Carolina Impact: April 11, 2023

- [Announcer] Support for Carolina Impact comes from our viewers and Wells Fargo.

- [Narrator] Wells Fargo has donated $390 million.

- Honey, like I said, you get your own room.

- [Narrator] To support housing affordability solutions across America.

- You're never gonna get it!

- [Narrator] Doing gets it done.

Wells Fargo, the Bank of Doing.

- [Announcer] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

- Just ahead on "Carolina Impact", we'll tell you about the role UNCC students are playing to bring back trolleys.

Plus we learn about the inclusive role of our region's Junior League and we'll meet some women warriors committed to their health.

"Carolina Impact" starts right now.

- [Narrator] "Carolina Impact" covering the issues, people and places that impact you.

This is "Carolina Impact."

(upbeat music) - Good evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

Tonight we begin with a blast from the past and a look to the future.

The heyday of trolleys seems to be long gone, but they're making a comeback.

In Belmont, one community group is working hard to bring back the "Clang, clang, clang of the trolley," with a little help from UNC Charlotte.

"Carolina Impact's" Jason Terzis and producer John Branscum have the details.

(sweet music) - [Jason] Downtown Belmont offers a lot to those who find their way onto Main Street.

- [John] Belmont is the place that I think everybody wants to be.

- [Jason] This former textile town bustles with shops, bars, and restaurants like Sammy's.

- [John] Sammy's is Belmont's version of Cheers, right?

Everybody knows your name.

- [Jason] Owner John Bailey says downtown Belmont is experiencing a renaissance.

- It's very walkable and I think that's a great thing and I think that's one of the things that makes people want to come here.

- [Jason] However, this seemingly perfect little downtown has some connectivity and parking issues.

Just over a mile away sits Belmont Abbey College and it's 1500 students.

The issue?

A major interstate, I-85, effectively divides downtown from the school.

- It was a limiting factor for students trying to get back and forth to town and for the town to get back and forth to the college other than automobile.

- [Jason] The town is seeking a better way to connect the college.

- Belmont Trolley was an idea that was born about eight years ago.

Really the problem we were trying to solve was how to better link Belmont Abbey College to downtown Belmont.

- [Jason] And the group's solution, utilize a one and a half mile section of tracks, once part of the Piedmont and Northern Railroad, a railroad that once connected Charlotte to Mount Holly, Belmont and Gastonia.

Rob Presley is president of Belmont Trolley.

- And knowing that there was a historic rail line that started in downtown and ran right by the college, the natural thought was how do we utilize that line?

- [Jason] The nonprofit group identified three things to make it all come together.

- We were gonna need a track, we were gonna need trolley cars and we ultimately were gonna need a facility to house the trolley cars in.

We knew that North Carolina Department of Transportation owned the rail line that ran between downtown and Belmont Abbey.

So we approached North Carolina Department of Transportation and they thought it was a wonderful idea and a wonderful use of that section of rail line.

- [Jason] The next item on the list, they needed a trolley.

So they approached the Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission and Charlotte Trolley who owned Car 85 and Car 1.

Number 85 is part of Charlotte's transportation history.

It was the last street car to operate in the Queen City and was retired when buses took over the routes.

Decades later, volunteers restored and operated these two cars in Charlotte South End before being displaced by the Blue Line Light Rail.

With both Charlotte cars out of service, Belmont Trolley offered to give them a home, but the Historic Landmarks Commission initially declined, so Belmont Trolley had to go shopping.

- We ended up raising the money and acquiring a vintage trolley car and it was put on a tractor trailer and with much fanfare, driven into downtown Belmont from Canada.

- [Jason] Now the proud owner of Car 16, Belmont Trolley then got an unexpected call from Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission after their own plans for Car 85 and Car 1 stalled.

- [Rob] Now Belmont has not only one car but three cars.

- [Jason] The third part of the project, they needed a place to keep their small fleet.

- We're gonna be building a facility in downtown Belmont that would be designed to look like an old train station in a small town.

- [Jason] Just like the modern street cars and light rail now operating in Charlotte, the cars at Belmont trolley need electricity.

The old Piedmont and Northern Railroad used electric locomotives, but the P&N overhead power lines they used are long gone.

They would need another power solution, a solution developed by engineering students in this lab at UNC Charlotte.

