Up & Coming Weekly

THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET THIS WEEK WITH MARGARET by MARGARET DICKSON This, That and the Other The summer of 2010 will almost surely be remembered as the summer of the Big Spill. As I write this and as you read it, oil continues to fl ow unabatedly 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana from what was once the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig, operated by the multi-national corporation BP. This has been going on since the night of April 20th, with no end in sight. Famous people, politicians and entertainers with connections to New Orleans and the Gulf appear on our television screens to call our attention to the devastation, and ordinary people, like now out-of-work commercial fi shermen, tell us how their lives have been turned upside down. There are also earnest BP employees assuring us that since they and their families live in Louisiana, they will work till they drop to make sure the spill is cleaned up and those damaged are made whole. Like you, I hear people advising motorists to punish BP by not fi lling up our vehicles at its pumps, while others say exactly the opposite, lest BP go bankrupt and fi nancially unable to try to make things right along the Gulf, and now, beyond. And, then, of course, there is the whole issue of how BP is actually handling this disaster. Clearly,the company publicly underestimated the scale of the gusher, and just as clearly, it was not prepared for this kind of catastrophe. “Deliberate” is too strong, but the words “irresponsible,” “complacent” and “fat and happy” certainly come to mind. Please forgive me if I seem a bit jaded about BP’s assertion that all this will be under control by sometime next month ... or maybe, September. I have great faith in nature’s regenerative powers, but it also seems to me that the scale of what is happening means that our children and our grandchildren will be dealing with the aftermath of this long after my generation has gone to its reward. Try to imagine how many gallons have gushed into the Gulf in the time it took you to read this and it becomes obvious that BP’s monumental failure at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig constitutes the single largest environmental disaster in the history of the United States. It is also clear to me that the lesson here to each and every one of us is that we have no choice but to reduce our, as the President says, “addiction” to oil and other fossil fuels and turn our sights to renewable forms of energy. This will involve governmental policies, but it will also involve personal changes and personal commitments to be more green. I believe we really do have no choice and less time than we thought to do so. The Tipping Point: FYP Continues Upward OPINION by KIRK deVIERE Three years ago I stood in front of a crowd at the Crown Coliseum as the outgoing Chamber of Commerce Chairman, and delivered a fi nal speech to Chamber members. In those remarks, I stressed that Fayetteville was at a “tipping point”. As the crowd looked at me for clarifi cation of what I meant by “tipping point,” I began to recite the defi nition author Malcomb Gladwell assigned to the phrase: A “tipping point” is a name given to the exact moment on a graph when the line starts to shoot straight upward. A “tipping point,” is the “boiling point.” I spoke about several of the tipping points that I thought our community had seen over the past several years, like the beginning of The Greater Fayetteville Futures movement, and I spoke about those tipping points that I believed were yet to come, like how we were going to make Fayetteville attractive to a younger, instant-gratifi cation seeking population. Two years after the day that speech was delivered to my fellow Chamber members, I found myself standing in front of an entirely different group of people. I was still standing within the walls of the Chamber in the old PWC building in Downtown, but with a group of 20 younger and diverse faces — a group of hungrier, most eager faces — and I distinctly remember looking around the room, observing all of these faces — some not familiar and some old friends — and I remember feeling a wave of satisfaction that after several years of living in this community, after several years of being involved with various groups and efforts to grow our city, I was actually, at that moment, surrounded by a group of young people that all had one common goal: to fi nd a way to connect all young professionals, in our community, together. And I realized that this group would represent one of the next tipping points in Fayetteville. And as I stand here one year later, as outgoing Chairman of the Fayetteville Young Professionals, I couldn’t be more proud to have the opportunity to say that I was part of a team that began an organization to engage young professionals to network and socialize, as well as connect to business leaders in the community. Those fi rst few months, we weren’t sure what to expect. Was our Fayetteville Young Professionals’ Launch Party, held in August of 2009, even going to have anyone show up? Were local business owners, the Chamber of Commerce, and our peers, even WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM going to take us seriously? One year later, I believe those questions have been answered. As we close out the fi rst year of FYP and my year as chairman, we fi nd that this group has been taken seriously by over 450 young professionals and our entire community as a whole. Since the launch party in August of 2009, young professionals have mixed and mingled at local horse races and outdoor concerts, have participated in outstanding speaker seminars, and have volunteered their time and energy in giving back to our community through various non-profi t capacities. Most importantly, we have met new friends and business associates. We have grown as young professionals and have become part of the transformation of this community. The greatest aspect of the Fayetteville Young ************************* If you have not seen it yet, a visit to North Carolina’s new Museum of Art certainly merits a spot on your summer calendar. North Carolina has a long tradition of supporting the arts, both publicly and privately, and ours is the fi rst art museum in the nation funded by the state and, in my view, by far the best. Our newest museum opened in April and is stunning in its design, and, unlike more traditional art museums, is fi lled with natural light, combining the natural beauty outside with the artistic beauty inside. That beauty includes American, European, and African works from both ancient and contemporary eras and times in between as well as one of only two permanent collections of Jewish artifacts in our country. A special bonus is the 160-plus acre park, a unique outdoor setting for wandering around and dotted with intriguing works of art. Both the museum’s restaurant, Iris, and the gift shop are well worth a visit, and there are many special events, both indoor and outdoor. To say our new Museum of Art knocked my socks off the fi rst time I saw it understates my reaction considerably, and I have seen something new and wonderful every time I have been back. You can get a sense of this fabulous North Carolina place at www.ncartmuseum.org ************************** July 4th always seems like the unoffi cial middle of summer, the point at which we begin the long, hot slide into the return of school routine, fall and the holiday season. The Dicksons’ 4th was marked by a visit from some precious jewels, fresh eggs from the downtown Farmer’s Market and the pride and patriotism that attends Fort Bragg’s annual celebration. The music and fi reworks are always impressive, but my favorite part of the occasion is the parade of fl ags. All 50 state fl ags, each colorful and unique, are proudly marched onto the parade fi eld in the order in which the state joined our Union and the state’s nickname is announced. North Carolina, the Tar Heel state, is 12th, and Alaska and Hawaii, both of which became states in the 1950s, are last. Each state seems to have at least a small cheering section, and I am happy to report that North Carolina received the loudest whoops. I am also pleased to report that I have had to put on a bathing suit only once so far this summer. MARGARET DICKSON, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. Professionals is that we are just getting started! Stop for a minute and look around at the young professional standing near you, or across from you, or even at the person shaking your hand ... WE are the next entrepreneurs, CEOs, presidents, vice-presidents, civic board members and leaders in this community. WE are the future of the Greater Fayetteville Community. Kirk deViere is the Founding Chairman for the Fayetteville Young Professionals Kirk deViere is the Founding Chairman for the Fayetteville Young Professionals. (FYP). The Fayetteville Young Professionals (FYP) is a membership division of the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce, designed to provide opportunities for young professionals to develop the skills they need to succeed in their chosen professions or occupations [Editor’s Note: This article also appeared in the Fayetteville Observer on July 6, 2010.] JULY 14-20, 2010 UCW 5

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