- [Narrator 1] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(gentle music) - Just ahead on "Carolina Impact".

When it comes to manufacturing, you probably aren't thinking of Charlotte.

We'll show you why you should.

Plus how a local group protects nonprofits from scammers and how a Charlotte man uses comedy to keep everyone laughing.

Even those with hearing disabilities.

"Carolina Impact" starts now.

(upbeat music) Good evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

The hum of industry has long been the heartbeat of the Charlotte region.

What began with textiles over a century ago has evolved into a powerhouse of innovation.

"Carolina Impact's" Chris Clark takes a look at a few of the businesses that continue to redefine what's possible in modern manufacturing (graphics whooshing) (gentle music) (button clicking) - [Chris] Towns claim to their past like old t-shirts, famous for things they don't actually do anymore.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania hasn't made steel in years.

In Hershey, Pennsylvania, the sweet smell of chocolate is more nostalgia than production.

And in Roswell, New Mexico, well, let's just say the aliens left a long time ago, but the souvenir shops did not get that memo.

But Charlotte is still rooted in what it does and what it's becoming.

- We've continued to evolve.

- You can come here and get everything you need.

- [Chris] The region's manufacturing roots run deep starting with textiles over a century ago.

Today, it's home to more than 3,500 manufacturers employing 146,000 people, including major players like Carrier, known best for heating and cooling.

Opened in 1999, this massive 374,000 square foot facility homes with purpose.

Here, they build air and water cooled chillers capable of taming the heat with cooling power spanning 50 to 5,500 tons to place where engineer to order solutions take shape destined to serve customers across the globe.

- I'm very proud of the fact that our organization has thought ahead of its time.

Many of our solutions designed, manufactured, built here are running millions of tons of air conditioning all over the world.

- [Chris] Carriers mastered the art of refreshing iconic places, for Madison Square Garden, the Beijing's National Stadium.

But when tasked with preserving Michelangelo's masterpieces and the Sistine Chapel, the challenge took on divine proportions.

- It's enormous and it's a matter of pride for us.

There are so many verticals.

ADVANTEC Group really puts the entire system lens together, not just one equipment.

Juxtapose that with process cooling where we have very high tech data center solutions.

- [Chris] The carrier facility is just one example of the region's manufacturing evolution.

Formerly home to a booming textile industry, Charlottes Mills were once the heartbeat of the local economy.

Though many have fallen silent.

The Meridian Specialty Yarn Group evolved and endured a testament to its resilience.

- You don't have to have all these different facilities that you have to pay for shipping and coordination with all the different individuals and all of their different styles.

- [Chris] Running at capacity, they can spend 80,000 plus pounds a week with the flexibility to spin acrylic, nylon, silks, alpaca, and of course, wool.

- We have to accept wool that is clean, carded and combed, and it's called top.

It's giant, 80 pound bumps that are just kind of coiled into a donut.

We just put it into our preparation equipment and we start to draft it to prepare for our spinning.

- [Chris] Alongside the massive industrial runs, the team also works closely with smaller scale designers crafting custom batches of yarn with the same level of care.

For many of their clients, this isn't just a product, it's a piece of who they are.

- With this market, it's a lot about emotions.

It's a lot about their heart and because they are pouring, this is their art.

This is how they express themselves.

We knew if we did not do this correctly and did not fix problems that we did see, we would lose that market.

- [Chris] A few minutes down the road, the yarn lands and studios like WoolTribe.

The business started after a lackluster experience on a road trip.

- Yeah, it was.

- We want it's...

I'll tell you what it was exactly.

You wanna... - Yeah.

- Like, if you're a woodworker and you walk into a place, you wanna walk in and go, "Wow."

You wanna feel inspired and we just weren't feeling that.

- [Chris] So the pair did what entrepreneurs do and open their own yard shop.

Soon, they literally had their fingers in dye pants creating their own signature color yarns.

At first, it was all about the fiber, not finished goods.

But then something unexpected happened, customers weren't just admiring the yard.

- You see the beanies on the mannequin on the heads?

- Yeah.

- And then sweaters and everything.

- Yeah.

- So they're called samples.

And that sells yarn, that sells patterns because customers, knitters, crocheters would see it and go, "Oh, okay, I want that pattern."

So the non-knitter would come in and say- - That would come in with the knitters.

- "Oh my God, that sweater's beautiful."

Can I buy that?"

- "Can I buy it? "

- No.

