Meeting |
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Report |
Meeting |
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Report |
October 19, 1999 |
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| "For most of its years since 1915, the Charlotte Chamber has been
like a third house of local government in Charlotte," Queen City chronicler Jack
Claiborne told Charlotte Rotary, "an equal partner with city government and
the board of county commissioners. "In some years, in fact, the president or chairman of the Charlotte chamber has had as much influence in the community as the city's mayor or the chairman of the county board," the former Charlotte Observer associate executive editor said. "With such influence, the Charlotte chamber has been highly successful in getting things done in this city." Claiborne gave Rotarians a brief glimpse into his new book, The Crown of the Queen City, his history of the local Chamber, which will be introduced to the community at the organization's annual meeting on November 30. Said the head of public relations for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, "The Chamber's story is Charlotte's story, the tale of this city's rise from a dusty railroad town to a sparkling metropolitan center of national and international prominence." The book is the story of "no ordinary chamber," said the native Charlottean, who has written other histories including those of The Charlotte Observer and North Carolina. It's "a reflection of the Charlotte business community, and the Charlotte business community is certainly something worth reading about. It has played a huge role in making this an extraordinary city. ". . . it is difficult to find in Charlotte today," he says, "a public facility, a community program or a civic initiative, whether related to economic development, quality of life, social equity, or regionalism, that the Charlotte chamber did not either conceive, sponsor, or play a significant role in improving." Claiborne ascribes the "five most important assets in Charlotte's recent growth and prosperity . . . in one way or another," to the chamber: 1. The state law allowing the city to expand corporate limits by annexing growth, thus preventing suburbs from strangling the city. 2. City-county school merger in the 1960s that avoided much of the "white flight" other metropolitan areas have experienced. 3. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a much larger airport than found in comparably sized cities. 4. A branch of the Federal Reserve Bank since 1920s. 5. UNC Charlotte, "whose expansion promises to fill the one glaring gap among Charlotte's economic and cultural assets, the lack of a research university. The Chamber traces it roots to 1870 when the first such organization was founded during reconstruction after the Civil War. But the iterations prior to 1915 found the going tough, particularly when it came to economic downturns. Before the founding of the modern chamber in 1915, there were four false starts. Actually, chambers of commerce celebrate their 500th anniversary this year. The first one was organized in Marseilles, France, in 1999, seven years after Columbus' first trip to the New World. The first chambers were regulatory helping keep merchants and shippers on even footing in major harbors and ports, Claiborne said. "It was only in modern America that chambers came to be associated with promotion and ballyhoo." He said. "The late Clarence Kuester, a leader of the Charlotte Camber for more than 40 years, once called it "hot air and wind-jamming." The reorganized Chamber of 1915 took on more lofty goals than simple boosterism and promotion. Its organizers wanted the organization to "help Charlotte prepare for growth and enable it to anticipate the future."Claiborne noted that "One of the remarkable qualities of the Charlotte Chamber has been the loyalty it has drawn from the elite of Charlotte's business leadership. . . ." Many men of "stature in the community were active participants in the Chamber and gave it prestige and power that chambers in many other cities could only envy." The list of the Chambers contributions to the community is remarkable. A few include both coliseums, pro sports teams, the University Research Park, district representation, manager form of local government, the Carolinas Partnership and liquor by the drink. Among guests at the meeting were Clarence Kuester's son, also named Clarence, who helped Claiborne with much of his research, particularly about his father. Claiborne noted with irony that a seven-year-old Clarence Kuester took a job to light the city's gaslights to support his family, then later in life helped light the way to Charlotte's bright future. President Worth called the club attention to the fact that members will vote at the November 2nd meeting (also election day) on a revision to the Club's bylaws which will allow the Club to manage better the election of qualified directors. The Club also responded to a call to support flood victims in eastern North Carolina with gift to a fund that will be administered by the Rotary district that serves the area. Large paper bags were passed to collect donations. Roger Sarow from WFAE read the news briefs. Luther Moore gave Health and Happiness; Tony Lathrop introduced Guests and Visitors; Doug Booth lead the Invocation. Chuck Lineberry led a rousing and surprisingly well executed version of Row, Row, Row Your Boat in rounds. Others at the head table included Lee Morris, Pete Sloan, Jeff Brown, Dick Brigden and Edgar Love, who introduced the speaker. President Worth announced that Edgar's daughter Elizabeth is engaged to Winn Maddry, one of our newest members. * * * |
New Member
Consultant, Early Childhood Education Thomas Moore Enterprises, Inc. Thomas spends much of his life working with children, (he elderly and civic groups. For over 30 years, he has assisted our community in efforts to become the community that celebrates all of its citizens. He was a volunteer and performer during the beginnings of many arts and civic efforts of this city. Those efforts include: The Community School of (he Arts (volunteer '69-78; teacher '78-83), CPCC Summer Theater (performed in its first production, "Godspell"), Spirit Square, the opening of Carowinds (music director of the WBTV special), Festival in the Park 1967-73 (MC and guest performer), Dilworth Jubilee (MC and performer '70-82), N.C. Opera In The Schools Program (performer). Cities in the Schools (guest speaker '84-85), Charlotte Symphony's Lollipops Concert (emcee, soloist and guest composer during the first season '83-84), Martin Luther King Celebration (music director during the first celebration), Very Special Arts Festival (performed for the first two celebrations) and the African American Festival (performed for the first three festivals). He conducted and performed with The Sounds of America ('66-73), founded and directed the Bethlehem Center Youth Choir ('75-85), performed the role of "Mr. Keys" in WBTV's children's show "EZ Street" ('83) and performed the roles of Papageno in "The Magic Flute" and Escamillio in "Carmen" (CPCC Opera Theater—'98). Thomas is presently a keynote speaker a; national, regional and state educational conferences, a producer of eight educational recordings, an author, a lecturer, and an early childhood consultant for numerous school systems, including Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Cambridge and New Orleans. His work as an educational consultant has included providing teacher workshops in St. Croix for the U.S. Department of Education, parent and teacher training on military bases throughout Europe with the Department of Defense and serving as visiting lecturer at the Royal College for Education and Educational Research in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has been assistant professor of early childhood education at the University of Southern Mississippi, associate professor of child and family studies at Georgia Southern University and coordinator of the North Carolina Head Start Collaboration Project in the N.C. Division of Child Development. Thomas has been a member of Seigle Avenue Presbyterian Church since 1970 where he volunteers as church pianist. Since May 1998, he has served as staff associate to the Church in the Round at Myers Park United Methodist Church. For 30 years he has volunteered his services in many churches throughout this region. Thomas' honors and awards include Charlotte JC's Young Man of the Year, the Jefferson Award, the Charlotte NAACP Humanitarian Award and the Order of the Long Leaf Pine for his work in Charlotte and throughout North Carolina. His most prized honor is the Angel Among Us Award, presented by Mrs. Fullagar's Kindergarten through second grade class in Laurinburg, N.C. Welcome to Charlotte Rotary, Thomas. * * *FUTURE CONVENTIONS OF R.I. Buenos Aires, Argentina, 4-7 June 2000. San Antonio, Texas, 2001 (dates to be announced). * * * |
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