Bridge Builders Award (Charlotte, NC)
Kenneth D. Lewis, President and CEO, Bank of America, Robert Cannon, Executive Director, Public Library of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County and Bruce LaRowe, Executive Director, Children’s Theater of Charlotte for their visionary leadership and initiative in creating ImaginOn-The Joe and Joan Martin Center a joint venture between a library, children’s theatre, and progressive chairman. Through innovative programs using the written, spoken and electronic word, ImaginOn will be an interactive learning environment for young people and their families in the greater Charlotte area.
To take a vision and make it tangible is a feat that takes the commitment of a person or people who truly believe it is possible. Combine the creativity of two talented directors and the support of a progressive business leader, and it is easy to imagine a land of endless opportunities for the youth of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County, North Carolina that will be provided by ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center. The center is a colorful, whimsical children’s learning center that provides an exciting destination for families, a place where journeys of the imagination begin and stories come to life.
1997 marks the year when the dream of the learning center began. The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte faced a similar challenge: both successful organizations had great programming for young people, but needed a bigger space because of increased demand for their services. Executive Directors for both the library and theatre, Bob Cannon and Bruce LaRowe, shared a common vision for a new facility that would reach into both the home and community and offer every child a rainbow of opportunity for the present as well as the future.
Yet without the partnership of Ken Lewis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of America Corporation, the union of youth and community would not have been possible. Lewis is the primary, driving force behind the project who champions the global importance of education and the arts as a vehicle not only for community enrichment but as an investment for the future. As one of first leadership acts in his tenure, Lewis initiated and currently chairs a private Endowment Campaign for the center.
“At the Bank of America, we realize our future depends on how well we educate our young people… “a children’s learning center”…will ensure a vibrant future for Charlotte – not only with its presence in the center city, but, more importantly, with the broader education it will provide for those who will lead us in the years to come.”
Set to open in 2005, ImaginOn offers a wide variety of programs designed to blend inspiration, imagination and critical thinking. ImaginOn holds the promise of learning for the children of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County that Ken Lewis, Bob Cannon and Bruce LaRowe believe in.