What it takes

Berkeley Hall Charity Cup posts record-setting grant for local charities.

By Barry Kaufman

If you were to go beyond the lushly manicured entrance to Berkeley Hall, through the gate and around its roads flanked by stunning fairways , you’d quickly surmise that this community’s official pastime is golf.
And fortunately for charities around the Lowcountry, you’d be wrong.
For Berkeley Hall has a  much more fulfilling official sport. The sport of giving.
Nowhere was that more evident than in the latest iteration of the Berkeley Hall Charity Cup, held this past April. While the emphasis on that day was on an enjoyable round of golf on a breathtaking course, the driving force (see what we did there?) behind the event was the giving. And this year, that cup runneth over.
“In April, we raised $212,000,” said event chair Diane Anselmo. “It’s this community; everyone is charged up whenever we do this.”

Read more: What it takes

You've Got a Friend

And whether it's a dog or cat, a ferret or a rat, it's probably waiting for you at one of these area agencies.

It’s a lucky animal that comes by way of the hundreds of volunteers who keep the Beaufort County animal rescue shelters and adoption agencies going. They are deeply committed workers, going so far as caring for and feeding  rodents.

Read more: You've Got a Friend

Try this: Parasailing

If you’re trying to find the best way to kick back and relax on the island, why not do it 500 feet in the air? One of the most popular ways to get elevated around here is parasailing, allowing you the thrill of being up high, and the relaxation of sitting back, feeling the breeze, and taking in the view.
“The view that you get of the island is incredible. It’s a 25-mile eagle’s-eye view,” said Caitlin Hubach of H2O Sports.
H2O Sports is packed with families rushing in to try parasailing, their most popular activity. Kids only have to be 6 years old to enjoy the thrill, and parents can go up with their kids to share the experience.
“I think it’s so popular because it’s an activity that the whole family can do,” Caitlin added.
The parasailing experience is much more than just the time in the air. Many will get the privilege of seeing dolphins swimming alongside during their hour-long boat ride.
Just ask Caitlin. “Between the speed boat ride, the parasailing, and the dolphins, it’s like putting three activities all into one.”

Read more: Try this: Parasailing

How to: Surf the skies

Think of kiteboarding as a cross between wakeboarding and parasailing. The kite is similar to a parasail, and the board is similar to a wakeboard. As for the rider? He or she gets the best of both worlds. They speed along the water, catch a wave, and fly over ten meters into the air, doing tricks and spins as they fly. Interested in trying this extreme sport? Here’s some tips on getting started.

Read more: How to: Surf the skies

Try this: Learning to fly

It’s a Thursday in May, and the air above Hilton Head Island is so clear, it’s hard to believe at 1,500 feet that you’re not looking down on a model.
Not a cloud hinders the view from on high, and even down below, the calm seas paint the ocean as a solid sheet of glass. Rather than nature’s glory, the whole of the island looks like a scaled work of art painstakingly assembled by the meticulous hand of a master craftsman. The ripples of cambridge blue and deep sepia that form our waters seem like they were created less by the tides than by a skilled brush.

Read more: Try this: Learning to fly

Choose your own adventure: Part 3

Don't Look Down

All good things must come to an end. And for this, the final installment of our summer-long Choose Your Own Adventure series, we’re pulling out all the stops.
We start at the controls of a Piper Warrior, taking to the wild blue yonder with local pilot Chuck Copley. Copley was nice enough to let us take the yoke, and we’ll share our thoughts on Hilton Head Island at 1,500 feet.
Then, we strap our summer intern Jessica onto the island’s sensational zipline course and send her flying through the trees. Zipline Hilton Head has exploded in popularity this summer, and one quick zip through the course later we can see why.
All this, plus quick primers on the hottest ways to get elevated this summer, from kitesurfing to parasailing. It’s so much fun you’ll never want to come down.

Read more: Choose your own adventure: Part 3

Try this: Zip it up

Unless you fancy chartering planes or have the guts to go skydiving, a bird’s eye view of the Lowcountry may seem hard to come by. ZipLine Hilton Head is changing that.
Harness up, strap in, climb to heights up to 75 feet, and swing Tarzan-style through the beautiful island foliage on a ziplining adventure.

