People Profiles

Imagine your car suddenly breaks down and you’ve got to spend $800 on repairs so you can get back on the road. Or you’re sidelined by a medical emergency, such as cancer or a heart attack, and you can’t work for months.

“People are surprised when they open their eyes. They’re surprised that there’s poverty on Hilton Head.”

Deep Well Project staff members are (from left) Betsy Doughtie, Rita Jones, Chris Wilcox and Sherry Pritchard.

Hilton Head Island resident Raz Reid has made a second career out of fly fishing

No matter how often the question arises, Raz Reid has a tough time answering.
Why fly fishing?
Reid always enjoyed fishing, but it wasn't until he first held a fly rod on a trout safari in Australia in the late 1970s that it became a passion. Even after years of landing world-record catches on fly, Reid had difficulty describing what drew him to that particular niche.

Hilton Head Island outdoorsman makes the most of life in the Lowcountry

From his youth on the lakes and streams of Tennessee to his adulthood navigating the waters of the South Carolina Lowcountry, Michael Perry has always been a man of the outdoors. It’s a passion that’s delivered the longtime islander a career he loves, and the opportunity to share that passion with thousands of others during his many years on Hilton Head Island.

Former homebuilder Paul McCue of Bluffton finds a second career as a gunsmith

In his heyday as a homebuilder, Paul McCue made skeet and trap shooting his hobby, going to competitions all over the Southeast.
“I was into sporting clays, skeet, trap. I was doing heavy competition and I built my own gun stocks. I had always worked on my own guns.”
McCue became interested in shooting sports while growing up near Pittsburgh.

Craig Everetts talks turkey and the hunting heritage of the Lowcountry

Long before there was Sun City Hilton Head, there was the Bill John Hunting Club.
To see the rows and rows of retirement homes now, it’s hard to believe that at one time, the 10,000 acres off of U.S. 278 were the hunting mecca of the Lowcountry.
Craig Everetts remembers it well. It’s where the veteran guide fell in love with turkey hunting.

It’s almost impossible to imagine Hilton Head Island as fertile hunting grounds. When modern developments compete with crisply manicured golf courses, and various overlapping POA rules and town ordinances compete to keep noise down and discharging of firearms to a mimimum, the island hardly seems like the place to head out and scare up some dove.

Development after development, from Sea Pines to Palmetto Bluff, Tommy Baysden helps keep Lowcountry’s natural beauty a central focus

Tommy Baysden was one of the lucky young MBA graduates who landed a job with Charles Fraser and helped turn Sea Pines into one of the most nature-embracing developments on the East Coast.
“My wife Cindy and I moved here from North Carolina in 1971 to Harbour Town. We were one of the first people to get mail. It was amazingly wild at the time. It was basically a wilderness then. Hilton Head was and is a natural paradise.”

Roman Larinonov,
moved from Moscow to Hilton Head

When people think of immigrants, it's usually Hispanics that pop to mind. However, locally and nationally, the number of Russian immigrants is growing.

About 409,000 Russian-born immigrants live in the U.S., and about 18 percent live in the South. It is estimated that at least 100 Russian immigrants live in the area, although that number could be greater.

When reflecting on his bold move from Moscow to Hilton Head Island in 2006, Roman Larinonov said, “Conquering fear and taking calculated risks takes courage, guts. Looking back, you earn a feeling of self-respect.”

This month, the fifth annual Italian Heritage Festival at Honey Horn Plantation, brought to you by the Italian-American Club of Hilton Head, reminds us that an event of this size, with vendors, guests, residents and families from all over enjoying the Italian experience, means the Lowcountry is home to a burgeoning Italian-American village of sorts. 

This transplanted culture brings with it the best it can offer, from old-world recipes made with fresh local ingredients, fine imported and local wines, sports that have their roots in the Italian countryside, live music, and of course, lots of conversation spoken in several dialects.

The Italian culture brings new meaning to the phrase, “It takes a village, to raise a child,” and we’re delighted to bring you a few examples of Italian-American citizens who have brought the best of both worlds to bear right here in the U.S. and on Hilton Head Island.