Intriguing People of the Lowcountry

Marcus Mullis is a man of precision. He has to be.

As an expert in working with medical laser equipment, attention to detail is an absolute must, as the machines rely on precise measurements and settings to function properly.

The painted bunting, rightfully considered one of the most beautiful birds in North America, causes a stir wherever it alights. Recently, the media of New York City were agog at the sighting of one in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The painted bunting may be a little more common here in the Lowcountry, but its appearance is nonetheless one that sticks with anyone who chances to see it.

The modern U.S. Navy has a bit of its own living history here on Hilton Head Island in retired Cmdr. David Leighton.

During a decorated Naval and civil service career, Leighton worked for 26 years with Adm. Hyman Rickover, described by The Washington Post in a 1979 article as the “czar of nuclear propulsion” and the “father of the nuclear Navy.” Rickover’s numerous achievements include the creation of the USS Nautilus, the world’s first working nuclear-powered submarine. Serving on active duty for 64 years, longer than anyone in Naval history, Rickover and his team were chiefly responsible for building the U.S. submarine fleet and nuclear-powered ships for 30 years starting in the early 1950s.

Vicki Wood took her first SAT at age 32, 10 years after she finished college. Surrounded by nervous teenagers and clutching her sharpened No. 2 pencil, she completed the test as a personal challenge and a possible career move — and she hasn’t looked back.

Scampering along the mostly dirt roads of Hilton Head Island in the 1950s, young Herbert Ford could never have imagined that one day he would be setting up threat vulnerability and risk analysis programs to help protect American interests at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. But that is part of the fascinating and largely classified life story of this native islander who has returned to embrace new opportunities on his beloved island overlooking the green salt marshes of Broad Creek.

When highly successful people are asked to share the secrets to their success or describe how they got their start, their anecdotes of their early days don’t typically involve hoping for failure.

What makes a person intriguing?
Every day we come across people that fascinate us. They arouse our curiosity. We hear about them and want to know more. What they have done or said stimulates conversations.

An avid cyclist, Joan Lemoine has logged miles through the rolling pastoral beauty of Vermont and even through the subtropical peaks and valleys of Vietnam. But there is one trail that daunts even her, right here on the island.

What makes a Person Intriguing?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, it’s someone that has the capacity to fascinate us, to arouse our curiosity. The people profiled here range from a 17-year-old pilot to a 73-yearold skater dude. One of these people represented Japan in the Summer Olympics. Another distributes 3-D art through Walgreens. Take a closer look at these people, These intriguing people living around us here in the Lowcountry.