Durham: Smartest Place on the Planet

The Durham Chamber held it's annual meeting last Thursday, and it was a celebration of the community's intellectual capital. I was just glad to be in the Sheraton Imperial ballroom with the really smart people.

The Chamber has established a Bull City Hall of Fame with these three inaugural inductees: Mary-Dell Chilton, a plant biotechnology pioneer at Syngenta in RTP and recipient of the 2013 World Food Prize; Duke's Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, a 2012 recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry; and Blake Wilson, co-director of the Duke Hearing Center who received the 2013 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award. He's a leader in cochlear implant research. International acclaim for world-class scientists!

As part of the Research Triangle - what I like to say is the “smartest place on the planet" - we compete regularly and successfully with the likes of Nashville, Boston, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area...for companies, jobs and talent. 

And that means we don’t have to defend Durham, or protect it from the slights of others. Rather, we need to promote it, to take pride in what we have, and be passionate about Durham as the great place to live, work, learn, and play. I know you join me in that.

Michael Schoenfeld
Outgoing Chair of the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce
Vice President for Public Affairs & Government Relations
Duke University

Men (& Women) at Work | Double Shifts & OT

I'm a desk jockey, a lifelong office worker. Heavy lifting is confined to my coffee mug and telephone handset. So, I've gained immense respect for the hundreds of tradespeople and construction workers transforming the DBAP during the off-season. The weather has been hard on them. Over 50 days of inclement climate has disrupted their work…but we're in the homestretch now, galloping to the finish line, Opening Day, April 3rd.

Under the direction of our General Contractor, Lend Lease, and VP Mike Higgins, THANK YOU to the…

electricians, carpenters, welders, painters, pipefitters, roofers, ceiling installers, masons, plumbers, ironworkers, heavy equipment operators, sheet metal workers, drywall installers, steelworkers, road pavers, concrete finishers, glass glazers, flooring installers, painters, landscapers and cleaners.

That's a long list, but I'm sure I overlooked a trade. My apologies. We appreciate your dedication to the DBAP makeover.

Our official construction photographer, Chris Adamczyk, shares these photos of men and women at work on the ball yard - our modest tribute to their labor:

"May the 4th be with you!"

I can't believe the attention our May 4th promotion has received…ESPN, SI, trade press all over the country and local media. Joe Ovies at 99.9 The Fan is really into it.

Our players will wear this custom Star Wars jersey during the game, and those 40 tops will be auctioned off for the Autism Society of NC. I've got a feeling this will be our best-ever jersey auction! 

I'm posting to impress upon the R2D2 cult that the only way to own one of these coveted keepsakes is to win it at auction. (I can't pull any strings for you…as I've been telling people for the past 24 hours.) Lucasfilm, to its credit, is really strict about this. We are only licensed to use Star Wars art for the fundraiser. 

If you are into Star Wars you will want to be in the ballpark on May 4th. Ticket info.