Mount Pleasant Business 2019-20

www.MPBusinessMag.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com MPB M ount Pleasant and Charleston are trying to attract more TV and film industry business. I think it’s a clean industry that can offer good-paying jobs. Our cover features veterans of the film business Tommy Melton and Linda Lee along with Kathy Landing. Kathy is a member of the Mount Pleasant City Council and supports the idea of directing good old Southern hospitality to Hollywood. You may be surprised how many movies and TV shows have been made right here. Turn to page 37 to check out our front-cover article. They may not be from Hollywood, but these power couples have businesses right here in Mount Pleasant and Daniel Island. The husbands and wives featured on pages 127 to 131 own their companies or are executives where they work. They share their secrets to balancing careers, relationships, family lives and how to be prosperous when both are driven to make a difference. When I lived on Isle of Palms in the early 1980s, I ran into Michael Bennett at Front Beach Floyds, long ago torn down. Michael was pounding nails at one of his first real estate ventures, the Seaside Cottages in Wild Dunes. He and his partner, Hank Hofford, couldn’t build the quaint cottages fast enough. Soon they were building cottages at several resort communities. Who knew that someday Michael would build the Bennett Hotel and Ferry Wharf for visitors and locals to enjoy? I would say Michael Bennett has been blessed and so have the communities he and his family serve with their 19 hotels and nine restaurants. He and his son Jack spent time with us at the Bennett Hotel and updated us on the Ferry Wharf project. Check out Brian Sherman’s “Worth the Wait” article on page 24. You can only image the changes I’ve seen living in East Cooper since 1979. In two words: A LOT! With changes come challenges or opportunities, depending on how you look at the world. Recently, I received an email from a reader criticizing our road infrastructure. The person encouraged us to give everyone an overview of the road projects around town, so we are in this issue of Mount Pleasant Business. We spoke to Mount Pleasant Transportation Director Brad Morrison and Transportation Infrastructure Chief Paul Lykins. I hope the article “Don’t Roll Out the Barrels Quite Yet: Roadwork in Mount Pleasant Continues” will help our readers understand what the town is doing to keep the flow of traffic moving now and in future years. Be informed. Join our Facebook community that is 41,000 strong and growing every day (facebook.com/MountPleasantMagazine ) or join our 3,300 Instagram followers (instagram.com/MountPleasantMagazine ). Thanks for reading Mount Pleasant Business magazine. If you would like to send our digital version to business associates, family members or friends, visit MPBusinessMag.com. BILL MACCHIO Publisher • MP Business 2019-20 FROM THE PUBLISHER 2019-20 Publisher/Editorial Director BILL MACCHIO Publisher@MountPleasantMagazine.com Managing Editor HELEN HARRIS Editor@MountPleasantMagazine.com Copy Editor TONYA MCGUE Art Director DANA COLEMAN Production Manager BETHANY THURM Ad Designers DANA COLEMAN BETHANY THURM KIM HALL REBECCA SOTTILE Webmaster GEORGE CONKLIN Internet SHERMAN PAGGI Writers Tonya McGue • Cathy Bennett • Eileen Casey Andy Solomon • Terri Erico Griffis Anne Shuler Toole • Stacy E. Domingo • Bill Farley Rachel Maile • Colin McCandless • Mary Coy Diane Pauldine • Brian Sherman • Ginger Sottile Christy Punch • Mac Finch • Pamela Jouan Sarah Graham • Alli Steinke • Theresa Stratford Enid Brenize • Jen Glekas Photographers Jenn Cady • Jeanne Taylor • Thomas Runion Tonya McGue • Michelle Fiorello Sales Manager CULLEN MURRAY-KEMP Cullen@MountPleasantMagazine.com Independent Media Consultants MARGARET BURNS Margaret@MountPleasantMagazine.com ANDY BIMONTE Andy@MountPleasantMagazine.com JEREMY BENNETT Jeremy@MountPleasantMagazine.com MANDY WILLIS Mandy@MountPleasantMagazine.com Administration & Bookkeeping DIANE PAULDINE • GINGER SOTTILE Distribution U.S. POST OFFICE • HARRIS TEETER • PUBLIX • CVS MountPleasantBusiness is published locally by a team of independent contractors who reside in East Cooper. Mount Pleasant Business is published by Media Services, Inc. 1013 Chuck Dawley Blvd., Mount Pleasant, S.C. 29464 Copyright © Media Services 2018. All rights reserved. Reproduction electronically or in print format without expressed written consent of the publisher is prohibited and a violation of U.S. copyright laws. Inquiries to: Mount Pleasant Business P.O. Box 22617, Charleston, S.C. 29413 843-881-1481 Info@MountPleasantMagazine.com