Hilton Head Monthly Voice Voice of the Lowcountry 
In 2017, area mayors and County Council came together to form the Beaufort County Economic Development Corp. They formed the organization with an eye toward diversifying the county’s economy and creating better jobs.
The BCEDC got off to a fast start in its first few years and then came the COVID-19 pandemic. What was to become momentum, stalled for a year as vaccines were developed and things could get back to a “new normal.”
When we spoke in mid-April, with opening day of Lowcountry Fresh Market and Café looming at some point in May, owners Andy and Cindy Rolfe were miles apart, but were as close as ever.
With buzzsaws and hammers very audible on the conference call, Andy was holding down the fort on the active construction site that would (cross fingers) be fully operational within a month. On the other line, Cindy was driving back from Georgia where she’d just wrapped up a meeting with a hog farmer.
KAPPA DELTA BEACH WALK RAISES MONEY FOR CAPA
The Low Country Kappa Delta Alumnae chapter raised nearly $1,600 for the Child Abuse Prevention Association of Beaufort (CAPA). Thirty KDs, their friends and families walked together on Hilton Head’s Coligny Beach. More than 50 individuals, families and teams also walked “virtually” or in their own neighborhoods. The fundraiser also raised nearly $400 for National Kappa Delta’s Shamrock Project in support of Prevent Child Abuse America. To date, Kappa Deltas have donated more than $26 million to prevent child abuse in this country.
BRIDGE AT CALHOUN PROJECT AIMS TO EMPOWER ENTREPRENEURS
When Matt Cunningham left the corporate world, he was determined to do something different — and make a difference.
By this time next year, he intends to deliver on that goal.
Cunningham is the developer behind the Bridge at Calhoun, a decidedly different project taking shape at the corner of Calhoun and Bridge streets in Old Town Bluffton.
The Lowcountry is home to title-winning teams. Hilton Head Christian Academy recently won SCISA Class AA state boys golf and girls soccer titles. The golf team defeated Palmetto Christian on the Hackler Golf Course in Conway. The girls soccer team defeated Christian Academy 3-0 at Heathwood Hall in Columbia. HHCA golfer Max Green also won an individual title. He shot a 36-hole total of 4-under 140.
Charles “Chuck” Copley of Hilton Head Island was recently recognized as the District Honoree for 2020 General Aviation Flight Instructor of the Year at the South Carolina Aviation Association Conference.
Copley is also a recipient of the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.
The Hilton Head Island ordinance requiring people to wear a face covering inside commercial buildings to limit the spread of COVID-19 expired after Town Council voted not to extend it. Town Council encouraged the public to continue taking preventative measures to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. The ordinance was set to end May 16 but ended immediately May 12 after Gov. Henry McMaster’s order restricting local mask mandates.
In grade school, I used to enjoy reading the dictionary (weird kid, right?). My sixth-grade teacher challenged the class to find the longest word in the dictionary.
I won by finding a 46-letter word. This exercise helped me begin to understand the power of words and why it is important to attempt precision in word choices.
An early-morning crash on May 1 in the Lowcountry killed three people. A pickup and a sedan crashed on the westbound Hilton Head bridges, sending the truck into the water, according to the Associated Press. Three Jasper County residents, Tyler Cameron Carroll, 23, of Ridgeland; Jonathan Green, 27, of Hardeeville; and Jordan Amari Johnson, 21, of Ridgeland died at the scene. The crash happened at 2:15 a.m.
Dustin Johnson is set to compete at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, June 10-13. He is a 24-time PGA Tour winner. The event is expected to draw a field of 156 golfers. Standouts Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick are also set to contend for the title. Congaree Golf Club was voted Golf Digest’s Best New Private Course in 2018.
The Savannah Book Festival announced plans to host the 2022 Savannah Book Festival in person Feb. 17-20, 2022. Executive Director Erika Dongre said the festival will incorporate safety recommendations from the CDC and state and local governments. SBF pivoted to all virtual events following the cancellation of the February 2021 festival. The festival plans to offer some virtual events in 2022.
Ashley Jacobs, who resigned last October as Beaufort County’s administrator, was hired to be chief information and innovation officer in Wake County, N.C. Jacobs had been Beaufort County’s administrator since 2019. Her first day in her new position will be June 14. She will oversee the county’s technology infrastructure, according to a news release.
Beaufort County’s Register of Deeds launched a free service that gives property owners e-mail alerts whenever a document is recorded with the owner’s name or property ID.
The public can sign up by visiting the Beaufort County Register of Deeds website and following the links to register. More than 70,000 documents are recorded annually at the Register of Deeds office.
Crews have begun work on a $42 million project that spans from the S.C. 315 intersection close to Hardeeville to the Back River Bridge near Savannah.
Work that has been completed includes most of the re-striping that creates narrower, 11-foot lanes during construction that will widen the highway from two lanes to four.
MC RILEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECEIVES ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT DONATION
The American Heart Association said MC Riley Elementary School received an athletic equipment donation from Southern Coast Heart Ball sponsor Enmarket. The American Heart Association’s Move More initiative, which encourages physical activity for better physical and mental health, kicked off in April.
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