My thoughts on "Durham - Where Great Things Happen"

Wow!  It has been a long time since I’ve written a blog – I hope you haven’t missed me too much!

I just recently celebrated 14 years of living in Durham.  When I moved to the Triangle 17 years ago, I was in a different type of sales job.  My territory was Durham and Chapel Hill, but my office was in Raleigh.  As soon as I mentioned my pending move to the area, I was told “you do not want to live in Durham.  Cary and North Raleigh were much more desirable.  Stay out of Durham.”  So, I lived in North Raleigh for a few years while I got to know the area, and, during that time, I got to know Durham and its’ people, and I liked them.  I also realized that the media liked to “smear” Durham whenever possible.  That still seems to be the case, though maybe not as severely now.  Regardless, after 3 years in Raleigh, things in my life were going through some changes – my office was moving to the airport area, my daughter’s school was being redistricted, and I was spending a ridiculous amount of time (and gas) driving to and from Durham each day.  After three years of getting to know Durham, I determined that it wasn’t nearly as bad as people thought, and, it was actually a neat, fun, and vibrant city.  So we moved here.  And, I can honestly say, I’ve had no regrets.  My daughter had a great school experience, we’ve made great friends, and we live in a great neighborhood.  And, keep in mind, we made this move BEFORE construction of all of the attractions that Durham now offers, like The Streets at Southpoint Mall, the American Tobacco Campus, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (actually built before we moved here, but the current AAA-level Durham Bulls started play after we moved), the Durham Performing Arts Center, the revitalization of Downtown, the American Tobacco Trail and much more.  And just this year, Durham has received the following accolades:

• RDU International Airport – voted Most Efficient Small/Medium Airport in North America (Air Transport Research Society, August 2011)
  
  

• Durham – Ranked #5 on the List of America’s Top 20 Geekiest Cities (Forbes, August 2011)
  
  
• Duke University Medical Center – Ranked #9 Best Hospital in the Nation (US News & World Report, July 2011)
  
  
• Durham – Ranked #31 Best Place for Business & Careers (Forbes, July 2011)
  
  
• Durham – Ranked #2 of the Top 100 Best Places to work in IT (Computerworld Magazine, June, 2011)
  
  
• Durham-Chapel Hill – Ranked #1 Southern Metro With Highest Annual Average Pay for All Occupations (Triangle Business Journal, May 2011)
  
  
• Durham Performing Arts Center – Ranked #2 Most Attended Theatre Nationally (Pollstar, May 2011)
  
  
• Durham – Ranked #1 Best Place to Retire (CNN Money, March 2011)
  
  
• Durham-Chapel Hill – Ranked #3 among the Healthiest Housing Markets (Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, March 2011)
  
  
• 42^nd Street Oyster Bar, RDU Airport – Ranked among Best 10 Restaurants at U.S. Airports (USA Today/Frommer's, March 2011)
  
  
• Raleigh-Durham-Cary – Ranked #2 Brain Magnet in the Nation (Forbes, February 2011)

Add to these accolades our location – 2.5 hours to the Beach, 2.5 hours to the Mountains; 1 hour to Pinehurst (home to some of the best golf in the country), 2.5 hours to Charlotte; 4.5 hours to DC (too close, in my opinion, but that’s another blog); and 6 hours to Atlanta.

Of course, we have the Durham Bulls, one of the country’s most popular minor league baseball teams; the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL Stanley Cup Champions in 2006), and some of the best college athletics in the country.  In fact, I challenge you to tell me an area that is as competitive in college sports – UNC and Duke are 8 miles apart, NC State University is about 25 miles away, and Wake Forest is about 75 miles away - as the Triangle.

Durham really is (and has been) a great area.  I’m proud to call it home – for 14 years now!

(Note, neither the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau nor the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce paid me to write this, but they should, don’t you think?)

Please, feel free to comment with your thoughts on Durham.  Thanks!

Congratulations to Durham Public Schools!

You know how I like to talk about Durham Schools.  Well, here's a press release from DPS with a link to a very impressive website...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Four DPS Schools Ranked in Nation's Top 7% on Washington Post Challenge Index

Durham, NC – Jordan High, Durham School of the Arts, Riverside High and Northern High were recently noted for their high percentages of students taking college-level tests.

Jay Mathews, a columnist for the Washington Post and author of a blog on class struggle, has devised a high school ranking system that lists the four Durham Public Schools’ high schools among the best in the nation. The same four schools were also included on the 2010 Challenge Index.

“I was very pleased to see our schools listed on the Challenge Index,” said Superintendent Eric J. Becoats. “This type of ranking system illustrates how our schools are providing the rigorous tools needed for our students to succeed in college.”

The Challenge Index is very different than other rankings. Many high school ranking lists rely upon SAT or ACT scores, state test results or the percentage of students claiming their intentions to attend four-year colleges. All of those criteria, according to Mathews, are influenced by family income.

