Archive for October, 2008

Rhonda & Michael to meet Lance and Ride for the Roses

October 22nd, 2008 categories: Giving Back in Charlotte, Rhonda Gibbons

Yes it’s true (we’ve pinched ourselves repeatedly) Rhonda and I are off this weekend to participate in the Ride for the Roses LIVESTRONG cycling event in Austin Texas. We are guests of the 24 Hours of Booty Team and its founder, my good friend Spencer Lueders.  And YES we are going to meet Lance ~ in fact if all goes as planned I will have the honor of riding with Lance on Saturday (check back here for pictures and giddy commentary)

So why post about this, well first we are obviously bursting with excitement but more importantly I think it shows that if you dedicate yourself to something and work tirelessly good things do happen. Rhonda loves cycling and it is her way to give back to the Charlotte community that has given her so much! As for me it has been a dream of mine to meet Lance ever since I bought a bike and started MojoRiding in 2005. Since that time Rhonda, me and our team (mostly) have raised over $250,000 for local Charlotte charities including $130,000 for the official LIVESTRONG event the 24 Hours of Booty which takes place each summer in our beloved Myers Park neighborhood.

In Austin Rhonda and I will be riding (and wearing buttons) in memory of our cousins Dale and Janie and so many others we have come to know in our fight against cancer. We will hold a special place for local heroes Brandon Elam, Hope Stout and our new friend Ellie Potvin ~ young people who have and continue to battle cancer courageously. (please check out their websites – remarkable families who are giving back in Charlotte). I will carry the thoughts of many, many more people whom I have come to know through my Buttons of Hope ~ you are all with me.

So wish us luck and take some time to read more about the people who are making a difference at the links above or through my Behind the Button blog. Godspeed and makehope!

Spoken by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: No Comments »

Doryn’s Dish | Unique stuff for your Charlotte home & life

October 21st, 2008 categories: Good stuff we find

I stumbled upon a pretty cool website today Doryn’s Dish

Doryn Wallach has provided advice, solutions and product recommendations to the avid and loyal readers of her blog Doryn’s Dish, since 2005. Covering topics including health and beauty, home design and improvement, technology, websites, travel and other lifestyle-related products and services, Doryn has become the “go to resource” for reviews and recommendations on everything unique and different.

Check out Doryn’s Dish I think you’ll find some pretty cool (unique & useful) home and kid stuff

• Did you know that nearly one trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year…read more
• The nuddle (nap + cuddle = nuddle) was created to be the most comfortable and functional blanket…read more
• Should I use eggshell, gloss or flat? Brush up on paint finishes…read more

Today she is interviewing Gary Murphy of Maid Brigade (Charlotte locations) …Gary will unveil all those cleaning secrets and shortcuts that your sink sludge and dust balls don’t want you to know. He’ll also explain how to turn your home “green” – and keep it that way. Making your house more environmentally friendly isn’t just a silly trend.

So take a few minutes or check out Doryn’s Dish “Doryn’s philosophy has always been to recommend only those products and services that she personally tries and loves.” Maybe you will love ‘em too!

Spoken by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: No Comments »

Charlotte’s “Race Playce” is no place for disabilities!

October 19th, 2008 categories: Fun for Kids, Sunday Inspiration

That’s right disabilities have no place at Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation’ new Race Playce because this new playground was designed so that no child has to be left out! Children of all “abilities” now have place to play and have FUN together!

Karen Sullivan reports today A “Playce” for kids with disabilities in the Charlotte Observer that…

3,700 volunteers with varying abilities…turned towering piles of lumber into an 11,780-square-foot NASCAR-themed adventure called Race Playce. Park and Recreation’s goal was to take $400,000 approved by the county and create a playground where a disability would not be a barrier. Planners studied similar projects in other communities.

Then the planners brought together about 170 children with varied abilities in November 2007 to ask how they would build a playground….(read more)

Spoken by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: 1 Comment »

Should I buy or should I sell? Yes.

October 18th, 2008 categories: Charlotte Real Estate Trends

OK I guess I have some explaining to do! I am actually going to let Nancy Stancil at the Charlotte Observer do most of the heavy lifting, she does a superb job in her article “The Upside of the Housing Downturn”.

And OK I apologize for the obnoxious ying/yang symbol but I crave attention (if I get 5 comments I’ll change it to a more peaceful version!) the thing is I think the housing crisis as bad as it is (like most crises) is a bit overblown (see The Charlotte Sky is Falling. Or is it?) and if you think about most crises are not 100% bad  ~ there might even be a silver lining for some!

From Nancy’s article:

Brian Cook just moved into the Huntersville subdivision (suburb of Charlotte) he wanted at a price he finally could afford. He paid $300,000 for a 2,800-square-foot, brick two-story in Wynfield. A year ago, someone would have snapped up that house for as much as $350,000, said Kevin Belk, his Allen Tate Realtor.

