Viewing life through a different lens

Chris Hailey, 2016 Lake Norman Chamber Diversity Chair and Chamber President Bill Russell

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am an avid football fan. On any given Saturday or Sunday, I’m usually sitting back watching games when I see a real bone-headed play that leaves me thinking, “What was that all about?”

Granted the play has been stopped, we know the result and, in many instances, we watch replays over and over from every angle. Knowing the outcome, many of us become sports geniuses — hence the term “armchair quarterbacks.”

Several years ago, I had the opportunity, through our Leadership Lake Norman program, to tour the Criminal Justice Center at the Central Piedmont Community College Merancas Campus in Huntersville. There I was allowed to participate in a firearms simulation on which our law enforcement officers are required to train. Participants are provided a firearm equipped with a laser that registers actual hits and misses in a simulated environment.

In some situations, subjects in the video are innocent bystanders. In others, in the blink of an eye, the bystander became an armed assailant. The actual time you as a law enforcement officer have to ascertain the threat and act are mere seconds. My simulation involved terrorists who had taken hostages on a passenger jet in flight. I laughed it off and went home after I hit an assailant, a bystander and the fuselage of the plane perhaps dooming all of the passengers. For me, in that room with that make-believe gun in a simulated environment, it was little more than a video game.

Out on the streets, it’s anything but.

The last few days in Charlotte, and last few months nationwide, have seen tensions between law enforcement and the public reach a precipice. As I personally struggle to understand why we have reached this point, my good friend and the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce Diversity Chairman Chris Hailey asked me to “step back away from my ‘whiteness’ and see the world through a different lens — that of an African-American man.”

What some of us may see as a single incident is for many a tipping point of years of frustration, anxiety and fear. While there can be no excuse for looting, violence and lawlessness, there must be a way to confront the feelings many minorities are experiencing.

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, the Lake Norman Chamber Diversity Council will host a Lunch & Learn session at the CPCC Merancas Campus with Brandi Riggins from Charter Communications. She will discuss race relations and how we can continue to come together as a community. The Diversity Council will also host another community forum later in the month.

In the meantime, the Lake Norman Chamber will salute our public safety officers who put their lives on the line for us each and every day — our police, fire and EMS officers along with the Crime Stopper of the Year. That event takes place Thursday, Oct. 20, at NorthStone Country Club.

Unlike football, our police officers have no instant replay and no way to truly know what’s in the mind of the person they stop or try to apprehend. They have no ability to look back on what they could or should have done. They have only the moment. It’s real time.

One thing I do know for certain: none of our officers are out there looking for confrontation. They simply want to serve and go home safe at the end of the day to their families.

My friend Chris asked me to see life though a different lens. The reality is I’m not sure I ever really can. But I do know, I need to try. I pray to God that we all try.

Regionalism – From a Clown’s Point of View

Joey the Clown

Tom Peters, Stephen Covey, Kenneth Blanchard, Brooks Lindsay….Brooks Lindsay?  While the name Brooks Lindsay may not be recognizable as a leading authority on business acumen, mention “Joey the Clown” around those of us over 40 with roots in the Charlotte region and we remember the smiles he brought to children every afternoon on WSOC Television.  Lindsay passed away six years ago this month, but not before he made a lasting impression on a generation of Charlotte children.

I was one of those who had the opportunity to participate in a neighborhood buddy’s birthday party that was hosted at Joey’s “Clown Carnival”.  Each little boy or girl had a chance at stardom when Joey let us introduce ourselves on his show.  It was a really big deal for a kid to appear on the Joey the Clown Show and I can still recall all the family relatives who commented on my “first television gig”.

What many may take for granted now – Lindsay’s program was one of the very first racially integrated shows from the beginning.  At the conclusion of each show, Joey ended his program by reminding the kids on the program and out there in TV Land – “Boys and Girls, when you grow up, remember be nice, because all we have in this ‘ol world is each other.”

One of the underlying principles of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce from its inception in 1987 is the concept of regionalism.  More than two decades ago, business leaders from Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville began working together to foster the business growth and well-being of our region.  Long before “regionalism” become a buzzword, Chamber leaders encouraged our political and community leaders to look past the rivalries and municipal boundaries that inhibited our growth as a region and as a community. 

It is natural for an elected official to protect his or her district.  Politicians are rewarded for “bringing home the bacon.”  However, we now live in a global economy and the markets of Asia and Europe dramatically impact the United States economy.  Closer to home, a corporate business expanding in Davidson will impact the residents and businesses of Huntersville and a new company locating in Mooresville will benefit the Town of Cornelius.

In 2001, the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce commissioned an economic development study performed by the firm of Leake Goforth.  The study made recommendations for the potential commercial growth of our region.  Our 2000 Strategic Plan called for the Chamber to examine the possibility of creating an economic development authority and in 2002 we began lobbying the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville to consider creating a regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC).

It wasn’t easy.  The long time turf issue reared it’s head on many occasions, but at the end of the day, leaders in all three towns approved a public – private partnership spearheaded by the towns and the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce.  Today, the region is served by three regional economic development agencies:  The Lake Norman Chamber, the Lake Norman Regional EDC, and Visit Lake Norman.  All three work together to promote the economic growth and vitality of our region.

If we are to succeed and prosper as a region – we must work together and support projects in other communities which will in turn benefit the citizens and businesses of neighboring communities.  It’s as simple as that.

Thirty-five years ago, a man dressed up in grease paint and entertained a generation of children. He made us laugh, appearing as a loveable Hobo.  He also made a lasting impression.  To many of us, he reminded us everyday to work together…because after all…”all we have in this ‘ol world….is each other.”