- [Chris] With a little help from Master Knitter Jeanne Carver sketching out the pattern, it didn't take long for wool drive to stitch together a hat and scarf combo that's as stylish as it is homegrown.

- We've purposely focused on American fiber and knowing who our supply chain partners are and really working with them to create a community more than just product.

- [Chris] The hats are a one of a kind piece of wearable art but not finished yet.

A final stop in their journey isn't minutes away, but rather seconds.

Literally around the corner where Jalilud Embroidery sows their custom labels.

(machine clattering) Opened in 2022, the business was a leap of faith.

After 20 years as an embroider, Janeth Flores was laid off and decided to bet on herself with her own venture.

- It was really scary at thirst to be honest, but I mean, I didn't wanna go back to work for someone else.

- [Chris] With 60 machines she clears roughly 250,000 annually, she could put just about anything on a garment and the WoolTribe patches are unique.

They require a multi-step process that begins with stitching the logo onto a piece of leather.

Each one tailored with precise color-specific detail.

- To be honest, we don't do patches.

It's just for them.

(chuckles) They're our only customer that we do the patches.

- [Chris] Leather gets cut down then sewn on the garment.

It's an extra step but worth it for the people it's made for.

- That's really important for me because, of course, I love the people support us.

- [Chris] From textiles to heavy machinery, automotive parts, plastics and biomedical manufacturing thrives across our region.

With the southeast lowest corporate tax levels and top rankings for business and competitiveness, north and South Carolina remain places manufacturers like to call home.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Chris Clark.

(upbeat music) - Thank you, Chris.

Build on a legacy of innovation powered by progress, Charlotte's Manufacturing future continues to grow.

Next up, a little news you can use to protect yourself from scammers.

You'll likely recognize some of these.

"You owe money for unpaid tolls, click this link."

"Your McAfee subscription has expired, call this number."

"Your Amazon account is frozen and password needs to be reset, click here."

All examples of phishing texts or emails designed to steal your personal information and ultimately your money.

"Carolina Impact's" Jason Terzis joins us with a story of how one local organization dealt with potential threats while undergoing a move.

- Well, the word cybersecurity, it refers to any technologies, practices and policies designed for preventing cyber attacks or at least limiting their impact.

The goal is to protect computer systems, applications, devices, data, passwords, and financial assets against malware, ransomware, or any other type of security breach.

But how would a nonprofit organization that may not have the funds for the latest in security technology protect itself, especially when going through a move?

(graphics whooshing) - And then down this way, we have additional exam rooms in this space, which will allow us to see additional patients.

- [Jason] Director of communications, Jennifer Andrews leads us on a tour of Care Ring's brand new healthcare facility.

- This is a new space we're able to have.

This is the medical assistance space.

This is a homecoming of sorts for us.

We are back in the community where it all started.

- [Jason] Originally founded as the Community Health Association, the Care Ring story dates back 70 years.

- Care Ring has been around since 1955.

We are the oldest health clinic in Mecklenburg County.

We were started by a community health nurse, Maribelle Connerat.

She wanted to help create a bridge for the divide between those that had and those that did not have as it related to healthcare.

- [Jason] Today, Care Ring staff continues that very same mission and vision, providing healthcare services for the uninsured, underinsured or those lacking access to affordable healthcare.

- We are serving around 8,000 individuals a year - [Jason] Over its seven decades, Care Ring is called multiple buildings home from Brevard Street in the '60s and '70s to 7th Street in the '80s and '90s to 5th Street in the 2000s.

And now in 2025 after construction was completed and official opening ceremonies held in February, Care Ring is now in its brand new headquarters on North Graham Street.

- This new location is going to allow us to not only grow, but continue to deepen the services that we're offering.

- [Jason] The non-profit employs 80 people, but none in information technology.

So when an organization of this size picks up and moves across town, what happens with all the infrastructure and what are the chances of leaving the door open for potential security breaches?

- What's your infrastructure gonna look like?

Where's all your network connectivity gonna go?

- Nonprofits are especially vulnerable in the space as it relates to cybersecurity and they don't want us to be a target.

- And that's really where Apparo comes in.

We're here to be thought partners for the nonprofits around the technology space.

- [Jason] Care Ring partnered with Apparo, a Charlotte based nonprofit whose mission is to help other nonprofits.

- So a nonprofit reaches out to us.

We have an initial conversation through what we call our tech therapy program, which is our advice and guidance and we find out what the need is.

