On Big Ideas

This whole thing started innocently enough. We thought it would be interesting to uncover Charlotte's geniuses—that is, smart people you may not have heard of but who are working on cool projects.

That was three years ago. It proved to be a more daunting task than we anticipated.

Finally, though, we got the package into the magazine. (Disclaimer: we did not work on it for three years straight. It only felt that way to us.) The result is a fascinating collection of people and ideas. It's no secret that Charlotte is sort of on pause right now, waiting for lightning to strike again. Our twin engines of growth—textiles and banking—are, at best, sputtering. Maybe the answer to restarting this city's momentum lies in these pages, with one of these geniuses or one of their ideas (failing that, we'll still have some tasty gelato to eat, thanks to cover boy Marco Casol). That's what we hope, at least.

There's another big idea in Charlotte that we like. It's called Mission Possible, and it's a coalition of local media dedicated to helping local charities through the current crisis. Partners include The Charlotte Observer, WCNC, WFAE, La Noticia, Charlotte magazine, CLT Blog, DavidsonNews.net, and Qcitymetro.com (the latter three are all represented in our Genius package, page 48). We'll tell stories about what's going on and present possible solutions to the crisis. We'll also solicit ideas from the community—because it's going to take everyone to fix this. Look for Mission Possible coverage in the magazine and online at www.charlottemagazine.com. And if you have an idea, we'd love to hear it.

Look for the Big Idea throughout the issue. With it you'll find ideas—ours and others—for how to make Charlotte a better, more interesting city. Then go to www.charlottemagazine.com to submit your own.

Richard Thurmond
richard.thurmond@charlottemagazine.com

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