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Email to a FriendThe first headliner was the speaker herself, of course, Superior Court Judge Ola Lewis. If you don't know her this may sound odd to say about a judge (yes, in the real NC court system, NOT on American Idol or Dancing with the Stars) but Judge Ola is a personal powerhouse, a judicial gem, and a compassionate Rockstar!
I imagine Judge Ola would be pretty tough to be up against from the wrong side of the bench (that's just imagining, no first hand knowledge), but even then there's no question one would be facing a person who combines intense intelligence with burning concern for all the people involved and for our whole region.
May sound like high praise, and it is. One measure that I'm not Judge Ola's only fan is that we had (by far) the largest crowd at a speaker luncheon all this year, with almost 60 active community members taking time from their days to hear the Judge.
In the photo below Judge Ola Lewis (in the center) laughs with NBCC Chamber members and staff before the luncheon.
The second headline of the story is where it was held! Steve Pagley of Antonio's Pizza and Pasta Restaurant has been promising to open the space adjacent to his original restaurant as a much-needed area meeting place and it was finished just in time (the C.O. was issued at 5PM Monday!) Wow, Steve, even though I'd seen the space while it was in transition from a skate and surfboard shop, it looked fabulous! I'm not sure the official room capacity, but we easily seated nearly 60 folks for a virtual panapoly of pizza selections (plus salad, of course). Read the rest here;