- Who knew that UNCC had an engineering school dedicated to clean energy for trains?

- [Jason] Since around 2012, researchers and students have been developing hardware and various systems to make railroads cleaner for the environment.

What the team developed might surprise you.

- What we're doing here is called wireless power transfer.

- [Jason] In some ways it's very similar to charging your phone, just on a much larger scale.

- Very similar technology that was invented by Nicola Tesla 120 years ago, but now we're using it for transportation so we can charge electric vehicle, we can charge trolleys and even the locomotive train.

- This will help to reduce the amount of carbon emissions that end up adversely affecting our climate, but it also trains our students in how to be prepared for the next generation of technologies.

- [Jason] The research at UNC Charlotte is paying off.

- [Tiefu] We are, right now, the first in the US that applies wireless power transfer technology in a train application.

- Most of the wireless power transfer systems operate about 70% efficiency, whereas our team have been able to develop a system that is over 92% efficient in the transfer of that power from the transmitter to the receiver.

And that is where the engineering and the research comes into play in order to create a better product for the future.

- [Jason] As part of the partnership between Belmont Trolley and UNC Charlotte, the researchers and students built this prototype power car.

- That power car is a tandem car that hooks to each one of the trolleys and has lithium ion batteries that then send electricity currents to the motors in the trolley cars.

- [Jason] Beyond the advancements in technology, projects like this one also come with intangible rewards.

- [Robert] It really is exciting because the students, the passion and the energy and the creativity that they bring to a project is just fantastic.

- In the future, we could come back to Belmont, years from now, see this thing completely running altogether and be like, "Hey, I was a part of that."

- [Jason] Back in Belmont, the trolleys wait like stabled horses, eager to get back to work.

The folks at Belmont Trolley still have to raise around $2 million to complete the project, but they all believe in the mission.

- You'll see a better access for the students at Belmont Abbey.

It'll be a big draw.

We'll have a lot of people coming into town who normally wouldn't have been, and so obviously it'll be a big boon to all Belmont businesses.

- [Rob] Think the community as a whole will be amazed at the benefits that this endeavor will bring to the community.

- [Jason] For "Carolina Impact", I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- Thanks so much, Jason.

The new trolley barn will serve double duty as a community event space and will be deeded to the city of Belmont.

But there's still a lot of work to do before the trolleys start rolling again.

Well, for almost a century, they've been a force to be reckoned with in Charlotte.

The Junior League has been responsible for contributing millions in financial assistance and volunteer hours to local nonprofits.

And while it may have been viewed as just a women's social club in the past, the Junior League has proven itself to be so much more and now stands in the forefront of social change efforts that have resulted in benefits for the city's nonprofit organizations and for the League itself.

"Carolina Impact's" Beatrice Thompson tells us more.

- [Beatrice] This is not just an ordinary gathering of women.

- We are making bookmarks for our Partner Promising pages.

- [Beatrice] They're part of one of the oldest women's organizations in Charlotte.

- [All] Junior League, League of Service.

- [Beatrice] The Junior League.

Through the decades, the League has been the organization of choice that the prominent women of Charlotte were always a part of, yet contrary to any thoughts that they were simply "Ladies who lunched."

- As I've joined the League, I would never say that these ladies just lunched.

They've always been very busy.

- [Beatrice] And she should know.

As former president of the Charlotte League and now heading up the international organization, Toni Freeman has been a part of the change locally and globally for an organization whose history is long and whose bedrock has always been volunteerism.

- You see us serving on boards, you see us running for public office, you see us get involved in the school board or at our local schools.

We are really committed to making sure that we make a difference in our communities.

(funky music) - Just watching the organization develop and train women, empower women to lead in their communities, has just been something that's meant a lot to me.

- It's been almost a hundred years now, since 1926, that the Junior League has provided volunteer services here in Charlotte to various organizations.

This wall is covered with the pictures of women who have led this group and since 2000, a half dozen women of color have also been leaders of the Junior League.

- I am the sixth African American or Black president in the Junior League of Charlotte.

So over the course of the 20 years, there have been others and because they've paved the way for us, the door is open now.

- [Beatrice] What it means is the League's membership is more inclusive than ever.

That's led to direct benefits to the organizations that the League provides assistance to, through its volunteers and its financial support.

It has also meant the League has made its own commitment to diversity, locally and internationally.

