The Charlotte Ledger Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Before Grace Weisiger could join her family’s four-generation business, The Weisiger Group (formerly Carolina Tractor and Equipment), her parents told her she needed to gain some experience in a different industry. In 2014, while still a student at the University of Georgia, she received a call from a friend of a friend, who had a cryptic pitch: “I can’t tell you what we’re doing, but we’re starting a company, and it's going to be huge. And we’d like you to be a part of it.”

Skeptical but intrigued, Weisiger listened. That call led her to Bumble, a dating app, which was then just a fledgling idea with a bold mission: empower women to make the first move. What followed was a crash course in startup grit, cultural change and marketing innovation that would shape her career. Today, Weisiger is the founder of Willow Hill, a private investment vehicle.

In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Weisiger sits down with Ledger editor Tony Mecia to discuss her career, including her family’s business, The Weisiger Group, her early role at Bumble and what she learned, the principles of search funds, her journey in investment and how she approaches finding and leading scalable businesses.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Hillandale Advisors, a Charlotte-based investment and advisory firm that provides strategic counsel to local business owners and invests in private businesses, public equities, and commercial real estate. The Private Business Roundtable hosts events to connect and educate the private business community in Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem. Are you looking for support in capital raising, hiring key talent or selling your business? Contact Matt@HillandaleAdvisors.com or learn more at www.HillandaleAdvisors.com.

You can find out more about The Charlotte Ledger, and subscribe to our locally focused newsletters, at TheCharlotteLedger.com.

This episode was produced by Lindsey Banks.

Charlotte celebrated the 250th anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence on May 20, 2025, at a ceremony and re-enactment in uptown Charlotte.

Watch the full celebration, with commentary and interviews by co-hosts Tony Mecia and Cristina Bolling of The Charlotte Ledger — with impromptu guests including former county commissioner Matthew Ridenhour, planning commission member Clayton Sealey and Ledger history correspondent John Short.

You might also enjoy this podcast about the Meck Dec:

Related Ledger articles:

* “Debating the Meck Dec” (May 12)

* “Charlotte breweries release Meck Dec-themed beers” (May 7)

* “Blowout celebrations planned for Meck Dec milestone” (March 17)

* “Historical Heavyweights: Charlotte’s revolutionary tavern keeper” (March 15)

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What do recruiters and hiring managers think candidates want? What do job seekers actually need? Rethinking your hiring strategy could be the key to long-term success. In this second installation of the “Trends in the Workplace 2025” series, experts break down the shifting workplace expectations and how to attract and retain top talent.

This episode is a recording from March 2025 of the second day of a three-part webinar series, brought to you by Catapult Employers Association and The Charlotte Ledger. The webinar series explores the key trends, technologies and shifts reshaping the workplace in 2025 and beyond.

In this episode, The Charlotte Ledger’s Tony Mecia talks with:

 ◼️ Jacqueline Esposito, a compensation advisor for Catapult, who is responsible for advising Catapult's member companies in the areas of compensation and total rewards

◼️ Kendra Stewart, who has expertise in talent development, workforce planning, strategic HR implementation and management consultation; and

◼️ Shannon Leonida, Catapult’s recruiting team lead.

Be sure to check out the other two episodes on The Charlotte Ledger Podcast:

Part 1: What’s coming in 2025?

Part 3: Retaining and developing your employees

Find out more about Catapult at LetsCatapult.org. Find out more about The Charlotte Ledger at TheCharlotteLedger.com.

The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is produced by Lindsey Banks.

This episode is sponsored by Catapult Employers Association. Catapult empowers Charlotte's business community with trusted, local HR expertise. Join Charlotte's top employers this April in Greensboro, NC, at their 2025 HR Conference: HResilient. Learn more at letscatapult.org/hresilient2025/.

Oscar Wong was born to Chinese immigrants in Jamaica. After an engineering career, including a stint in Charlotte, he retired to Asheville and started the city's first brewery since Prohibition. Today, Highland Brewing is North Carolina's largest brewer, and Wong has become known as the state's "godfather of craft beer."

He turned over operation of Highland Brewing to his daughter in 2015 and is now mostly retired. In May 2023, he was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina's highest civilian honor.

In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Wong discusses his remarkable background, from Jamaica to the U.S. to Asheville, as well as the history of craft beer in North Carolina, his role in shaping the beer industry in the Southeast, and where he sees the craft beer industry going in the future.

For more information about The Charlotte Ledger, or to sign up for our newsletters, visit TheCharlotteLedger.com.

This episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is hosted by Ledger editor Tony Mecia. It is produced by Lindsey Banks.

