When you take a moment to think about the core values of our town, one of the first things that comes to mind is our hospitality. It’s no wonder that we’ve built a booming industry on the back of the friendly reception and overall care for others that Charleston is famous for. Sadly, in a city where striking up a conversation with a stranger is commonplace, the effects of a … [Read more...]

How does a global pandemic such as COVID-19 get dealt with in smaller communities? The greatest impact in managing the crisis comes from our hometown heroes. The health care workers of the Lowcountry in South Carolina answered as they always do: swiftly, with compassion and determination, all while placing themselves, and oftentimes their own families, at risk. From the … [Read more...]

As the COVID-19 pandemic made its way through Mount Pleasant, the town took an innovative approach to police work, redirecting its law enforcement resources to make life a little more bearable and a lot safer for the people who call the fourth largest municipality in South Carolina home. Mount Pleasant’s men and women in blue played an especially important role for the … [Read more...]

Is it your business’ one-year anniversary and you have no one to celebrate it with? That was me on March 18 this year, having to make the tough decision to close my doors to the public. The day also happened to be one year from the grand opening of my boutique, Erika Lynn Studio and Boutique. Immediately, it felt like survival of the fittest! Every store and small business … [Read more...]

The effects of COVID-19 are undeniable and reverberate within each and every home. While we cannot see the virus itself, change is evident and has impacted us in many ways. It may appear that we have lost freedoms, but we also have gained new opportunities. This is how some families are taking the lemons of a pandemic and making lemonade out of this experience. The … [Read more...]

Family lives transitioned quickly in March 2020 throughout South Carolina and the entire United States. Work layoffs, school closures, medical offices closed, as well as many other nonessential businesses shutting their doors for several weeks, even months. Athletes around the world could no longer take the court, hit the field or start their engines. Theme parks, trails, … [Read more...]

When the pulse started to take a turn and locals began taking COVID-19 more seriously, businesses became either essential or non-essential, a critical classification for small and micro businesses with impacts that will last long after the pandemic. Local towns issued stay-at-home orders. Beaches were closed off to non-residents. Visitors were essentially turned away at the … [Read more...]

From Chuck Berry to The Beach Boys, The Beatles to Prince, our favorite musicians have always sung about cars. Now, Americans may soon be singing the praises of the people who make them. Call it stepping up to the plate out of a corporate desire to help amid the current coronavirus pandemic, or call it big businesses reacting to some significant “arm-twisting” by President … [Read more...]

Five… four… three… “I can’t believe it!” Two… one… “We did it!” It’s all over! The University of Dayton Flyers are your 2020 NCAA Basketball National Champions! “YESSSSSSSSS!” I have replayed this scenario in my mind over and over and over again throughout the past six months. The shock. The excitement. The pure unadulterated joy of my alma mater winning its … [Read more...]

In many ways, the COVID-19 situation in hotspots around the world has been reminiscent of a fictional novel or a tale from centuries before modern medicine. A pandemic spreads across the world, the global economy comes to a screeching halt, people are confined to their homes and hospitals serve as the frontlines while doctors, nurses and staff put themselves in harm’s way, … [Read more...]