At the Helm

Dear Reader,

Ah, spring! Arguably the most beautiful month in the Lowcountry, spring has come just in time to rescue us from the coldest winter many of us have ever seen on Hilton Head Island. Azaleas and daffodils are blooming and the days are getting longer. The warm sunshine makes us hopeful — and why shouldn’t we be? We live in a beautiful place where the most popular local hobby is helping others. In this issue, we celebrate some of the powerful, kind and diverse women who make Hilton Head and Bluffton great places to live. In the pages of our People section, we focus on leaders from the nonprofit sector and public education. Business leaders and others answer questions about their lives and careers in our Leading Ladies special section.

It’s February and love is in the air. Did you know that 40 percent of engagements happen between Christmas and Valentine’s Day? In honor of this romantic time, we look at love in its many forms. Lasting love is celebrated in two profiles of local couples who have been married for more than 30 years. Finding love by way of dating websites and apps is increasingly popular, so we’ve included two perspectives on love in the digital age. We also bring you the humorous side of first dates, some of which became first steps on a path to marriage.

Dear Reader

Some years drag on, while others are gone in the blink of an eye.

It seems like only yesterday that we made the decision to devote our January issue to telling the fascinating stories behind each familiar face in our annual Intriguing People of the Lowcountry issue. In fact, this installment marks the 21st edition of that feature.

Dear Reader

With bellies still full from Thanksgiving we enter the last month of the year. December was always a special month growing up. Counting down the days to Christmas, lighting candles at night, and the smell from baking cookies are all part of the memories we cherish most.

As we grew older the joy of giving became more important than receiving and eventually the most important part about the holidays turn out to be spending time with family.

Dear Reader,

In the Lowcountry, we all live surrounded by luxury. It’s everywhere, as ever-present as the tides and the marsh grass. 

It’s in the sleek lines of a multi-million dollar yacht docked at one of our marinas. It’s in the solid metallic clink of a well-aimed tee shot down crisply manicured greens on a world-class golf course. It’s in the throaty purr of a sports car winding down live oak-lined streets in front of elegant Lowcountry homes. Luxury has a seat at the table in our famed restaurants that promise tantalizing culinary adventures within.

Dear Reader,

In September, we bit our fingernails as we stared down yet another hurricane, hoping our collective will would change Irma’s mind. We watched as she decimated the vulnerable Caribbean and then barreled straight up Florida. Then, even as many of us had evacuated, the fierce storm drew further west, to our relief. It was certainly an emotional time that stung more with the fresh memory of Hurricane Matthew.

Pictured from left to right: Mary Ann Kent, Majka Yarbrough, Anuska Frey, Cathy Flory and Rebecca V. Kerns

Dear Reader,
As the cooler winds of fall return to the Lowcountrywe say goodbye to summerand turn our eyes inward as we present our annual City Guide issue. As I’m sure yours is as well, our calendar is full to the brim with autumn social events.

A September tradition here at Monthly, it offers a chance to take stock of who we are as a community –the places we call home and the people we call neighbors. And this year we’ve pulled out all the stops. You’ll hear from Hilton Head Island Mayor David Bennett and Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka in exclusive interviews outlining all that is right with our region. We’re sharing the efforts underway to preserve the cultural heritage of the area’s Gullah people and update you on the Town of Hilton Head Island’s visioning process.

Dear Reader,
As this issue hits the streets, we’re getting settled in our new offices on Westbury Parkway in Bluffton. We’re excited about our new location in the heart of the Lowcountry. But please know that our team members still will be on Hilton Head every day, to serve your needs and keep their fingers on the pulse of the island.

It’s high summer in the Lowcountry, the time of year when happiness smells like sunscreen and locals joke that Hilton Head Island might sink from the weight of all the visitors. So much fun is packed into the long days that end in soft, golden evening light.

July is when the staff at local restaurants, bike rental companies, charter fishing boats and other businesses work long hours to make sure that every customer’s experience is top notch. Here at Monthly, we too worked hard on this issue to bring you the very best of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton people, events and opinions.