- You'll see information about our statement about diversity, equity, inclusion, and acknowledge that we have not always been equitable and inclusive, but we are committed to doing that today.

- We have a very diverse leadership within the organization, so our Board of Directors is very diverse.

Our management team is very diverse.

2018, we adopted a diversity statement.

As a part of that, we also created a five-year strategic plan around diversity and what that means to this organization.

- So we may come from different backgrounds and we may not necessarily be in the same social circles, but what unites us is a commitment to the community and also a real commitment to be a really well-trained volunteer.

- [Beatrice] That training covers a broad spectrum, including the Junior League's Get On Board Program, it's designed to aid anyone who wants to expand their community involvement, whether as a volunteer or board member.

Or it's public policy committee, where League and community members get a better understanding of public policy issues and they can develop advocacy skills.

The League can even provide Junior League leaders to serve on an organization's board of directors or on community advisory boards.

The point?

The Junior League's focus is to support the community and to show there is a seat at the table for everyone.

- The League has been that place for me to connect with other women that have different points of view, different professions, different races, different ages.

There's just so much to our collective background and who we are as an organization.

- [Beatrice] If you simply look at the numbers over the years, the Junior League of Charlotte is impressive.

They've donated more than $13 million in grants and special projects and provided more than 1.6 million volunteer hours.

The Junior League of Charlotte Community Impact Teams partner with nonprofit agencies in support of their programs.

- We have identified a number of community organizations that we'll partner with, that their focus is around supporting children and their physical and mental health needs.

And so our members will volunteer and sign up to volunteer on a committee or a placement with those different organizations.

- [Beatrice] The League's so-called Little Black Dress Initiative is an example of a fundraising campaign that uses the iconic little black dress to raise awareness about poverty and its impact on Mecklenburg County.

With a broad range of support to the community, the Junior League points out their primary goal is to ensure that all children are school ready by focusing on their health and their educational needs.

- There are so many things that we need to do to make our communities better.

There is room for anybody and everybody under the tent, and we may not approach it the same way and we may not look the same, but there is certainly room for us all to come together and work together.

- [Beatrice] For these women, it's not about differences, only about the bottom line of how to best serve the community.

And for the Charlotte Junior League, the response has always been, "We will find a way."

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Beatrice Thompson.

- Thank you so much, Bea.

and thank you to the Junior League for all the great work you do throughout our region.

Charlotte celebrated Dale Halton's life of service with a memorial ceremony this month.

She passed away peacefully at age 85 after a lengthy illness.

But in those 85 years, Dale was always determined to make a difference.

For decades, she was a leader within Charlotte's corporate community.

Her combination of grit, grace and gratitude helped break barriers as a female CEO in a mostly male business world back in the '70s, while never forgetting to share her success as a mentor to other women.

I'm so honored to be one of those women she mentored and I called her my dear friend.

Dale also shared her success as a generous champion of education at all levels.

Her name graces Halton Theater at Central Piedmont Community College, Halton Arena at UNC Charlotte and the Halton School in Huntersville, which serves learning disabled students on the autism spectrum.

Dale Halton was a dear friend of PBS Charlotte, too.

Here's a little bit about her story.

- [Jason] Twice a month you'll find Dale Halton right here at Myers Park Country Club.

Cards in hand, playing bridge.

- You're not printing more diamonds over there, are you?

- [Jason] It's a friendly game amongst friends.

- No, I don't.

- [Jason] Dale is just as comfortable dealing cards as she once was making million dollar deals as CEO and president of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Charlotte, the company started by her late grandparents, Henry and Sadie Fowler.

(old time music) The couple married in 1903 at a time when Charlotte's population was around 20,000.

- My grandmother was called during those days, "A Grand Dame," that I'll never be and that's okay.

And she didn't show her heart.

My grandfather did, and he was a good, good man.

My grandfather grew up on the family farm, north of Salisbury.

He came to Charlotte as a bookkeeper for Adams Grain and Feed.

- [Jason] Fowler excelled at his job and quickly advanced, but it was a side job that changed the couple's direction.

- He also did some nighttime bookkeeping for Mr. Snyder who had the Coca-Cola franchise, and he knew that there was some money to be made in this brown water.

- [Jason] Brown water, as it was called, the refreshing carbonated beverage that was becoming all the rage at the start of the 20th century.

