Shining a light on a beacon of opportunity

LGA is privileged to work with a number of organizations striving to enhance Charlotte’s reputation as a city of opportunity, from the candid conversations encouraged at Levine Museum of the New South to the crisis housing and other support provided by Urban Ministry Center.

Add to that list Johnson C. Smith University, the city’s historically black research university, for whom we recently helped highlight the inauguration of President Clarence “Clay” Armbrister at the conclusion of his first school year in office.

In his inaugural address, which LGA helped craft, JCSU’s 14th president challenged the Charlotte community to help close the opportunity gap through the “transformative powers” of education. He also announced three new strategic initiatives, including a new scholarship program and a career planning curriculum linking students to better job opportunities after graduation, in Charlotte and beyond.

President Armbrister’s investiture was just one of many inaugural events held throughout the week, and LGA went into overdrive to ensure their collective success. The team drafted messaging for a university-hosted symposium that addressed how city leaders can collaborate with JCSU to help address economic mobility and also helped write remarks and create content for collateral for the inauguration ceremony.

LGA also helped secure widespread media coverage of Armbrister’s inauguration, including NPR affiliate WFAE, WBTV’s “On Your Side Tonight,” The Charlotte Post podcast “In Other Words” and QCity Metro.