The Sharon at SouthPark, a continuing care retirement community in Charlotte, NC, is engaging residents—on topics both serious and light—with a new partnership that facilitates conversations between them and local journalists from The Charlotte Ledger, a digital publication that covers local stories via email newsletters and on the Substack platform.

The early November kick-off was a meet-and-greet at The Sharon between almost 100 residents and Tony Mecia, founder of The Ledger, and Managing Editor Cristina Bolling. Mecia and Bolling are both veteran journalists who had long careers with The Charlotte Observer, the state’s largest newspaper by circulation.

“When we do reader surveys to get a sense of our audience, the bulk of our readers are over age 40, and to be honest, most of them are over 60,” said Bolling. “Issues relating to older adults often aren’t covered in media, and I think that is an opportunity [for] part of our community that is rich with stories.”

The Sharon had an earlier interaction with The Ledger in October, which led to the publication’s story about Hurricane Helene-damaged retirement communities in the western end of the state, including the ways The Sharon and another LeadingAge member, Southminster, came to the aid of fellow providers. The article also describes LeadingAge North Carolina’s response to the crisis, quoting President and CEO Tom Akins about the way members “jumped out of the woodwork” to help in the wake of the storm.

The latest event at The Sharon, on December 2, featured a talk and Q&A with The Ledger’s arts critic Lawrence Toppman, now partially retired after more than 40 years in that role at The Observer. Residents raised good questions about the work of a critic and elicited thoughtful and entertaining responses—including why there are too many standing ovations and why he can’t be objective about the movie, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Listen to the entire event in this Ledger podcast.

“One of the things we’re always looking for with any partnership or relationship is a way for our residents to be woven into the fabric of the community, and not just [The Sharon], but the greater community,” said Angela Rigsbee, The Sharon’s president and CEO. “Our residents … are becoming more and more news-savvy, and they are readers.”

As part of the partnership, The Sharon gives all residents and waitlist members free subscriptions to The Ledger, which offers newsletters covering local business news; transit and transportation; Major League Soccer franchise Charlotte FC; and obituaries. A fifth newsletter, Mountain Updates, was created in the immediate aftermath of Helene and includes the hurricane story; Bolling describes it as a temporary “pop-up” newsletter.

Ideas for future meetings include a discussion on health care with a local health reporter who writes for the Ledger, and a discussion on current local issues with leaders of SouthPark, the Charlotte district that is home to The Sharon. Bolling says The Ledger wants to be sensitive to topics relevant to residents’ interests—while also covering the issues and stories about older adults, which the partnership helps her do because “there aren’t a lot of people telling them.”

Photo: Arts critic Lawrence Toppman (seated left, facing audience) talks about the role and the work of a critic with residents at The Sharon at SouthPark, the second in a series of conversations between residents and journalists from The Charlotte Ledger. Photo courtesy of The Ledger.

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