Charlotte Observer Logo

Climbing for a cause | Charlotte Observer

×
  • E-edition
  • Customer Service
  • Advertise
  • Newsletters

    • News
    • Local
    • Crime
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Election
    • Politics
    • Nation/World
    • Special Reports
    • North Carolina
    • South Carolina
    • Corrections
    • Columnists
    • Retro Charlotte
    • Your Schools
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Sports
    • Carolina Panthers
    • Charlotte Hornets
    • That's Racin'
    • High Schools
    • College Sports
    • Charlotte Knights/MLB
    • Other Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Inside the Panthers
    • Inside the NBA
    • Prep Insiders
    • Scott Fowler
    • Tom Sorensen
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • RNC 2020
    • Business
    • Banking
    • Stocks Center
    • Top Workplaces
    • National Business
    • What's in Store
    • Development
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Living
    • Religion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Family
    • Home & Garden
    • CLT Style
    • Travel
    • Living Here Guide
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • I'll Bite
    • Kathleen Purvis
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Arts/Culture
    • Events
    • Movie News & Reviews
    • Restaurants
    • Music/Nightlife
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Rewards
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Kevin Siers
    • Letters
    • Submit an Op-ed
    • Submit a Letter
    • Viewpoint
    • All Blogs & Columns
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • O-Pinion
    • You Write The Caption
    • Taylor Batten
    • Peter St. Onge
  • Celebrations
  • Obituaries
  • TV Listings

  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Virtual Career Fair
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Place an ad
  • Mobile & Apps

  • MomsCharlotte
  • Carolina Bride Magazine
  • South Park Magazine

Cabarrus

Climbing for a cause

By Joe Marusak - jmarusak@charlotteobserver.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

December 18, 2011 12:00 AM

Assistant Police Chief Bryan Anderson and insurance executive Scott Melius know they'll be pushed to their physical limits when they climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa, in September.

But too much is at stake not to make it to the top of the 19,340-foot mountain, they said.

Anderson and Melius are part of a 30-member Charlotte area team of Rotarians who plan to scale the mountain together to raise tens of thousands of dollars toward the worldwide eradication of polio.

Rotary is a volunteer organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service locally and across the world. Rotary has made wiping out polio a top priority; the disease is found only in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Charlotte area Rotary District 7680 will be the first such district in the world to send a team to Kilimanjaro's top.

Anderson and Melius belong to the Rotary Club of Top of the Lake in Mooresville. Melius is a former president of the club. Both decided to join the Kilimanjaro team within seconds of learning of the chance.

Each climber had to commit to raise $3,000 toward polio eradication - besides the $3,000 in travel, gear and other costs they'll foot.

"Failure is not an option," Melius said last week. "We will not fail to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, and we will not fail to raise the $3,000."

"Go hard or go home," Anderson said.

Both are physically fit but know that scaling Kilimanjaro will require even greater levels of endurance and will. Oxygen levels drop dramatically toward the top, which is why they're training with twice the weight they'll need in their backpacks.

Melius, 43, is vice president of Jemco Insurance in Mooresville. He is 5-feet-8, 180 pounds and was a long-range reconnaissance specialist during 10 years in the Army. He served in Desert Storm in Iraq in 1990 and 1991. During his training, he hiked 90 miles through the Alps in three days to earn his commando badge.

His children are Michael, 19, and Nathan, 9. Girlfriend Melanie Harwood accompanies him on his practice climbs on various N.C. mountains. They scaled Crowders Mountain in Gaston County on Dec. 10 - a good mountain to train on because of how it rises so dramatically, Melius said.

Anderson, 42, has been in law enforcement for 20 years - eight with the Salisbury Police Department and now 12 with Mooresville. He is 5-feet-6, 175 pounds and was a competitive power-lifter until his mid-20s, placing in the top 10 in every event he entered. He and his wife, Christy, have a daughter, Madison, 10.

The team is led by Macon Dunnagan of Charlotte, who's climbed Kilimanjaro 23 times, including a world-record three times in a month.

Anderson said each climber will lose 10 pounds over the five days and 41 miles of getting to the top. "They like to refer to Kilimanjaro as the weight loss and sun-tan capital of the world," he said.

The most challenging part will be at the end, when they climb from midnight to 3 p.m. the next day. It will also be the most satisfying. knowing they've made a difference in the fight against a dreaded disease.

  Comments  

Videos

Earth Fare comes to Concord

Tour Kannapolis Middle School's outdoor classroom

View More Video

Trending Stories

A 6th grader asked a billionaire for tickets to the All-Star Game. His school got 30.

February 17, 2019 01:44 PM

The NFL reaches a settlement with Colin Kaepernick. And EVERYONE is talking about it

February 16, 2019 08:00 AM

How 5Church came to host Lebron James & Co. at All-Star Weekend’s most-buzzworthy bash

February 17, 2019 09:44 PM

Hornets rookie Miles Bridges’ Larry Johnson tribute not enough in slam-dunk contest

February 16, 2019 11:06 PM

Homicides: 3 people shot and killed in 3 days in Charlotte area, police say

February 16, 2019 07:53 PM

things to do

Read Next

Cox Mill High’s Wendell Moore wins gold medal with USA Basketball

High School Sports

Cox Mill High’s Wendell Moore wins gold medal with USA Basketball

By Langston Wertz Jr.

lwertz@charlotteobserver.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

June 19, 2017 01:23 PM

Cox Mill High’s Wendell Moore, a rising junior, won a gold medal with USA Basketball over the weekend

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Charlotte Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE CABARRUS

Holy bat house! Why does Cannon School’s Brainy Yaks build them better?

Lake Norman & Mooresville

Holy bat house! Why does Cannon School’s Brainy Yaks build them better?

February 13, 2017 01:24 PM
This season’s finest: Pine Lake Prep’s Caroline Coleman big scores help Pride’s perfect season going

Lake Norman & Mooresville

This season’s finest: Pine Lake Prep’s Caroline Coleman big scores help Pride’s perfect season going

January 10, 2017 09:49 AM
Adopt a pet: Come see me, please, and take me home Jan. 10, 2017

Lake Norman & Mooresville

Adopt a pet: Come see me, please, and take me home Jan. 10, 2017

January 10, 2017 10:03 AM
Adopt a pet, Dec. 13, 2016: Come see me, please, and take me home

South Charlotte

Adopt a pet, Dec. 13, 2016: Come see me, please, and take me home

December 13, 2016 08:49 AM
Religion news, Dec. 7-13, 2016: in Ballantyne, Cotswold, Pineville, Matthews and Mint Hill

South Charlotte

Religion news, Dec. 7-13, 2016: in Ballantyne, Cotswold, Pineville, Matthews and Mint Hill

December 06, 2016 10:21 AM
Come see me, please, and take me home: Dec. 5, 2016

South Charlotte

Come see me, please, and take me home: Dec. 5, 2016

December 05, 2016 01:51 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Charlotte Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story