In an effort to remove socioeconomic factors from the ranking system, the Challenge Index puts weight on the efforts of school staffs to prepare students for college and results in a simple formula: Add up all the Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and the Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education exams taken in a given year and divide by the number of graduating seniors. Every school should reach a ratio of at least 1.000. That would reflect as many college-level tests taken as diplomas issued.

Mathews lists finds that only 1,910 U.S. public high schools meet the target ratio – that is only about 7% of high schools nationwide. Among the 1,910 schools named, the four Durham Public Schools had the following rankings:

Jordan High -- 453
Durham School of the Arts -- 661
Riverside High -- 1622
Northern High -- 1662

See the full list of schools included in the 2011 Challenge Index.

Congratulations, Durham!

Durham Schools Strike Again!!

One of the organizations that I’m involved with is the Durham Sports Club. Basically, we’re a social group of over 200 members, and we generally meet on the first and third Wednesdays of each month for lunch and a speaker from the world of sports. 

In my opinion, there is one aspect of the Club that really stands out, and that is the “Scholar-Athlete Awards Night.”  I’m fortunate to be serving as Chairman of the Awards Night Committee for the 6^th consecutive year, and the 8^th year out of the past 12 (I was President of the Club for the other 4 years).  What really amazes me, however, are the student-athletes that we honor.  We have the Athletic Directors of all of Durham’s public and private schools nominate a boy and a girl from their school who has excelled in both scholarship and sports. My committee then selects 2 of the boys and 2 girls to win a total of $3,000 in scholarships.  We have all of the nominees and their parents attend a banquet to honor them and to announce the scholarship winners.  This year’s nominees have an AVERAGE weighted GPA of around 4.7, and includes a couple of three-sport athletes, a student who scored 2320 (out of 2400) on the SAT, students who have played on state championship teams, students who are going to colleges like Cornell, the US Naval Academy, Duke, UNC, Princeton and more.   

We’ve got football, basketball, soccer, swimming, tennis, golf, track, cross country, softball, baseball and lacrosse stars.  We’ve got students who have excelled nationally on Latin exams and math competitions.  When it comes right down to it, we get to honor the best of the best of Durham!  The “Scholar-Athlete Awards Night” is truly one opportunity when we get to focus on everything that’s good about Durham and Durham Schools.  Here are this year’s honorees:

Cresset Christian Academy

Brittany White

Thomas Aiken

Durham Academy

Sarah Kearney

Andrew Kuo

Durham School of the Arts

Theresa Meyer

Charles Realubit

Hillside High School

Courtney Hodges

Zac Giles

Jordan High School

Kathryn Greenwell

Sam Selig

NC School of Science and Math

Brooke McKenna

Elliot Cartee

Northern High School

Alison Gerepka

Casey Ellis

Riverside High School

Bennett Sasser

Jared Rist

Trinity School

Camille Morgan

Todd Eckstein

Congratulations to all of these great students and their parents.  This is just another part of what makes Durham great!

The Awards Night is Thursday, May 19^th.  Check back here and I’ll let you know the scholarship recipients.  And, if you’d like more information about the Durham Sports Club, please look us up at www.DurhamSportsClub.com
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BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Well, we did it.  Our team raised around $700 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation for children's cancer research and, true to my word, I actually had my head shaved!  And, strangely enough, I like it and think it is pretty cool, so I’m going to stick with the shaved head for a while!  Just keep the tootsie pops coming – who loves ya, baby?

All told, There were 50 “shavees”, including 3 women.  What was really touching at the event was a group of kids from the Bethesda Christian Academy of Durham.  Known as the “Bethesda Baldies”, these kids (13 boys and 1 girl from Kindergarten through 8^th grade) volunteered to have their heads shaved!  Most of the boys had dyed their hair prior to their scalpings.  The girl, who had long, gorgeous hair even made a sacrifice by having most of it cut off and donated to “Locks of Love” – an organization that makes wigs for ladies who have lost their hair during cancer treatment.  Even more impressive - this group raised over $4100!!!  The kids have done this in past years in Raleigh, but chose their hometown of Durham this year. Let me ask you – when you were 8 years old, would you have had your head shaved?  I’m truly amazed by these kids – it’s just another thing that makes Durham a great city – and a city that I’m proud to call “home”.

The goal for the 94^th St. Pub at Woodcroft was to raise $20,000, and the event raised over $22,000 – a tremendous success.  Thanks to everyone who made a donation – and, hopefully, an impact!

A Hair-Raising (or Hair-Shaving) Tale...

For the past 25 years or so, I’ve been “folically challenged”, which is a polite way of saying that I’m balding.  I’ve survived this phenomenon by remembering two axioms:

1.      That God only created a few perfect heads, and the rest he put hair on;

2.      That grass doesn’t grow on a busy highway.

Based on this, I have a near-perfect head, and a very busy brain! I'm sure there are lots of people that will argue with both of these FACTS, but they’d be wrong.