- [Jason] What Apparo's tech team does is conduct a review of current security measures.

- For example, the first question is, have you identified the confidential data, credit card numbers, social security numbers, et cetera, collected or stored by your organization?

So the questions are different, you know, different areas.

- [Jason] Then based on those responses, Apparo makes suggestions for best practices and ways to improve.

- This was their initial responses over here.

We'll plug their answer in here and it will give them a score.

- So a lot of nonprofits don't think that these bad actors out there want their data and they do.

- We've been on this project for the transition for about a year now.

So after the cybersecurity assessment went to our board of directors to make sure that this was an uplift that we wanted to do to adopt new tools, make sure that it was within our budget to be able to afford to do so.

- [Todd] You can see where it's been populated with specific remediation tasks and they've been ranked as a high, low, or medium priority.

- They were able to provide us with tools and recommendations that we adopted.

And part of it led to our securing a new technology vendor that's been able to help support us on a charitable basis to make sure we're closing those gaps.

- [Jason] The technology vendor Apparo connected Care Ring with was Matthews based Divergent IT.

- We are what people call a managed service provider.

We like to call ourselves more of a technology solution provider, so an acronym of TSP.

We do predominantly all of the cybersecurity that organizations, small businesses from one up to 250 user environments are required to have.

- [Jason] Matthew Galimi co-founded Divergent IT with the intention of investing and empowering in Charlotte's communities.

As part of that mission, he's made giving back a priority.

So Divergent IT does work in the non-profit sector pro bono.

Meaning they don't get paid for their services.

- We are here to serve, right?

And when you talk to some of these nonprofits and you see what they're doing for the communities, like, I said, that we're living in, that we want to be in, like, we would never be able to do that reach on our own.

So being able to support them at what we are exceptional at, you just see their eyes light up, like, "Oh my God, you're willing to help."

Absolutely, we're gonna help.

We want to help.

We don't want to just be, you know, your IT company.

We do wanna be that partner.

- They've assisted us with other tools like Microsoft Office 365 explorations with us understanding how we can utilize volunteers to support our various needs as well.

- [Jason] It's not every day that a business or in this case, nonprofit picks up and moves its entire organization and that obviously brings up multiple challenges.

- They needed someone like us to go in, set up all of the IT infrastructure, whether cabling, firewalls, access points for Wi-Fi, right?

Security, access control cameras, right?

We did all that.

Set up all the new machines, make sure they can get logged in.

Make sure it's safe, make sure it's secure, and give them, you know... To support at the end, "Hey, I wanna move my monitor from here to here.

Can you help with that?"

Right.

Absolutely.

- Okay.

This stuff is so scary.

What other tips do you have for us so we can protect ourselves?

- Yeah, well one of the things that Matt at Divergent IT told me was that just about all roughly 95% of breaches occur through email when something looks legit but isn't and people are tricked into clicking malicious links or calling numbers where the people on the other end aren't who they say they are.

That's where really people get into a lot of trouble with this sort of thing.

So when something looks off, chances are it is.

Another thing that people can do is if you're suspicious of something, hover over the return email address 'cause a lot of times it might say something's coming from Amazon, but when you hover over the email address or right-click it, it'll say some weird thing and it's- - Amaon.

- Yeah.

- It leaves off the Z or it says Amazoni and it has an I at the end.

- Yes, exactly.

So those little things, there's little tricks in there hidden where you're, like, "Wait a minute, this definitely is...

I do not wanna click this."

So definitely do not.

- We don't want you to learn the hard way.

Thanks so much for helping us.

- Yeah.

- We all love a good laugh, don't we?

Well, one Charlotte comedian has been making people chuckle throughout the city on buses and at different venues for nearly a decade.

But as "Carolina Impact's Dara Khaalid and Videographer Jones reveal, he's found a way to make sure everyone can enjoy his comedy.

(graphics whooshing) (upbeat music) - [Dara] It is not your ordinary bus tour.

♪ Welcome to the Funny bus - All right, let's hear it.

Tupac Friday.

Come on, y'all.

Come on, y'all.

(people cheering) - [Dara] This is a Funny Bus comedy city tour.

- Everybody likes to get together and laugh and have fun and see the city.

- [Dara] Which means as you roll through Charlotte on the big red bus, learning about major landmarks and history, you get some comedy sprinkled in.

(people laughing) - For sure.

- Ooh.

- [Thomas] It did a lot better than my... - [Dara] And that's where comedian Thomas Heynen shines.

