Shamrock Drive, with opening remarks at 6:30 p.m. from Time Warner Cable, C-SPAN, and representatives of Charlotte Museum of History. The event keynote speaker is local author and Levine Museum of the New South historian, Dr. Tom Hanchett. He'll discuss Charlotte’s unique history and other topics included in his book Sorting Out the New South City and his most recent work, Salad Bowl Suburbs: A History of Charlotte's East Side and South Boulevard Immigrant Corridors.

The kick-off event will air along with C-SPAN’s other productions during a special Charlotte feature the weekend of September 24-25 on BookTV and American History TV. For more details, visit www.c-span.org/LocalContent.

In the video below, Mark Farkas, C-SPAN executive producer and LCV project manager, explains why they're visiting cities like Charlotte.

READ FULL STORY

Recap: Charlotte Chamber 2010 Annual Meeting at NASCAR Hall of Fame

The Charlotte Chamber held its 2010 Annual Meeting last night at NASCAR Hall of Fame. I attended the event for the first time in 2008 (when Michael Jordan was honored), so I knew to look forward to a great evening. You wouldn't necessarily think that a business event such as this would be entertaining, but there's a reason 1,800 people showed up (at $75 a ticket). The Charlotte Chamber and the teams of creative people they hire to put on the event, once again gave a top-notch performance.

With the theme "Brand New Day," including an opening performance by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (I can still hear the catchy tune in my head), the annual meeting was a celebratory event after a worrisome last couple of years for people in all levels of business. The Chamber touted the number of companies it helped relocate to, expand, or open new offices in Charlotte during the past year, and the number of new jobs created as a result--4,400--reminding us of the big announcements that came in 2010 from Husqvarna, Electrolux, Siemens, Fifth/Third, and others.

And there was another big announcement, saved especially for the event. Shaw Power Group's CEO took the stage and announced that his company would be adding 225 jobs in Charlotte, 80 percent of those being engineering jobs with an average salary of $95,000. The audience was instructed to ring the little gold bells that were placed in our seats. The ringing of the bells was to mirror a practice that has become a tradition at the Chamber whenever a new business announcement is made.

The evening also featured the passing of the gavel from the 2010 Chamber chair, David Darnell of Bank of America, to 2011 chair Pat Rodgers of Rodgers Builders. Carolinas HealthCare System was given the Belk Innovation in Diversity Award. And Leon and Sandra Levine were honored with the Citizen of the Carolinas Award. As the founder of Family Dollar, Leon Levine has amassed a fortune, and he and his wife have given a lot of it away to charities, the arts, and education.

Perhaps the best thing about the program is that it only lasted an hour. So the crowd quickly got to the food. If you've ever been to the Annual Meeting, you know the food offerings are always spectacular. I was actually a little embarrassed as I walked through the crowd with a plate that looked like I didn't want to have to get up for seconds. Complimentary drinks made the cycle complete.

READ FULL STORY

The Curious Case of Ben Bernanke

I'm a Sunday news show fanatic. There's not much I enjoy more on the Sabbath day than catching episodes of Meet the Press in the morning and 60 Minutes in the evening (I managed to squeeze in church today, too). And I just saw one of the best interviews ever on 60 Minutes--a profile of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that took up more than half of the hour-long show. Correspondent Scott Pelley and the CBS News team demonstrated journalism at its best. And as is pointed out, this was the first time the fed chairman had ever done a television interview.

Bernanke talked a lot about the state of the economy and what the Federal Reserve is doing to try to fix it. He also took us inside the massive and rarely seen headquarters in Washington, D.C. But what I found most interesting was part two of the segment (the part that aired after the commercial break) that chronicled Bernanke's upbringing. He grew up in Dillon, South Carolina, a small town with only about 6,000 people. He worked hard all of his life and was raised by a middle class family. During the segment he said, "I come from Main Street. That's my background. And I've never been on Wall Street. I care about Wall Street for one reason and one reason only--because what happens on Wall Street matters to Main Street."

It's comforting to know that Bernanke, who "aside from the president [is] the most powerful man working to save the economy," as Pelley said, grew up like most of us. I, especially, can relate to his small-town upbringing because I grew up in a small town in South Carolina as well. Although it's not mentioned in this interview, Bernanke has several ties to Charlotte, including that his brother is a lawyer here and a few years ago he was awarded the Citizen of the Carolinas Award by the Charlotte Chamber.

Below is video of part two of the 60 Minutes segment in which you get to learn about who Bernanke is. There's also an interesting and ironic moment when his childhood home is shown. His family sold the house years ago and the last owner let it go into foreclosure.



Click here to see all of the 60 Minutes coverage, including a behind-the-scenes look into the Federal Reserve Bank.

READ FULL STORY

Another Chance to Meet Local Candidates

Between now and November 4 I'm going to continue to harp on not the importance of voting--you have Diddy, Bow Wow, and Leonardo DiCaprio telling you that--but the importance of knowing who and what you're voting for. As I've been saying for weeks, particularly to the first-time voters, when you go to the polls there's going to be more boxes to check other than the one next to Obama or McCain. And you wouldn't be "rocking the vote" if you're guessing.

So after you watch tonight's presidential debate, make sure you go to this event tomorrow. The Charlotte Chamber and the Greater Charlotte Hospitality & Tourism Alliance are hosting a Meet & Greet the Candidates reception. You'll have the opportunity to meet candidates seeking office in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. You know, the people who decide how much and where local money goes for neighborhood improvements, roads, schools, parks, to fight crime, and more. Yeah, the little stuff.

Not only is tomorrow's event free, but food will be served from some of Charlotte’s best restaurants: Omaha Steakhouse, Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q, Brixx Woodfired Pizza, Dilworth Neighborhood Grille, Blackfinn Restaurant & Saloon, and more. It's 5:30-8 p.m. at the Charlotte Chamber’s Belk Action Center, 330 S. Tryon St. Click here to register to attend.

READ FULL STORY

Jazz On the Roof Tomorrow

What better way to end your Hump Day than with drinks and hors d'oeuvres while listening to jazz and taking in a view of the city? The Black Professionals Network and the Charlotte Chamber present Jazz On the Roof tomorrow (Wednesday), 6-8 p.m. at the Mint Museum of Craft + Design (220 North Tryon St.). The event will feature music by Unique Blend. Admission is $7.

These events are great for socializing and networking (bring plenty of business cards), and are perfect for those of you who want to get out but don't like the club scene. Plus, it's early enough to where you can go here and still make it home in time to see your favorite TV shows. But if you're more of the barhopping type, after you leave the jazz event you should head over to Pop Life at Loft 1523 (1523 Elizabeth Ave.). There you'll find great DJ-spun music and plenty of well-dressed people. Admission is free.

READ FULL STORY