University City Report (PDF) - Charlotte Chamber of Commerce

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Personal Profile: Paul Petr A first-generation American, Paul Petr has a unique backstory that brought him to University City. The youngest of eight children, Petr’s parents immigrated from the Czech Republic to the United States after World War II as displaced refugees. Though a much smaller move, two years ago Petr and his family relocated to University City so he could be closer to the YMCA, where he serves as the executive director. Petr grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He graduated from Northern Michigan University with a degree in recreation administration and then put that degree to use for many years: he has worked for the YMCA in a variety of capacities for two decades. After stints in Michigan, Kentucky and Wisconsin, the University City YMCA was lucky to find someone with his enthusiasm and experience. Petr started at the bottom and worked his way up through the YMCA ranks, enjoying the camaraderie he developed with volunteers and staff. Early on he worked in various entry-level positions, slowly climbing toward the leadership role he has today. He credits his success in part to his upbringing. “My parents taught me some great life lessons about hard work, giving your best, compassion for others and sticking to your goals,” he said. Petr, his wife and three daughters live in Highland Creek. All three of his daughters attend nearby Highland Creek Elementary School. The husband and father listed Rita’s Italian Ice and Ciro’s Italian Restaurant as local favorites, but it’s easy to tell that this is one active family. “When we have time on our hands we like to visit Reedy Creek Park, catch a Charlotte 49ers athletic event and participate in all the offerings of the University City YMCA,” Petr said. When you live in close proximity to your workplace, it doesn’t get much more convenient than that. But for Petr, University City itself provides conveniences all on its own. Like most residents, Petr enjoys having whatever he needs at his disposal. “The University City area is close to all the major amenities but still provides a great quality of life for a young family,” he said. But no matter whom you ask, the strength of University City seems to be in the people who live and work there. Petr isn’t the first person to say that, and he probably won’t be the last. “The people always make the difference,” he said. “There is an extremely diverse talent pool of people who want to get to know you and truly care how you are doing. Besides the larger international companies, we have some extremely strong smaller businesses all of which are on the cutting edge of their industries.” Coming from Petr, that’s really saying something. Don’t forget: this is a man who has lived in plenty of other places. ©PatrickSchneiderPhoto.com 18 University City Report
Personal Profile: George Battle George Battle, III is another Charlottean who hasn’t strayed very far from home. He has lived in University City off and on for 26 years. More importantly, he has worked behind the scenes at two of the most important institutions in town. Battle moved to University City in 1985 when he was only 12 years old and later attended West Charlotte High School. The “off and on” aspect of his University City tenure was only due to higher learning, as he attended UNC- Chapel Hill and UNC School of Law. Currently he works as general counsel for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), a position he has held for 15 months. In that role one of his main duties is serving as the chief legal counsel for the board of education. Prior to that, Battle was an in-house attorney with Carolinas HealthCare System for 11 years. Needless to say, he carries a huge burden of responsibility, and has for some time. Battle currently lives with his wife and daughter in the Fox Glen neighborhood near Highland Creek. After his impressive scholastic career, Battle returned to his old stomping grounds. A huge reason for that decision was the opportunity to be involved in the development of an area that has experienced — and continues to experience — a steady growth rate. “There’s some established areas of town where you go and, you know, you’re the latest wave of people just to be there,” Battle said. “With University City, even moving out there in ’85 — and I know this sounds kind of strange — but you still have the sense that it’s growing. And you still have the sense that you’re part of building a community as opposed to following someone who’s already built a community, or just moving in there. You feel like you have a part in shaping it.” Aside from this pioneering spirit, Battle also likes that he has the best of all worlds. He touched on the area’s diversity, and he loves the conveniences that come with living in a fringe city. “The real strong point for me is that you have all the benefits of the city,” he said. “You know, proximity to downtown, proximity to different types of amenities with the feeling of actually being outside of the city, being in the suburbs. And that’s a difficult combination to muster, I think.” When it comes to naming some of his favorite local places, Battle quickly pointed to Golden Taipei, a Chinese restaurant in the Davis Lake community, as a family favorite. He claimed that he and his family typically eat there once a week, and it’s the place they take guests who come into town for a visit. He also noted that his wife and daughter, of course, love nearby Northlake Mall. As Charlotte and its fringe cities continue to grow, people who are moving or looking to relocate have many more choices than they did when Battle moved to the area as a child in 1985. But to Battle, anyone who is faced with that decision has an easy choice. And that pioneering spirit of his shone through once again. “The same spirit that would drive you to move or to seek out a new place is the type of attraction, I guess, that University City would have for you,” he said. “Just that sense of adventure and starting a new life, so to speak, and building something that’s all your own.” ©PatrickSchneiderPhoto.com 330 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 378-1300 twitter.com/cltecondev CharlotteChamber.com Photography by PatrickSchneiderPhoto.com Written by Patrick Saleeby Design by Andrea Ware 1/12 1M Copyright 2012 by Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Charlotte Chamber. The information in this publication is carefully gathered and compiled in such a way as to ensure maximum accuracy. The Charlotte Chamber cannot, and does not, guarantee either the correctness of all information furnished them nor the complete absence of errors and omissions. Hence, responsibility for same neither can be, nor is, assumed. University City Report 19
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