Anyway, I value what little hair I have, as does the lady who cuts my hair.  She still charges me full price!  When I get a haircut, that’s really what I get – a HAIR cut!  And, if I ask for “a little off the top”, she replies “but you only have a little on the top”.  I tell ya, I don’t get no respect.  (Where’s Rodney Dangerfield when you need him?)

Speaking of not getting any respect, one of my colleagues had the nerve to volunteer me to have my head shaved (something is wrong with that, isn’t it) if we raise $400 by March 24^th for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an organization that is involved with children’s cancer research.  I’m still not sure if I’m comfortable with this idea, but I guess I’m obligated now.  By the way, my colleague isn’t having his head shaved.  Nice guy, huh? 

On the other hand, if I DO have my head shaved, I may never have to get my hair cut again and I can save money by not having to buy shampoo (like I need so much, anyway).

YOU can help decide what I should do by making a donation.  Here’s the deal.  First of all, all money raised will go to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.  And those that make a donation will be voting whether or not I actually have my head shaved.  Simply put a note with your donation to “Shave” or “Keep”.  If more money is raised for me to have my head shaved, then I’ll do it.  But, if you’re really a friend and you don’t want to see me lose what little hair I have, you can make a donation and indicate that you DON’T want me to have my head shaved!

Either way, the kids will benefit, so we all win, right?  Please make your donation to St. Baldrick’s Foundation, and either give it to me or mail it to:

Jon Fletcher

Fonville Morisey Realty

1304 Highway 54 West

Durham, NC  27707

If enough money is raised and I’m forced to have my head shaved, it will happen at the 94^th Street Pub in the Woodcroft Shopping Center in Durham on March 26^th.  I’m sure there will be pictures taken that will be either used to blackmail or humiliate me on Facebook or something like that.  So stay tuned.  And thanks in advance for your support!

"Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics" (Mark Twain, et. al.)

I haven’t admitted this to many people, but I was somewhat of a math geek in college.  While others were taking courses like “Underwater Fire Prevention” and “Remedial Basketweaving” as electives (please, no comments about that, hehehehe), I was taking 4000-level math courses.  So I like to think I know what I’m talking about here.

In my last blog, I mentioned the importance of “looking beyond the numbers”.  While statistics was not a strength of mine, I do like to try to analyze them.  For instance, many years ago I was watching an Atlanta Braves baseball game (and baseball is just chock full of statistics).  One of the opponents had made it to first base, which led the announcer to say “The Braves lead the league in double plays”.  That sounds impressive, doesn’t it?  But what does it really mean?  Think about it.  To achieve a double play, that means that there has to be at least one other runner on base.  Is that a good thing in itself?  What about a team that is last in the league in turning double plays?  Does that mean that they are a poor defensive team?  What if they have a strong pitching staff and none of the opponents get on base?  Then that team has no chance of making a double play, right?  My point is that there is much more to statistics and numbers than meets the eye.

How does this relate to schools?  Not long ago a local newspaper reported that one school system here had a higher average SAT score than another, making it sound like that particular school system was superior.  But is it true?

Here is an over-simplified example, but it makes the point. Let’s say that a report indicates that the average SAT score of School A is 1550, and the average score of School B is 1515.  It certainly sounds like School A is the better school, right?  This is what the media likes to report - the “surface numbers”.  Now, let’s look a little deeper.  Let’s assume that both schools have 10 people who are ELIGIBLE to take the SAT (but not all of them take it).  Here are the results: 

School A (name and score):

Abe – 1600

Betty – 1550

Charlie – 1500

Dave – Did not take the SAT

Evelyn – Did not take the SAT

Frank – Did not take the SAT

George – Did not take the SAT

Harry – Did not take the SAT

Isabel – Did not take the SAT

Jack – Did not take the SAT

School B (name and score) 

Ashley – 1600

Brad – 1550

Cathy – 1500

Devin – 1475

Eric – 1450

Francis – Did not take the SAT

Greg – Did not take the SAT

Horace – Did not take the SAT

Isaac – Did not take the SAT

Jim – Did not take the SAT

Using this example, School A has an average SAT of 1550, and School B has an average of 1515.  Note that the averages that the media reports are based on those that actually take the SAT, and does not include those that don’t.  Do we STILL believe that School A is better than School B?  If only the top three of School B took the test, the schools would be even! 

Statistically speaking, a larger sample size will give a more accurate indication.  If all 10 people took the test from either school, then we would know the true average for the school, right?  In the aforementioned example, one school had 50% participation, and the other had 30%.  The school with 30% has a LOT more room for error than the school with 50%!  (With this over-simplified example there might be enough information to be “statistically accurate”, but we’re going to ignore that for now). 

Again, which is the best school as far as SAT scores?  You’re GUESS is as good as mine, but you cannot say with certainty that one school is better than the other.  Yet this is what the media bases their reports on – the raw numbers.  So I beg you, please look beyond the numbers when statistics are involved.  Not everything is at it seems.