In 1893, New Bern, North Carolina pharmacist, Caleb Bradham developed his own recipe, which he sold at his pharmacy.

Bradham patented Pepsi-Cola in 1903 and soon after.

- [Dale] My grandfather hopped on the bandwagon and he was the first franchise bottler of Pepsi in the whole world, and my grandmother was right there with him.

- [Jason] In 1958, Sadie Fowler passed away, followed 13 years later by company founder Henry Fowler in 1971.

For the next decade or so after their deaths, the company struggled, but change was on the horizon.

The Fowler's granddaughter took the helm as president and CEO.

Dale Halton grew up around her grandfather's business and has fond childhood memories of spending time at the plant.

- [Dale] Fascinating.

I loved the machinery.

I loved to watch it.

- [Jason] She never, though, imagined that someday she'd lead the family business.

- It was a little scary thought, but at that time it was very unusual for a woman to be leading a business of that size.

- [Jason] The year was 1981.

Halton says she always led the company with her grandparents in the back of her mind, never more so than when it came time to renovate the South Boulevard plant.

- I remember we had saved enough money to pay for half of the reconstruction and I was working one morning and I felt these eyes boring into me.

My grandfather did not like debt, and I looked up and I'm sure he was looking down at me.

I looked at that portrait and I said, "We saved enough money for half of it and we'll pay for the other half quickly," and we paid it off in three years.

- [Jason] Halton's leadership went way beyond the walls of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company.

Former UNCC athletic director Judy Rose first met Dale while fundraising for a new scoreboard for the University.

Like Halton, Rose found herself leading in what at the time was mostly a man's world.

She became one of only a handful of women college athletic directors in the nation.

She says Halton took her under her wing.

- She doesn't just say she's gonna be your mentor.

She walks the talk.

She, along with Pat Rogers, became two very strong female mentors for me in a mostly male-dominated profession.

- I like helping others.

You know, I feel that if I can, I should and I want to.

I didn't realize what I was doing, I just knew she needed to get out and get known and it didn't take long for her to do it all on her own.

And she's done an unbelievable, wonderful super job.

And she's a dear, dear friend.

- [Jason] Halton's generosity has far exceeded that of mentoring to others, she credits her grandparents for laying the strong financial foundation that has enabled her to do so much for the community.

Since 2006, she's given millions of dollars to various schools, nonprofits and charitable organizations.

- And I just feel like giving back is something that's just normal and natural and it's just what I love doing.

I am so thankful that I have the ability to give back and help the community and help people and do good things for this part of our world.

- For "Carolina Impact," I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- Dale will be deeply missed, but her legacy of caring lives on.

Well, last week we brought you the story of F3 Nation, fitness, fellowship and faith.

The men's workout group that began in Charlotte in 2011 has spread to 48 states and multiple countries.

But since day one, it's always been a men's only group.

What about the ladies, you might ask.

Well, as "Carolina Impact's" Jason Terzis shows us, they've created their own version.

- [Jason] One by one, the cars pull in.

- [Leigh] Hey guys, good morning.

- [Jason] Filling up the parking spots at St. Gabriel Catholic Church.

- [Leigh] It's 5:30.

- [Jason] The sun isn't up yet, but they are.

- [Leigh] Jumping jacks, ready, go.

One, two, three, one, two three.

- [Jason] From jumping jacks and toy soldiers.

- [Leigh] One, two, three, five.

- [Jason] Mountain climbers.

- [Leigh] One, two three.

- [Jason] And plenty of others.

- [Leigh] All right, 10.

Hot cross buns.

- [Jason] The Females in Action Morning Bootcamp is just getting started.

- [Leigh] We're not trained professionals.

- Yeah, we work out pretty early.

- For this next part, we were gonna be on the wall, but there are too many of us, which is fantastic.

- It's more than working out, you know.

- It's the community and fellowship.

It's as much about my mental health as it is physical health.

- But once you start going and you're a couple of weeks in, I don't wanna say it's an addiction, but it's just something that you do.

It becomes part of your day.

- Group two will stay.

Group one, you're gonna run up the stairs around down the ramp and back.

- [Jason] Leading this particular morning's workout, Leigh Bryant.

- The after-work workout was not working for me.

I always said, "I'll go on the way home," pack a bag, never go.