Dot Munson, president of the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association sums up the Charlotte market best “Sellers here are getting an average of 94 percent of their asking prices, down from 98 percent last year. You’ll find good deals, not steals.”

And Stormie Benfield, a three-year Realtor with Keller Williams makes a good point, “The good news for Charlotte is that people are coming here and they still want to buy,” she says. “A lot of renters will go straight into the buyers market when conditions improve.”

Please read the article, I think you’ll find it a level-headed and rational look at the real Charlotte residential home market. Are you ready to sell? to buy? YES we can help!

(just make sure you don’t get a YingYang Realtor!)

Spoken by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: No Comments »

“Look in their eyes Mom you’ll see me”

October 15th, 2008 categories: Giving Back in Charlotte, Sunday Inspiration

Today is October 15, 2008 and if you’re like most Americans you are full up with political nonsense, scared to death about your finances and worried about your children’s future. Fair enough, it’s been a heck of a few weeks!

But I’d like you to take a few minutes to think bigger, to give some thought to people just miles maybe even steps away from you who are worried too, worried about where they will sleep tonight, if they will have enough to eat and worried if their kids will even have a future.

Today thousands of bloggers are writing about poverty and millions of readers (like you) are reading… together we can make a difference, we can make a start to finish poverty.

Rather than ramble on and on I am going to hand this off to none other than Bruce Springsteen ~ I’ll let his music and words speak for me. All I am asking is that you listen (turn it up, WAY UP!) to Bruce’s Ghost of Tom Joad his homage to John Steinback’s Grapes of Wrath a poignant duet with Tom Morello (it is a stunning performance). (there is a more beautiful video version on iTunes if you like)

If you would please watch the video and read the lyrics ~ I hope it moves you like it moved me ~ please let me know what you think by leaving me a comment below. End poverty, now.

The Lyrics: The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Men walkin’ ‘long the railroad tracks
Goin’ someplace there’s no goin’ back
Highway patrol choppers comin’ up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin’ round the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin’ in their cars in the southwest
No home no job no peace no rest

(Chorus)
The highway is alive tonight
But nobody’s kiddin’ nobody about where it goes
I’m sittin’ down here in the campfire light
Searchin’ for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
Waitin’ for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box ‘neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got a hole in your belly and gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathin’ in the city aqueduct
(Chorus)

Now Tom said “Mom, wherever there’s a cop beatin’ a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there’s a fight ‘gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I’ll be there
Wherever there’s somebody fightin’ for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin’ hand
Wherever somebody’s strugglin’ to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you’ll see me.”
(Chorus)

Original Blog Action Day post at Behind the Button

Spoken by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: No Comments »

Free RE/MAX Client Party! Top realtors in Charlotte will be there.

October 13th, 2008 categories: About Our Realtors

Ride in the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon

Spoken by Donna Johnston | Discussion: 1 Comment »

Charlotte Sky Turns Pink with Hope!

October 6th, 2008 categories: Charlotte Lifestyle, Giving Back in Charlotte

A picture really does tell a thousand words ~ this from the Charlotte Susan Komen Race for the Cure this past Saturday morning. Fourteen thousand walked and ran raising over $1.4 million!! Learn more here
(more to come here)
** each pink balloon is a year of surviving breast cancer

Susan Komen Walk 2008 Charlotte NC

Spoken by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: 2 Comments »

Don’t Vote.

October 3rd, 2008 categories: Friday Fun, Good stuff we find

OK, maybe it’s just a bunch of superstars telling us (wink wink) not to vote (Ellen is a trip don’t ya think?)  But the point is well taken, setting politics aside for the moment there has probably never been a better, more important time TO VOTE! We really are at a critical juncture in this country and the decision we make will have a profound impact on our jobs, families and yes….our Charlotte homes!

It has been quite a week for Charlotte losing one of our most valued corporate citizens Wachovia and I am afraid this is only the beginning of some very challenging times ahead. We will Prevail.
Remember too (parties aside) Pat McCrory would be a very Charlotte friendly Governor and Charlotte has long needed a strong voice in Raleigh biased state politics.

So, of course VOTE, vote your conscience ~ we @ Talk Charlotte just ask that you join us and please VOTE on November 4. (read about the video here)

Spoken by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: No Comments »

Wells Fargo Calvary (sort of) to rescue Wachovia. Charlotte too!

October 3rd, 2008 categories: Charlotte Legends

The Calvary arrived in Charlotte today! The Wells Fargo Bank of Sand Francisco announced today it’s own rescue package, buying Charlotte’s Wachovia bank for a more respectable amount. Surely it does not heal all wounds but on first blush looks like a well deserved break for Wachovia employees, shareholders and Charlotte. Maybe the sun will rise versus set on a new friend for Charlotte. Read more here in the Charlotte Business Journal.

Spoken by Mike Gibbons | Discussion: No Comments »