Do the 'The Shrimp Boat Shake' at DuBois Park

Town officials and members of the 2013 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class will debut the Shrimp Boat Playground at DuBois Park at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 11. 

In addition to the traditional ribbon-cutting, the class and town officials are asking residents, their  children and their pets to join them for their first-ever Bluffton celebratory dance called “The Shrimp Boat Shake.”  The dance, modeled after You-Tube Sensation “The Harlem Shake,” will be led by the Bluffton High School Dance team.

Read more: Do the 'The Shrimp Boat Shake' at DuBois Park

The Port Royal Experiment: Inside the biggest land deal in town council history

On March 5, Hilton Head Town Council approved spending $5 million to purchase 102 acres at Port Royal Plantation. The property consists of a large portion of Planter’s Row Golf Course, located on William Hilton Parkway between Dillon and Union Cemetery roads. 

It is the largest single parcel the town has ever acquired. 

“It was a pretty easy decision,” town manager Steve Riley said. “The price was very good – about $50,000 an acre. The last time we built a recreation field on the island, the land cost us about $200,000 an acre. If nothing else, this is a pretty good buy for future recreational needs.”

Read more: The Port Royal Experiment: Inside the biggest land deal in town council history

Another day on the job, part I: HHIFR

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series in which Monthly will spend a day visiting different offices, business, and workplaces around the area. If you’d like us to spend a day at your office, email
editor@hiltonheadmonthly.com

Seems like it’ll be a quiet rainy morning at Station 3, where Town of Hilton Head Island Fire & Rescue Lt. Ryan Zold supervises a shift change shortly before 8 a.m. Eggs are boiling and coffee warming in a communal kitchen and lights are off in an adjacent video lounge, weight room and sleeping cubicles that might see use later. Newspapers remain folded. Zold and two cohorts, firefighter and paramedic Lee Jenkins and fire apparatus operator Alan Hover, will live and work together for the next 24-hours; four traditional workdays jammed together before heading home.  

Read more: Another day on the job, part I: HHIFR

End of the Road: The flyovers have landed

The long and winding road connecting Bluffton Parkway to the first bridge to Hilton Head Island has been one filled with many potholes and bumps.

But the way has now been paved for the flyovers, which will start at Bluffton Parkway’s intersection with Buckingham Plantation Drive and rise up over the marsh between Buckingham Landing and The Gatherings.

It’s a project that has pitted hundreds of citizens against the Beaufort County Council, which also found itself in a fray with the Hilton Head Town Council over the plan.

And despite its pretty much being a done deal, there are still some people who wish the flyover project would simply go away.

Read more: End of the Road: The flyovers have landed

A decade of influence: Women in Philanthropy celebrates 10 years

As women’s role in society has grown, their influence has grown in the direction our society takes, a fact that is particularly true when it comes to charitable giving. While women have long been in the majority as volunteers at nonprofits, many of them now also have the wherewithal to contribute financially.

And that’s particularly true on Hilton Head Island thanks to a group that tends to stay under the radar but contributes in myriad ways to the community.

Now in its 10th year, Women in Philanthropy has grown to nearly 200 members and has an endowment that has grown since its inception to $800,000. The endowment is invested and, with the money earned from that investment, grants are provided to help strengthen families and individuals in the areas of arts and culture, community development, education, the environment, and health and human services.

Photo by Russell Greene Left to right: Hester Hodde, Margaret McManus, Mary Briggs, Margaret Sanders, Barbara Pollard, Jan Billingslea, Kaye Black, Judy Johnson, and Juliann Foster.

The local arm of Women in Philanthropy got its start in 2003 when Susan Ketchum, who had served on the board of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry for six years, wanted to highlight the vital role women play in our community.

Read more: A decade of influence: Women in Philanthropy celebrates 10 years

The new pioneers: The Hilton Head Island Institute

In the early days of Hilton Head Island, a pioneering spirit and a sense of impending opportunity drove a generation of the adventurous and the entrepreneurial to call Hilton Head Island home.

 “The atmosphere back in the early ‘70s, when there were only about 3,000 people on the island, was electric,” said David Ames, who has had a major hand in the island’s development since arriving here. “Because there were so many young people being given so much responsibility, everything we imagined felt like it was in the realm of possibility. It’s that kind of spirit we’re trying to renew.”

 The “we” he speaks of are his fellow board members and pioneers in the Hilton Head Island Institute, a newly formed not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising the island’s profile as a hub for intellectual thought and new ideas. It’s a tall order, to attract a new generation of pioneers to the island. So how are they going to get there? That could very well be up to you.

Left to right: David Ames, Allen Ward, Kim Kachmann-Geltz and Jack Alderman

Starting with the end in mind

“It’s hard to pin us down to ‘what is the institute,’” Ames said. “But it’s really a blank sheet of paper for the benefit of the island. It’s not having all the answers. It’s asking the questions. The potential lies in what don’t know today.”

Read more: The new pioneers: The Hilton Head Island Institute

BREAKING: 2013 Concours d'Elegance to change locations

The following comes from a press release from the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance

After more than a decade as a cornerstone fall event at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn, the Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance has announced that it will be moving to a new location this year.  The 2013 Hilton Head Island portion of the Festival, scheduled for November 2 – 3, will take place for the first time at the award-winning Port Royal Golf Club in Port Royal Plantation on Hilton Head Island, predominantly on the Planter’s Row Golf Course.

“Making this move to a venue that offers top-notch resort amenities, including three 18-hole golf courses, the newly renovated oceanfront Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa, beach, tennis, croquet and conference/special event facilities, allows us to beautifully meet both consumer and corporate sponsor needs,” said Carolyn Vanagel, the Festival’s President.  “It will highlight the many benefits of Hilton Head Island to the visitors coming from throughout the United States for the event.  And much like Honey Horn, Port Royal Plantation is rich with history offering a cultural experience for the over 14,000 Festival attendees.”

“We are encouraged by the positive support we have received thus far from Heritage Golf Group and Port Royal Golf Club, The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa, Port Royal Plantation, the Town of Hilton Head Island, the Hilton Head Island/Bluffton Chamber of Commerce & VCB and the Coastal Discovery Museum,” said Stew Brown, the Festival’s Chairman of the Board.

“We are thankful to Michael Marks, Robin Swift and the entire team of staff and volunteers at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn for their partnership throughout our first 11 years.  We would not be where we are today without the continuous support they have provided and we look forward to continuing to work with them on aspects of the Festival moving forward,” said Vanagel. ?Tickets for the 2013 Motoring Festival will be available for sale online starting spring 2013 just in time for Father’s Day.

For more information, visit the official Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance website.

The lay of the land: new sustainability study ready to launch

Sustainability is based on a simple principle: Everything that we need for our survival and well-being now and in the future depends on our natural environment.

That concept certainly resonates on Hilton Head Island, which is known for its beauty and natural resources.

But how do we measure and how do we maintain our environment?

That question and more will be answered in an upcoming assessment in which data will be gathered to identify, prioritize and lay the foundation for island-wide sustainability initiatives.

“Initiating specific measures for improving sustainability efforts … will positively impact Hilton Head Island’s property values, ecotourism and golf industries, growth strategies, economic development and quality of life for residents and visitors,” according to a report from the Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC), which was created by the Greater Island Council, a nonprofit group of community leaders whose goal is to protect the quality of life on Hilton Head Island.

Read more: The lay of the land: new sustainability study ready to launch