COME TOGETHER.

• Author: Mildenberg, David

Creating community is as important for Business North Carolina as it is for small-town weekly newspapers that publish items about how Uncle Bob is visiting from California or Susie won this week's bingo game at the senior center. I'm hoping there are still a few Tar Heel papers that carry such fare.

It can be harder, however, at a statewide publication that tries to keep readers in Manteo interested in what's happening at some enterprise in Murphy, or vice versa. But we keep trying through the magazine, our Daily Digest newsletter, expert roundtables and other events. It's also why we're excited to continue a February tradition of spotlighting some outstanding diverse leaders from across the state, hoping to make clear that inclusion isn't just a slogan in North Carolina.

Everyone we've cited over the years is making an impact on their business or organization, while also playing key civic roles. Most have been folks who rarely receive media attention despite their considerable influence.

The importance of community is reflected in our cover photo. Lawyers Gerald Walden and Justin Outling and Jet It CEO Glenn Gonzales work within a block of each other in downtown Greensboro. But they were barely acquainted before Creative Director Peggy Knaack organized a photo shoot of the trio.

By chance, the gathering occurred within a block of the segregated Woolworth's drugstore where Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain and Joseph McNeil staged a historic sit-in in 1960. It became a pivotal moment in American history, now memorialized by the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.

Walden, Outling and Gonzales may not become as famous as the Greensboro Four, but our stories describe contributions that many would have found unbelievable in 1960.

They are three busy guys, but photographer Bert...