Hilton Head People

GOVERNOR’S SCHOOLS INSPIRE TALENTED BEAUFORT COUNTY STUDENTS

For some Beaufort County teenagers, reaching their full potential means leaving home at an early age to study at one of two specialized public high schools located several hours away.

Wylder Voegele, who attended May River High School for ninth and 10th grades, graduated this year from the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. They (Voegele uses the gender-neutral pronoun) can’t say enough about how this residential, master- to-apprentice learning opportunity changed their life and put Voegele on a trajectory for success. Voegele will be a freshman at Maryland Institute College of Art this year, where they will continue their studies in animation.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND EXECUTIVE EARNS MASTER’S DEGREE

The youngest of 11 children from a working class family in Northern Virginia, Shannon Stratton started putting herself through community college at age 18. She was among the first in her family to pursue higher education. “I was working as an administrative assistant and going to school at night,” she said.

Despite her best efforts, life got in the way and she dropped out. Stratton went on to become a highly successful business owner, but she always wished she had earned her degree.

PRINCIPAL GRETCHEN KEEFNER RETIRES AFTER 44 YEARS OF FINDING JOY IN STUDENTS

A long line of cars wound its way toward Hilton Head Island Elementary School for the Creative Arts, but this wasn’t the average end-of-day carpool line.

Each vehicle bore colorful signs reading “Gretchen we love you!,” “You are an inspiration to all of us!,” and “Thank you for everything!”

WOMEN IN PHILANTHROPY HELPS HAMPTON COUNTY

This spring, when tornadoes ripped through Hampton County and locals lost their jobs due to the novel coronavirus, nonprofit giving circle Women in Philanthropy sprang into action. The group that usually serves only Beaufort County needs issued special appeals to its members, who responded generously to both fundraising drives.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FULL SPEED AHEAD AT THE GLEN

Carolina Ramirez usually has a smile on her face, and she giggled when she said, “We’re calling this ‘the waiting house.’”

Her home at Hilton Head Regional Habitat for Humanity’s The Glen neighborhood is months behind schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she and her three kids never lost hope that they’d soon be living under their own roof. Now their dream of homeownership is becoming reality: The family will move in this month.

SWEETGRASS INN COMING TO HILTON HEAD HEALTH 

Weight loss resort Hilton Head Health expects to open the Sweetgrass Inn by January 2021. The 18,000- square-foot property will have 30 guest rooms, a game room and theater room. It will also include a rocking chair porch that overlooks Hilton Head Health’s heated pool. 

COURT ATKINS GROUP RELOCATES TO FORMER RED FISH BUILDING 

Court Atkins Group has renovated and relocated to the former Red Fish Restaurant building in Bluffton. James Atkins said the main goal was to get the firm’s entire team at one location. 

BLUFFTON SELF HELP PROVIDES AID FOR MANY

“This is the most generous community I’ve ever worked in,” Kimberly Hall said as she finished loading donated groceries onto a shelf.

Hall, who is executive director of Bluffton Self Help, pointed to Holly Ashby, who was getting in her SUV to leave, as an example of local generosity. Ashby collects food donations from other residents in Sun City Hilton Head and drives them to Bluffton Self Help. Since the COVID-19 crisis began, she has brought in more than 2,000 pounds of canned goods and other non-perishables for the nonprofit’s food pantry.

LOWCOUNTRY RESIDENTS START SEWING TO HELP KEEP COMMUNITY SAFE

Keeping the Lowcountry safe during the coronavirus pandemic has been a community effort. From medical professionals to kind-hearted neighbors, the work of many unsung heroes has helped lift spirits and provide comfort. 

A pressing need for face masks inspired a number of volunteers throughout the area to make hundreds of them, including Hilton Head Island resident Paula Traver and the team at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina’s costume shop.