About Southern Summit

This event is sponsored by the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte and Leadership Charlotte. Southern Summit brings together up to 200 interesting and involved individuals from all walks of life in our region for a daylong program of discussion and interaction. Our program is modeled after the now nationally famous Hilton Head [Charleston] S.C. "Renaissance Weekend." The Southern Summit has quickly grown into the premier annual gathering in Charlotte.

The co-sponsors for last year's event were:

Foundation For The Carolinas, News Talk 1110 WBT, Creative Loafing, Grant Thornton, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee, Community Building Initiative, Arts & Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Latin American Coalition, United Way of Central Carolinas, CPCC Corporate & Continuing Education, Charlotte Chamber, The Lee Institute, Junior League of Charlotte, Wesley Mancini Foundation, Hodges Taylor Gallery, Johnson C. Smith Department of Social Sciences, City Committee, and funded in part by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Endowment Fund.

Who participates in the Southern Summit?

In keeping with the Southern Summit's mission of building a greater sense of shared community for our rapidly growing and increasingly diverse region, the Southern Summit will cast its net far beyond most visible public leaders. Participants in this year's program will represent the business community, civic and political leadership, as well as academics, artists, clergy, service professions, and more. You can expect diversity, varying viewpoints, and lively discussion.

Where and when will Southern Summit 6 be held?

Southern Summit will be held on Saturday, February 24, 2007, from 8:30 am until 5 pm, on the Queens University of Charlotte campus.

How is the day set up?

The Southern Summit will be an exciting day consisting of four 75-minute sessions divided into 24 separate panels. The panel topics can include discussions about the arts, business, religion, politics, relationships, travel, Charlotte, current events and more. Every attendee will participate as a panel member once during the day, and throughout the rest of the day participants will have the opportunity to attend their choice of panel discussions.

In addition, we will hold a breakfast and lunch panel plus an evening cocktail gathering where you will have the opportunity to listen to and share comments with other participants. This is an "off the record" event intended to stimulate dialogue and conversation. Notable attendees in past years include Mike McGuire, Susan Burgess, and Jennifer Roberts, but everyone that attends lends their voice and their opinion to each panel session they attend throughout the day.