- Dale's not dead, he's just a lap ahead, okay?

(all laughing) - [Dara] He's full of jokes.

- What's Home Depot Garden Department selling?

Well, this guy just got one of everything.

How you doing?

- The comedian Tom is very funny.

- [Dara] And a lot of sarcasm.

- We'll work on that enthusiasm, guys.

- [Dara] He also likes to make fun of passengers.

- Despite what Cincinnati thinks, we are actually the queen city.

I saw you guys tapping each other.

Are you from Ohio?

- [Dara] But don't take it personally.

- Tom is very witty, so he's able to poke fun at himself.

- [Dara] It's just his special way of reaching others.

- I make real connections with people and I've done shows where people have come up to me afterwards and talked to me about a specific joke and they're, like, "Oh, I had a similar experience" or "I've always kind of thought that, but I thought I might might've been alone on that."

- [Dara] The 33-year-old has worked on the Funny Bus in his hometown since 2016.

But his knack for making folks chuckle started long before then.

- I always tried to make people laugh.

Mainly, my mom and my dad.

- He's probably the funniest guy in the family I would think.

I'm not that funny.

- My mom always laughed at accents and things like that and my dad was a harder to get to laugh, but was always listening to comedy shows.

(people cheering and clapping) - People of New York, I mean you no harm.

- Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell always kind of made me laugh.

- Oh, cinnamon and gravy.

(people laughing) - So (chuckles) I watched a lot of "SNL".

Just people being goofy, big expressions and things.

- [Dara] And these traits he picked up from "Saturday Night Live" comedians made their way into the classroom.

- I did that in school, which was or wasn't appreciated depending on things.

- [Dara] Although teachers didn't applaud his class clown ways, one particular student did.

- He happened to be sitting right next to me in the front row and yeah, we learned that we had like the same sense of humor and playing basketball.

- [Dara] He's talking about his best friend, Andrew Daley, who he met in Latin class at Myers Park High School.

It was an instant connection.

One that could be felt even through Andrew's hearing disability, - Trying to make Daley laugh, which the interpreter hated because her one job was to make sure that he was focusing on getting the material and I was the distraction.

- [Dara] Despite the shenanigans, learning did take place, but it was a subject Thomas wasn't enrolled in.

- I learned sign language through Andrew.

I learned the kind of more intricate things and the expressions.

- Yeah, bait.

- Bait, bait.

With a negative expression, bait.

- [Dara] And in 2016, Thomas started his free Wine and Sign classes to teach others what he'd learned.

- He was good with every single person trying to get them figure out what their learning style is.

Yeah, so it's always nice the way he takes his approach to class.

(vehicles whooshing) - [Dara] The classes are held at Tip Top Daily Market every Tuesday night.

And there's always a mixture of those who can hear and those who can't.

- Love you all.

- [Attendee] Love you all.

- I do.

- Yeah.

- [Dara] But Thomas doesn't do it alone.

Andrew's a teacher too, showing people the meaning of different signs.

- He is a great teacher and he's very patient, very understanding.

- [Dara] And just like back in high school, Thomas always finds a way to joke around with his best friend in the classroom.

- Yeah, sign for liar, liar, liar, you.

- [Dara] It's no different outside the classroom either.

- [Announcer] The goal missing the target because of the way the ball bubbled up in front of him.

- Friendship with Thomas means a lot to me.

He's seen me at my worst days and my good days.

And if I'm having a problem or whatever in my life, he's someone I can have a conversation with and figure things out and no judgment.

- I've been able to teach a free sign language class here in Charlotte.

It's called Wine and Sign.

- [Dara] Knowing just how liberating comedy is, Thomas uses the language he learned long ago to make sure everyone has a chance to laugh along with him.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Dara Khaalid.

- Laughing is so good for the soul.

Thank you, Dara.

Thomas, like most comedians says his goal with his career is to have a big national special and go on tour.

As he works towards that dream, you can find him on the Funny Bus tours here in our area.

Well, finally tonight.

For many is the local restaurants, bars, small businesses and theaters that lift the quality of life across our community.

For nearly two decades, one local artist's work has become the connecting thread between our favorite places.

Producer John Branscum brings us the details.

(graphics whooshing) (lively music) - My studio hides here behind my home, and thought, and we're very lucky for that.

We've renovated a three car garage.

This put in hundreds of shelves and work areas and we do 100% of all our work out here.

