Gov. Henry McMaster presented South Carolina native and World No. 1 Dustin Johnson in early June with the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor. 

Johnson is a 24-time PGA Tour winner, the defending FedEx Cup champion and the first South Carolinian to win the Masters. He was born in Columbia and attended Coastal Carolina University. 

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. 

Stephen Steese was picked by Bluffton Town Council as the town’s new manager. In late April, Council unanimously selected Steese, who is the Easley city administrator. 

A news release said council held an “an all-day executive session” in which council members planned to interview four final candidates. The town planned to release the names of the final three candidates but decided to select Steese at the end of executive session.