Work Life

Came, Loved, Stayed: 6 Questions for Erica Madden, co-founder of Bloom Strategic Communications

By Madysan Foltz

In case you missed it last week, one of the newest C5 series on the block is “Came, Loved, Stayed” — a series delving into the lives of Charlotte transplants and what brought them here.

Next up to bat is Erica Madden, co-founder of Bloom Strategic Communications.

//><!--Madden first moved to Lake Norman in 2002, right after graduating from Indiana University, for an athletic media relations position at Davidson College.//--><!

She has really “bloomed” (no pun intended. OK, you caught me — pun fully intended) over the past decade since she discovered Charlotte. She is a self-proclaimed “Northern girl who went to school in the Midwest and found her life in the South.”

Now, on to the questions.

(1) What brought you here?

This is kind of a funny story, but I worked for athletics in Indiana. I worked for the men’s soccer team. There’s a very prevalent soccer community in Indiana, and our coach said, “Oh, you should look for a job at Davidson, they hosted the Final Four in 1992 for soccer.”

He remembered coming here, and he said it was an awesome little town.

//><!--So I applied, got a job, and spent a few years here before moving around the Southeast for jobs. About three years ago, I started to look back to return to this area because I kind of fell in love.//--><!

(2) What made you stay?

I liked the combination of having all the seasons like I do up North but with a pretty small winter. And I like the people. There’s a lot of Northerners down here, and I’m a Steelers fan. There’s tons of us here!

(3) What was your first impression of Charlotte?

I like being … close enough to the coast that it’s easy to get there.

(4) What’s your favorite aspect of Charlotte culture?

The skies are always blue. Everything (back North) was grey during the winter, everything was hazy.

But here, even when it’s hot, the skies are always brilliant, Carolina blue.

(5) Why would you (or wouldn’t you) recommend Charlotte to friends?

I always do. I really can’t come up with a lot of bad things around here. I think it’s a nice mixture. I never understand why my family wants me to come home in January. I mean, I live in North Carolina, it’s really beautiful here. …

I’m close to the beach, I’m close to the mountains. I have a little bit of everything.

(6) What’s next for you?

The goal is to stay here and be able to help small business owners, nonprofits (and) strategically figure out how they want to relay (their) message to other areas and get other people to support their businesses.

So I’m not planning on leaving. (Laughter.)

Photo: Rachel Fesko Photography

Madysan Foltz is the Northeast transplant to the CharlotteFive team interested  in social issues, (inter)national travel, entrepreneurship, live music, and Oxford  commas. Follow her on Twitter @MadysanFoltz.

This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Came, Loved, Stayed: 6 Questions for Erica Madden, co-founder of Bloom Strategic Communications."

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