My name is David Thayer French.

Thayer is an old British name, old family name.

I'm a self-employed artist.

I've been since 2008.

I have done over 500 paintings of the Greater Charlotte area and most importantly, the things that people love about, the things that bring quality of life to their days in Charlotte.

(vehicle whooshing) - A paper skyscraper carries gifts for everyone.

David is one of our local vendors.

We have about 80 or 90 local vendors that we represent.

One of my favorites is "Carolina Blue Jumbo".

This "Thirsty Beaver's" a great one as well.

Some places are no longer there.

Just yesterday, we sold this panoramic.

It was a East Boulevard where JJ Red Hots is closing.

- [Narrator 2] 36th Street.

- Evening Muse is a music venue that is here to kind of help generate community.

So many guests and clients that have told me that they've purchased the painting that David did.

So many people that are like, "Oh, you're hanging in our bedroom."

And I'm, like, "That's a little weird."

But, you know, it's fun and it's cool.

(upbeat piano music) - It's a really big day in my life because although half my day will just be an ordinary day of dabbling paint on my canvas.

The evening is gonna be wild where I get to have a full 90 minute set of my original music at Petty Thieves Brewing over off of a graham.

Yeah, to be a little coy, every center in the NBA wants to be a point guard and every cowboy wants to go fishing.

So this is a painter wanting to play you guitar right now.

♪ Hey, yo at Petty Thieves ♪ Hey, what you got from me - Petty Thieves Brewing local neighborhood tap room.

And we like to get weird.

(chuckles) What I love about David, he expresses his love of these iconic Charlotte places like the Diamond, the Penguin the Double Door Inn.

Some of which, we still have.

Some of which we've lost over the years.

When he asked if we'd be interested in him coming by and doing a painting of us, I was like, "Cool, we are on the map."

(chuckles) - It's one of those things that just kind of helps bonds people.

Lets them know like what the cool places are in town.

- Different places have different meanings to different people in Charlotte, but everything that he's painting, you know, people have memories of.

For me, like the Neighborhood Theater Print with Robert Earl Keen.

I love that one 'cause I love Robert Earl Keen and I've probably seen.

Gosh, I don't even know how many shows in the neighborhood theater.

- I feel like Charlotte has a self-esteem issue.

It's always looking outward for... "What are they doing?

What are they doing?

What are they doing?"

Instead of what are we doing?

And so when David's taking and creating that examination and elevating these places, It's, like, "Look, it's right here."

You don't have to be always looking outward.

Sometimes you just gotta look more inward.

- When you go and you walk into a locally owned and run business, you feel a lot different than when you walk into a chain establishment.

You feel like you are in somebody's heart and soul, the blood, sweat, and tears of their own efforts.

And this gives your life a unique experience.

Something again that is not packaged and produced for the masses, but something that was carved because of you, the local, that will be spending your hard-earned money in there.

These locally owned places that have a heartbeat that resonates in the community.

- I think Charlotte is unique in a city and that's almost, like, a bunch of little small towns put together.

I don't feel like I'm in a huge city when I'm here.

I love the neighborhood vibes that Charlotte has to offer.

- Favorite part of my job is I get to hear what people love.

You don't like it to hang it on your wall.

You don't hang the Cheesecake Factory on your wall.

You hang Lang Van, Alexander Michaels.

You hang the evening use.

You hang cobble fish taco on your wall.

The reason why you hang these things on your wall is because it is unique.

It is you.

It is just as much as you as your fingerprint.

You feel loved when you walk into a place that knows you.

You feel a sense of place and it makes you feel like you have a life that is your own and not just something dreamed up by some unknown individual in an unknown place.

When I get to hear people talk about how we met at this place and how we had our first date at that place and how I get to create a timeline of their life and love on their walls, it is probably the most enriching thing that I do in my job every day.

- His art is incredible and really makes you feel proud to be part of this beautiful community.

Thanks so much, John.

If you'd like a piece of David's art, paper prints start at $25 and special commissioned originals go around $800 and up to around $4,000 for the larger pieces.

Well, that's all the time we have this evening.

But before we go, we'd like to thank the students from Valentine Ridge High School for joining us in the studio for today's episode.

We loved all their questions.

Again, thanks so much for joining us.

We always appreciate your time and I look forward to seeing you back here again next time on Carolina Impact.

Goodnight, my friends.

(lively music) (graphics whooshing) - [Narrator 1] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(gentle music)