Hilton Head Monthly Voice Voice of the Lowcountry 
BLUFFTON NATIVES KAYLYNN AND HALEY WILLIAMS BROUGHT SOUTHERN CHARM TO THE AMAZING RACE
It started in 2018 with a photo that Kaylynn Williams had posted on Instagram. The photo itself was nothing particularly remarkable for the young Bluffton native, just a shot of her and a friend. What was remarkable was the comment posted beneath it, from a casting director at CBS’ The Amazing Race telling her to check her DMs.
1. HODGE JOINS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE LOWCOUNTRY
Lisa Hodge has joined Community Foundation of the Lowcountry as a program associate. Hodge will support grant and scholarship applicants; serve as liaison to giving circles, nonprofit agencies and scholarship funds; perform general accounting functions and work in various data management platforms.
Last February, Dr. Sanjay Gupta came to visit Volunteers in Medicine prior to giving a speech for the Lowcountry Speakers Series.
Little did any of us know the extent of the crisis we were about to face.
Since then, Dr. Gupta and Dr. Anthony Fauci have been reliable sources on the extent of the pandemic and strategies to mitigate its disastrous consequences.
ENTREPRENEUR BEA WRAY PENS BOOK ABOUT HER EXPERIENCES FROM THE BOARDROOM TO THE PLAYROOMTHE PLAYROOM
Bea Wray had a great education, earning degrees from Emory University in Atlanta and the Harvard Business School.
Great, but incomplete.
It wasn’t until she spent six years on Daufuskie Island — raising her three children — that she added essential life lessons to round out her people skills, ranging from effective listening to successful team management.
CHARITY AUCTION RAISES $100,000 FOR PANDEMIC WORKERS
When Eric Sedransk retreated to Hilton Head Island in mid-March, it was a two-pronged move. He thought it wise to escape New York City, where the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, and he wanted to be here to assist his newly widowed mother.
He could run errands, help around the house, and provide emotional support for a grieving mother suddenly faced with the additional stress of navigating a pandemic.
LONG COVE FUND GIVES BACK DURING UNPRECEDENTED TIME OF NEED
Roy Bowen visited Hilton Head for four decades before finally buying his dream island home five years ago. The CEO of the Georgia Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturers Education Foundation knew the first time he and wife Karen visited Long Cove Club that they had found more than a new residence.
“Every place has great golf courses and amenities, but I immediately felt this place was different. I found a community of caring and compassionate people,” said the new chairperson of the Long Cove Fund. “Giving back is in my blood and I found a new home that shares that purpose and drive.”
THE WATTERSON FAMILY FOUNDATION FLOURISHES AS MAJOR FORCE FOR POSITIVE CHANGE
For many of us, this past year has been one of unimaginable struggle. Whether you have lost a loved one to COVID-19 or you’ve seen your small business hobbled or your livelihood destroyed by the financial meltdown that followed the pandemic, 2020 has been a year of almost unsurmountable challenge.
But sometimes, from the darkest days shine the brightest hopes. Sometimes adversity teaches us, makes us stronger as we turn our wounds to wisdom. Few know how much of a motivating factor hardship can be better than Billy Watterson.
NEW VIM PATIENT CARE LEADER INSPIRED BY HER MOTHER, THE NONPROFIT’S FIRST CLINIC DIRECTOR
Life has a way of coming full circle. And that is the case at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic on Hilton Head Island.
When the clinic opened its doors in 1993, Angie Greenfield was the organization’s first clinic director. Earlier this year, director of patient care, Julie Copp, retired. She was succeeded by Jennifer Gatlin, Greenfield’s daughter.
POSITIVE INTERACTIONS TOP PRIORITY FOR NEW BLUFFTON POLICE CHIEF
As cities and towns around the country grapple with tenuous relationships between communities and police, Bluffton has hired a police chief who places positive community relations at the top of her agenda.
Bluffton is a special place where the police department and the community are integrated, Chief Stephenie Price said. And even though she is the department’s third permanent chief of police since Joey Reynolds retired in 2017, morale is high, Price said.
PUBLIC WILL HAVE INPUT ON FACE MASK ORDINANCE
One of the responsibilities as chairman of the Beaufort County Council is to place items on the council agenda that will ensure and protect Beaufort County so that it will continue to be one of the most desirable places in the United States to live, work, vacation, enjoy and appreciate.
The super majority of council honestly believed that the emergency ordinance that we originally passed and renewed has helped to protect Beaufort County from suffering a greater loss of life and incidence of illness while ensuring that our economy stayed open as much as possible.
