The October issue of Stroll Ballantyne Country Club is reaching mailboxes this week, and the whole edition is online and free to read right now.
Precious Pets, the page that normally introduces one neighborhood animal, this month hands itself over to a rescue with dozens of them. Catering To Cats & Dogs, or C2CND, owns no shelter building. Every animal it takes in lives in a volunteer's house until the right adopter turns up, and many of them are pulled out of area animal control facilities when they are at risk of being euthanized. That is what makes the numbers worth reading twice: the group has 70 to 80 cats and 90 to 100 dogs in its care at any given time, more again during kitten and puppy season, and all of them are in somebody's spare room. It began with ten cats in 2008. The consequence is worth stating plainly: because an open foster home lets the rescue take another animal out of a shelter, fostering can literally make room to save another life. Adopting, volunteering and donating are the other three doors in, and they are all at c2cnd.org.
The cover belongs to a family who spent years watching this neighborhood before they moved into it. Brian and Katie Galbraith arrived on Brem Lane in December 2024 with Brian Jr., 9, and Reagan, 6, both students at St. Matthew, and Corby, a 10-year-old rescue dog. Their story starts at Notre Dame, where both began MBA programs in 2011 and where, as they tell it, the romance began "like the start of all classic love stories: at a bar." Brian is a consulting partner at Deloitte. Katie is a senior vice president at Bank of America, leading strategic work on AI and the future of consumer banking, and a double Domer, having taken both her degrees at Notre Dame. Family followed them here from three directions: Brian's parents to Flat Rock, Katie's sister to Mint Hill in 2022, and Katie's parents to Fort Mill, where they are club members themselves. If the house sounds loud this fall, the Galbraiths have already explained why. "Between Notre Dame football Saturdays, Philadelphia Eagles games and Chicago sports loyalties," they say, "our living room can get pretty competitive during football season."
Making a Difference, the monthly nonprofit page, carries its own byline this time. Contributing writer Jenny Crow writes about Light The Night, the walk that gathers under the Charlotte skyline on a November evening in support of the blood cancer nonprofit Blood Cancer United. Every person carries a lit lantern, and the color says who they are walking as: white for survivors, red for the family and friends beside them, gold in memory of someone who is no longer here. Three of our neighbors, Tracy Kerrins, Andrea Bierce and Jayne Borman, sit on the executive leadership committee running this year's walk, which is Saturday, November 14. Details are at lightthenight.org.
Two dates for the calendar. The monthly meetup, an informal mixer for neighborhood business owners, runs the third Wednesday of each month from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the AC Ballantyne hotel lobby bar, 14819 Ballantyne Village Way, which makes October's the 21st. Drinks are available to buy at the bar. And the Stroll Holiday Party is set for Thursday, November 5, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Zinicola, the Italian restaurant in Ballantyne Village, with food, music and door prizes. RSVP is open now, either through the QR code in the magazine or on the event page.
The PDF carries the whole issue, cover to cover. Only some of it runs here as separate stories. Staying in print this month: the Travel Insider column, a breast cancer screening explainer written by an oncologist with MUSC Health, the resident business guide and this month's Fun and Games page. Partner spotlights on Balanced Life K9, Kumon of Charlotte Carmel West and Emily Ryon Estate and Financial Planning are coming to the site later this month.
And as always, the issue runs on our neighborhood partners. The businesses listed in the resident business guide are what pay for this magazine to reach your door. When you need a contractor, a realtor, a tutor, or somewhere to board the dog, start there, and thank them when you get the chance.
Read the full October edition: download the October 2026 issue of Stroll Ballantyne Country Club (PDF).
Catching up? September is online too. Happy October, neighbors.