My reason for moving to Charlotte, North
    Carolina was solely for the Whitewater Center.
    In most cases when people move several
    hundred miles from home they have family,
    friends, or at least some sort of connection. I
    had nothing, except the Whitewater Center.

    March 12, 2007 was the first night I slept at
    1500 Hawfield Road after signing a year lease.  
    The address of USNWC is 820 Hawfield
    Road. So in other words I lived less than a mile
    from the Center. However the best part of living
    on Hawfield Road is that Hawfield is a dead
    end road. That means EVERYONE who
    comes to the USNWC has to drive right by my
    place, because there is no other way in.



By April 1, 07 I had been through a week of guide school and checked out as a guide. I did not have a vehicle until November, so my life
literally revolved around the Whitewater Center. I worked, played, and hung out there. When not working I could often be found in the
restaurant taking advantage of the free wireless internet, or riding the bike trails, or playing in a raft on the Whitewater.   
I was quick to make friends made easy by the fact I lived on Hawfield Road everyone had to drive by my place on the way out. I had many
parties and friends were always coming and going. Had I not lived on Hawfield Road it would not have been the same.
According to the rafting department from March, to October of 2007 I had more hours guiding rafts than any of the other 120 guides. Not
having a car I was always at the Center or could be there in a few minutes when someone called in sick or did not show up. Most guides had
a life and friends outside the Whitewater Center, not me my friends and life was the USNWC.
I would say I spent more time at the USNWC in 2007 than anyone else. That gave me a chance to see so many sides of the USNWC that
people don’t normally see.      
An onboard look from inside a Blackhawk helicopter demonstrating
rescue techniques during the 2nd annual whitewater festival   
Pictured Above
The current Road into the Center
Pictured below
Construction of  new entrance