Local cafeterias sometimes produce more food than they need. Local charities need food to serve the hungry. Kim Aprill co-founded an organization called Feeding Charlotte that bridges the gap between those with excess food and the nonprofits and churches that need it — solving a local problem of food distribution.

In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Aprill discusses with host Steve Dunn how Feeding Charlotte addresses food insecurity, how food waste contributes to climate change and where the nonprofit gets excess food to donate to those who are hungry.

You can find out more about Feeding Charlotte at https://feedingcharlotte.org.

For more information about The Charlotte Ledger, or to sign up for our newsletters, visit TheCharlotteLedger.com. This episode is part of a series in which we interview winners of The Charlotte Ledger 40 Over 40 Awards, which honor people aged 40+ who are making our community a better place. Find out information about those awards at Ledger40Over40.com.

This episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is hosted by Steve Dunn of Miles Mediation and Arbitration. It is produced by Lindsey Banks.

In 2014, a national study ranked Charlotte 50th out of the 50 largest metro areas in the United States in economic mobility — meaning that many of those born into poverty in Charlotte were likely to stay in poverty. It was a wake-up call, and Charlotte's large corporations, nonprofits and government mobilized to tackle the problem. Now, nearly 10 years later, how is Charlotte doing?

Sherri Chisolm, executive director of Leading on Opportunity, discusses Charlotte's economic mobility efforts with Charlotte Ledger editor Tony Mecia. They discuss what's being done to improve economic mobility, how to measure progress and how to keep the city focused on a generations-long journey.

You can find out more about Leading on Opportunity at www.leadingonopportunity.org.

For more information about The Charlotte Ledger, or to sign up for our newsletters, visit TheCharlotteLedger.com.

This episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is hosted by Ledger editor Tony Mecia. It is produced by Lindsey Banks.

Figuring out care and support for older adults can be tricky. It involves navigating a complex web of insurance rules, healthcare options and living arrangements — and is a process that is often emotionally taxing. In this episode, Jennifer Szakaly of Charlotte-based Caregiving Corner offers tips for older adults and their loved ones and discusses the nuances of caregiving, the complexity of the healthcare system, and when someone should start thinking about long-term care.

For more information about The Charlotte Ledger, or to sign up for our newsletters, visit TheCharlotteLedger.com.

This episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is hosted by Steve Dunn of Miles Mediation and Arbitration. It is produced by Lindsey Banks.

Finding the right healthcare coverage for your workers can be complex and confusing, and costs are expected to continue to rise. So how can employers navigate that challenge? The Charlotte Ledger's Tony Mecia talks with Catapult’s Martha Barker about strategies for providing coverage and finding the best options for employees.

This podcast is an audio version of the “Business Toolbox Series,” a webinar collaboration between The Ledger and Catapult to provide practical and useful advice to small- and mid-sized businesses.

This is the recording of a webinar on May 24, 2023. It is the third of three. The first one on the topic of avoiding legal headaches is available as a podcast. So is the second one, on recruiting and retaining workers.

Find out more about Catapult at LetsCatapult.org. Find out more about The Charlotte Ledger at TheCharlotteLedger.com.

The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is produced by Lindsey Banks.

The job market is tight — and is expected to continue to be. So how can employers find and retain their best workers? The Charlotte Ledger's Tony Mecia talks with Catapult’s Kendra Stewart about strategies for recruiting and keeping top talent, the importance of company culture and amenities and the shifting generational expectations in the workplace.

This podcast is an audio version of the “Business Toolbox Series,” a webinar collaboration between The Ledger and Catapult to provide practical and useful advice to small- and mid-sized businesses.

This is the recording of a webinar on May 17, 2023. It is the second of three. For more information or to register for them, check out this link.

You can also enjoy this episode as a YouTube video.

Find out more about Catapult at LetsCatapult.org. Find out more about The Charlotte Ledger at TheCharlotteLedger.com.

The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is produced by Lindsey Banks.

It's a challenging time for employers these days — what's the best advice for dealing with common human resources challenges? The Charlotte Ledger's Tony Mecia talks with Catapult’s Stephanie Dillon about tips for employers on topics including handling discipline and layoffs, hybrid and remote work and supporting employees’ mental health.

This podcast is an audio version of the “Business Toolbox Series,” a webinar collaboration between The Ledger and Catapult to provide practical and useful advice to small- and mid-sized businesses.

This is the recording of a webinar on May 10, 2023. It is the first of three: the others are on May 17, 2023, and May 24, 2023. For more information or to register for them, check out this link.

You can also enjoy this episode as a YouTube video.

Find out more about Catapult at LetsCatapult.org. Find out more about The Charlotte Ledger at TheCharlotteLedger.org.

The Charlotte Ledger Podcast is produced by Lindsey Banks.