The View From the Lake

W.E. “BILL” RUSSELL, CCE, IOM

President & CEO of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce Russell at the 2022 Annual Meeting.

Attending the Lake Norman Women’s Conference with staff members Laura Rizzetta and Sylvia Spury

Last month, the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce celebrated 35 years of service to the regional business community and for 27 years, Bill Russell has served as its President & CEO. Russell began his career with the Chamber in January of 1996 when he moved to Lake Norman. Since then, he has seen a tremendous amount of growth and change. “When I moved to Huntersville the town’s population was just over 3,000 people. Today, more than 60,000 people call Huntersville home.”

Russell recently celebrated 30 years in the chamber profession, first serving as President of the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) before assuming his first chamber role in Charleston’s Lowcountry (SC) at the Tri-County Regional Chamber. Under his leadership the Chamber, which serves the Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Mooresville, and greater Lake Norman region has grown to a business organization of more than 800+ members. organization in 2001 and the Lake Norman Economic Development Corporation in 2003. The EDC’s role is to create primary job creation and attract larger corporate businesses to the region.

While the chamber is known for its many networking events and professional development seminars, Russell is extremely proud of its role as a business advocate. The chamber plays a pivotal role in lobbying for more schools, roads, and better infrastructure to support the amazing growth at Lake Norman. In 2015, the Lake Norman Chamber was recognized as the most outstanding chamber of commerce in North and South Carolina by the Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. “It’s always rewarding to be singled out by your peers in the industry as the Best of the Best,” says Russell.

“The Lake Norman Chamber has been very blessed these three and a half decades with leadership from committed Chamber Boards, outstanding Board Chairs, and most importantly, our engaged members and staff,” he adds.

This month, the Chamber will hold its signature event – the Lake Norman Business Expo October 11th at the Huntersville Recreation Center. It is the largest business to business trade show in the Charlotte region. The Expo, which is open to the public, will showcase 120 businesses and organizations.

When not working at the chamber, Russell loves a little down time horseback riding, working on his family farm, and spending time with Henry - his rescued Old English Sheep Dog.

Boat Cruise on Lake Norman with Laurie Gillmore and Past Chamber Chair Joshua Dobi

Classifying Your Kids’ FriendsBY MICHAEL JOHNSON

We parents are always on the heightened prowl to keep our kids engaged and running in supportive and worthwhile social circles. Part of our job as good parents is to keep our kids crashing around with the right crowd. Every day with our offspring, we scan the horizon endlessly for positive influences when approving or disapproving our children’s choices for friends.

Consequently, our kids meet a wide array of fellow youngsters who either become fast friends, convenient alibis, partners-in-crime, or parental favorites. It takes a village to form the pack that crosses paths with our kids daily.

I am here today to over-generalize potentially in a controversial way and categorize some archetypes of our children’s friends. Here are some notable categories:

THE GLADIATOR

This youngster is always up for a contest. The competitive spirit is strong in this one. They are always looking for the victory and hate losing. They can turn a simple game of basketball or bottle flipping into something in which there is a clear delineation between the loser and the winner. There is no in-between. They tend to inspire your child to raise their “game,” but can also be none-too-modest when they are victorious and therefore leave your own offspring pouting on occasion.

THE POLITE ONE

This kid is a parent’s dream. He always has a “Thank you” or “Yes, sir” chambered and ready to aim at you at a moment’s notice. Granted, he doesn’t offer the same thrills typically of the more edgy or boisterous friend, but frankly, that is okay. You hope that this demure and polite child rubs off on your own child in terms of being grateful for everything and a delight in the presence of other people. This childhood friend is a dream to have over for sleepovers or on a day trip, where all you want is gratitude and pleasant discourse in return for the money expended on gas and food or admission price to this or that. THE PLEASANTLY PRIVILEGED

This friend is the kid living in the high-end neighborhood with three more bedrooms and three more bathrooms at his house than at yours. He knows what it is like to have a PlayStation and Xbox running simultaneously in his bedroom that is bigger than your first apartment. He invites your child to the coolest destinations and has the most elaborate birthday parties with virtual reality trailers parked out front of the house. Refreshingly, this friend, in fact, has parents who are always very cognizant that he leads a privileged life and wants to make sure he is grateful in your presence when he is away from home.

THE EDDIE HASKELL

If you are an old man like me and happen to remember the TV show “Leave it to Beaver,” you know the character Eddie Haskell. Eddie Haskell was a wiseguy and mischievous young man who would always turn on the charm when elders were present.

When addressing Beaver Cleaver’s mother, Eddie would say things like, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Cleaver, that is a lovely dress you are wearing today.” He was a bit of a sneaky sycophant, and out of earshot of the parents, he was up to mischief. I have not always seen through this type of friend, but my son is sometimes quick to fill me in on how I have been duped unsuspectingly. THE LOVER OF THE GREAT INDOORS

Here we have the child who, if presented with a recreational opportunity outside, will inevitably balk. He seems keener on video games than frolicking outside in the elements. He is just as happy at home perched on a cozy gaming chair than in an environment where there might be excessive heat or viruses or bugs or exertion of any sort. Some may classify him as the ultimate “homebody,” who never wants to stray too far from his mom’s fried mozzarella sticks. He is unassuming and just a little shy, but once the fun gets underway and against his better judgment, he raises his “game” and suddenly finds himself having a good time, even if it is outside.

THE SEARCH ENGINE

I have always been enamored of my son’s friends who are walking “Google search” engines. These are the kids whom you can ask, “Who had the highest batting average in the National League in Major League Baseball last season?” or who can tell you if salamanders are reptiles or amphibians.

They are whiz-kids with technology and while you try to figure out how simply to scan a QR code instead of your own retina, they can probably tell you how computer programmers wrote the algorithms for reading QR codes. These friends will sometimes get an eyeroll from your own child when you have asked this little Einstein friend if he has any idea how to make the font on your phone bigger so you can read it.

Maybe you, too, have a horribly generalized set of categories for your children’s friends. Perhaps you have your favorites and those you want to steer clear of. Either way, our kids manage to collect a vast basketful of compadres who fit themselves comfortably into stereotypes that are entertaining, enduring, and memorable. Here’s to celebrating the mixture of personalities who travel into and out of our kids’ adventurous lives!

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