It’s not unusual to run into someone I know when I’m back in Charleston, but when the man who had been following his toddler through the refrigerated aisle at Harris Teeter picked up the boy and waved at me, it took me a second to place him. The only other time we’d met, I was the one trying to keep up with him as we walked from his office to the floor of the U.S. House of … [Read more...]
The Face Behind the Donation: A Very Proud Shawn Jenkins
He’ll tell you he’s a volunteer. And by the way he walks around the lobby and hallways of the new Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, greeting the nurses, construction workers and other staff members, you wouldn’t think anything different. He stopped and spoke to almost everyone we passed along the tour of this brand new 11-story children’s hospital, complimenting … [Read more...]
All Aboard: A Day in the Life of a Yacht Captain
I am awakened by Mac McAnally’s “Coast of Carolina” drifting from my iPhone alarm. I click on the weather radio and listen: The weather will be favorable for today’s travels. I roll out of my bunk and start the coffee. At 5:25 a.m., I walk past my crewman’s door, “We are a go!” is all I need to say on my way to the engine room. I check the 30-plus gauges involved with the … [Read more...]
The Fight for Their Lives: Life After Cancer
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, followed by Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. While you’ll notice a flurry of light blue and pink ribbons in their respective months; colorful accents worn by celebrities, football players and newscasters, there are many who carry those colors in their hearts year-round: those fighting cancer, those lucky to have survived … [Read more...]
Clubhouses for Children with Cancer: Building a Place to Dream, Imagine and Play
Each year, the parents of approximately 15,600 kids will hear the words “Your child has cancer,” according to CureSearch for Children’s Cancer. Across all ages, ethnic groups and socioeconomics, this disease remains the No. 1 cause of death by disease in children. One local company is creating a ray of sunshine in the lives of children with cancer. For the past three years, … [Read more...]
Cobblestone Quilters Guild: Creating Community Togetherness One Block at a Time
According to the website Quilting-in-America, “The term ‘quilt’ comes from the Latin ‘culcita,’ meaning a stuffed sack. The word has come to have two meanings. It is used as a noun, meaning the three-layer stitched bedcovering. It is also used as a verb, meaning the act of stitching through the three layers to hold them together.” To get a grasp on how quilts are “put … [Read more...]
Art on the Half Shell: Oyster Art
Chicago had cows, Lexington had horses, Los Angeles had angels and Charleston is getting its oysters. These little shelled mollusks are not just the inherent seawater-filtration system and cuisine delicacy we know them as, but they have also been crafted into jewelry dishes, chandelier ornaments and many more decorative items. … And, in the Town of Mount Pleasant, oysters … [Read more...]
Top of Their Games: A Look into the Lives of Local and Statewide Athletic Directors
With few exceptions, a university’s director of athletics occupies a vice president’s hectic seat on a campus organizational chart. Commonly referred as the “AD,” the leader of the college’s department of athletics — large or small — has accepted an awesome responsibility. At the University of South Carolina, Ray Tanner was a national championship coach. At Clemson University, … [Read more...]
Success Beyond a Diagnosis: Living and Thriving with a Learning Disability
Kerri Yates remembers never being able to differentiate between Bs and Ds. She also remembers reading a . paragraph and not being able to recall a single word. As a child, she was lucky enough to attend a small school of only eight students where the teacher was able to give her one-on-one attention. It wasn’t until her late 20s that she was formally diagnosed with … [Read more...]
Sol Food: Roots Rock with Mount Pleasant Roots
If you’re hungry for good local music, Sol Food serves up great tunes to bar patrons and music lovers around East Cooper. Musicians Lonnie Greene with lead vocals and guitar, Nick Collins with guitar and vocals, Scott Funkhouser on bass and Scott Bell on drums have been playing together for about two years, gaining a faithful following of their rootsrock style. Not only do … [Read more...]