- [Jason] But if you told Leigh back then that she'd someday be leading a 5:15 AM workout group, she'd never believe you.

- I fought it really hard.

I had no interest in being anywhere at 5:15 in the morning.

Finally, I said, "Yes, I'll try it."

- So I got invited to go to a bootcamp in January and I did begrudgingly.

♪ I want you to be happier - [Jason] But there's plenty of reasons why each of the ladies kept coming back, morning after morning.

- You can always find a gym wherever you are.

You can't find a group of people to share things with quite as easily.

- It's boring to work out by yourself.

And FiA is so great because there are people with you that are sweating and complaining and encouraging all at the same time.

And that's the greatest part, is you're just going and seeing your friends, hanging out, getting a workout at the same time.

- It's for sure the community and connection.

And I cannot imagine my life now without these ladies.

- I've made connections with people all over Charlotte that I never would've met otherwise.

- [Jason] The Females in Action say it's not only about the fellowship and comradery, but also the accountability.

- There was no second guessing it or not showing up.

They would've been in the house at my bedroom window, throwing rocks.

- I mean, if you know that someone's gonna be out there in the gloom, in the dark, you don't want them to be by themselves.

- When you're asking a friend to come to a FiA workout and then they get there, you can't be like, "Oh man, I wish I didn't show up."

You know, you all of a sudden are feeling like, "Oh wow, I, you know what?

You should really push it harder and you can do it."

And I feel like it just all around has helped me become a more full person.

- It's like church.

You go to the same church all the time.

You sit in the same pew.

When you're not there, they check on you.

So we check on each other.

We're there for each other.

- [Jason] The women's workout group is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, originally forming as a sister program to the men's workout group, F3.

- When my husband, Edwin, would go to this new workout, this new F3 workout, he would come back so happy.

- As they started to see us change, they too, were wondering, well, what can we do?

- I'm like, there really should be one for females.

It doesn't need to be exactly like it, but I think that as a trainer, I knew that everybody needs fitness and community.

- [Jason] Amy Peacock took the lead, going to F3 organizers and asking if they'd consider starting a woman's version of the workout.

- I said, "Well then, if you're not gonna do it, would you mind if I gave it a shot?"

And they said, "Yeah, and I don't think it's gonna work.

But you can give it a try."

- [Jason] In some ways, FiA is very similar to F3, daily workouts are free, open to anyone and happen every day, rain or shine, hot or cold.

And like the guys, the ladies all have nicknames.

- Instead of counting off.

So Thumbelina to Captain Barbecue.

- I think we're a little nicer to each other.

We don't give each other quite the same nicknames that the men folk do.

- Well, men and women are different, so the workouts are different.

The guys are, it's just different.

They have more mumbo-jumbo.

They razz each other more.

I mean, we certainly do, but not nearly as much as the guys.

- [Jason] Over the course of the last decade.

FiA has not only thrived in Charlotte, but expanded considerably with areas of operation in 23 different states and recently launching in the United Kingdom.

- And so word spreads and people, we can't keep up with the amount of regions that want to launch.

- [Jason] All told, an estimated 6,000 women take part in FiA's daily workouts.

The ladies also get together outside of those workouts for coffee, book clubs, lunches, family discussions and workshops.

- Well, I'm in awe because you never think, I mean just starting and starting so small that it can grow and have such an impact.

- [Jason] The Females in Action, impacting the lives of women around Charlotte, the nation, and the world.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- Thanks so much, Jason.

Many of the women in Females in Action are married to men who take part in F3.

At least once a year, both groups will get together for what they call a convergence, a special joint workout, where other family members are also invited.

Well, before we head out tonight, I wanna say thank you to the great group from the Brookdale Carriage Club on Old Providence Road here in Charlotte, for joining us in the studio audience.

We're so glad that they could attend.

Well, that's all the time we have this evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

We always appreciate your time and look forward to seeing you back here again next time on "Carolina Impact."

Goodnight, my friends.

- [Announcer] A production of PBS Charlotte.

Support for Carolina Impact comes from our viewers and Wells Fargo.

- [Narrator] Wells Fargo has donated $390 million.

- Honey, like I said, you get your own room.

- [Narrator] To support housing affordability solutions across America.

- You're never gonna get it!

- [Narrator] Doing gets it done.

Wells Fargo, the Bank of Doing.