Read more: Try this: Zip it up

A tale of two Chambers

Business has company in Bluffton.

By Stephanie Ingersoll

Bluffton businesses have a new “voice” and it’s getting louder every month.
January marked the launch of the new Greater Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, and since it started accepting memberships in April, more than 200 companies have already signed on with business growing steadily.
But don’t expect it to drown out that other voice – The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, which just opened a Bluffton office again after closing its Belfair office last year.
Business certainly seems to be booming in Bluffton. So is there room for two Chambers?
Shellie West Hodges, executive director of the Greater Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, believes there is.
“I think you’ve got to find your niche,” she said. “This place is huge. We’ve grown by leaps and bounds. Bluffton needs its own identity. Our objective is to be the face and voice of Bluffton. We live here and we love it.”
Plans to start a Bluffton Chamber have been brewing for more than 10 years, with different people involved over time, she said. Now it has a home, at 217 Goethe Road, where professionals can network every month over coffee and where member partners can promote their companies at its new business information center.
The Greater Bluffton Chamber also has events at other locations. It will hold its first Bluffton Business Expo Sept. 25 at Seaquins Ballroom, which will be open to the public. It also sponsors ribbon cuttings and social events at various Bluffton businesses.
Meanwhile, the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce is planning a special ribbon cutting of its own.
Vice President of Communications Charlie Clark said that chamber has reopened a Bluffton office at the corner of May River and Bluffton roads and will soon hold a formal ribbon cutting ceremony in conjunction with the town when an adjacent park is officially open.
She added that the Chamber has had an office in Bluffton for 12 years. The first opened in Belfair Towne Villlage in 2000 and then moved to a larger location within Belfair.
“When our lease expired last year we wanted to find the right location closer to Old Town Bluffton that had easy access and ample parking, and we’ve found it,” she said.
She said the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce has been promoting businesses for 55 years and will continue to partner with members throughout the area. It has more than 1,600 members and about a third of those are from Bluffton.
“Business doesn’t stop at the bridge and we believe our 1,600-plus  members realize that,” she said. “Long gone are the days when a business became a chamber member out of sense of civic duty. The trend nationwide with chambers is consolidation because the world we live in doesn’t really recognize a city limit sign as a border for doing business.”
But Hodges believes that, while the Greater Bluffton Chamber isn’t pitting itself against the larger one, many Blufftonians want a chamber that will focus more squarely on the town.
“We love Bluffton and it’s grown and we feel like it needs its own chamber,” she said. “You don’t have to choose one chamber over the others.”
She pointed out that many members of the Greater Bluffton Chamber also belong to chambers in other nearby cities and towns, from Hardeeville to Beaufort. And many belong to the Hilton Head-Island Bluffton Chamber too.
The focus for the Greater Bluffton Chamber is to promote big and small businesses on the mainland, from restaurants to real estate offices to non-profits, stores and a funeral home.
They may be a smaller group, with the Greater Bluffton Chamber now staffed by volunteers, but they are enthusiastic and have plenty of plans. There are already a number of committees, charged with promoting events, driving membership, marketing, and monitoring finances and government activities.
“We’re still new, but we’ve done a lot so far and we’re still developing programs,” she said. “It’s definitely being embraced.”
Clark said the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber is still holding on to its members.
“We’re fortunate to have one of the highest member retention rates in the nation,” she said. “It’s one of the factors that helped us qualify as a finalist for National Chamber of the Year this year. That speaks volumes about member satisfaction rates. We’re always striving to retain our members because it shows we’re providing value — that they see a return on investment on the services we provide as an organization. We want our members to be getting a return on their chamber investment whether they operate in Bluffton, Hilton Head Island or elsewhere in our region.”

For more information about the Greater Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, visit www.blufftonchamberofcommerce.org.
For more information about the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber, visit www.hiltonheadisland.org.