For decades, the citizens of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have watched as the place they call home has grown,changed, and evolved into a true "New South" city.

Towering skyscrapers and sprawling suburbs have changed the landscape and the sound of diverse dialects has become part of the everyday experience. We are continually learning that our big city is but a part of an increasingly small world and more and more of us are interested in finding ways to enjoy our surroundings and find common links to those around us.

More than 30 years ago, Mecklenburg County Commissioner Tom Ray tossed around an idea that was to become ""Sugar Creek Projection 70." The idea called for a comprehensive greenway system along Sugar Creek. Studies were conducted, opinions were gathered, and eventually the plan made its way into the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation archives. We weren't ready then, and we could not have foreseen what Charlotte in the new millennium would look like.

Today, armed with improved technology, a progressive greenway master plan, and the first-hand knowledge that we are poised to lead the South as a model of successful urban and suburban development, we have another chance.

Sugar Creek Greenway will not just be for the jogging enthusiast. It will not be just for the tourist. It won't even be strictly for the nature lover. Most importantly, it will not be at all without the grassroots support of the citizens of Mecklenburg County. Sugar Creek Greenway can be many things to many people.

Lend your voice to the Sugar Creek Greenway effort. Make it educational and environmentally sound. See that it serves your recreational and social needs. Connect with the cultural diversity that is at our fingertips. Most importantly, make history. Thirty years from now let them say, "what a vision."