Jesse Brown’s has spent the past fifty-three years celebrating the stories that our clients create outdoors & in life. This was the inspiration for Storyteller’s Night at Jesse Brown’s. For over ten years, this event has been one of our favorite times to get-together with the community within the walls of Charlotte’s outdoor store.
On Thursday, September 21st, 2023, the store located in the Southpark-area of Charlotte, will transform from an outdoor showroom, with Patagonia, Free Fly, Fly Fishing, & On Cloud Shoes, into a venue built for live theater. The outdoor clothing racks will be pulled aside & a stage is placed, center-store. The microphones will be tested & the seating set.
The program will be introduced shortly after 6 p.m. & our storytellers hit the stage.
The evening consists of three, twenty-minute stories, where true tales of extraordinary adventures, experience, or life-changing situation. Snacks & Drinks are provided by our sponsors, www.jessebrowns.com & the Carolina Outdoors Podcast
The stories & storytellers this September 21st, 2023:
For many getting outdoors means slowing down. However going slow never was in the cards for Tom Blocker. After graduating from NC State in the early 1970s with a degree in Economics, he continued adding to his resume by getting into racing motorcycles, cars, & then a career in the automotive industry.
Blocker retired from the automotive industry in 2014 but not from the track. He can still be found racing his beloved Porsche & enjoying the thrills of going fast, mixed with being safe & teaching others in his story, Fast Lane.
Adventure travel is a large part of where stories originate. The father/daughter duo of Marty Ohlhaut & Grace Ly go back to a family trip that will never be forgotten. The trials & traumas that are overcome by the caring hands of strangers & the imprint that it makes on them all.
The Dad: Marty Ohlhaut worked for thirty-two years as a risk management partner with IBM and then spent the next twelve years teaching strategic execution courses around the world. He has traveled to forty-four countries and visited all fifty states, making him an encyclopedia of amazing stories and anecdotes. The amazing part is profound impact of this trip, & this story.
The Daughter: Grace Ly worked for the White House and as an undercover officer for the Central Intelligence Agency. While living abroad in South Korea and Germany, she traveled the world extensively, visiting more than thirty countries. Grace has written numerous articles and feature stories for the US military, the American Red Cross, the White House, and the CIA. However, this story happened while she was a carefree child. We know that you’ll enjoy their story: Tent for Seven
Are there instances in your life where something happened that took you in an entirely different direction? Walter Bridgeman has had several times in his life that this happened. He has done expeditions to some of the most challenging places in the world & summited some of the world’s most challenging mountains. However his successes didn’t happen by accident.
Bridgeman’s story has been impacted by family members, strangers, & friends made. The influence of these people didn’t happen once or by accident. According to Bridgeman & his story, it was Divine Intervention.
