Sebastian Vela Garcia of the Boys & Girls Club of Hilton Head Island was named 2021 Lowcountry Youth of the Year. He is a junior at Hilton Head High School. 

As the Lowcountry Youth of the Year, Sebastian will receive a college scholarship worth $500 and continue on to compete in Boys & Girls Clubs of America's the State Youth of the Year competition on April 22. 

Alex Brown had a history of active business and community involvement on Hilton Head. It wasn’t until the coronavirus pandemic winnowed down his busy schedule that he had time to assess his ability to make real change. 

He started thinking about, and praying on, making a run for the soon-to-be-vacated Ward 1 town council seat, which he won in November. 

Brown, 47, who served as a member of the planning commission, is also vice president of operations for Camp Hilton Head, a company that sells Hilton Head-inspired merchandise. His community service is lengthy, including coaching and mentoring youth. 

The area’s top football players were recognized with all-state honors by the South Carolina Football Coaches Association. 

May River’s Ahmad Green made the Class 4A first team, as did May River defensive standouts Eli Hall and Steffin Gadson.  

Bluffton defensive end DJ Aiken and Beaufort’s Tyler Haley were first-team performers. May River’s Will Wilson, Garrett Bonneville and Moxon Zehr earned honorable mentions.  

Noah Alexander is only 19 years old, but his drive to help Hampton County evolve has already made headlines. Alexander is the youngest County Councilman in the county’s history, and likely the youngest elected official in South Carolina’s history.

Elected in November 2020, he takes office this in January and said he’ll spend the first few weeks getting to know the county’s staff and fellow elected officials and learning about their responsibilities.

The ongoing migration of residents to southern Beaufort County has exacerbated an already strained healthcare system, making it difficult to find even basic primary care. This month, Beaufort Memorial Hospital will help ease the demand for medical services with the opening of its new 70,000-square-foot Okatie Medical Pavilion.

The brand-new three-story facility opens Nov. 2 and features 16 practices offering primary and specialty care along with a walk-in clinic, outpatient and cardiac rehabilitation, laboratory and imaging services, a breast health center, memory center and Beaufort Memorial’s second-full-service cancer center.

The commitment to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease continues with an extra emphasis on health and safety this year. Bluffton’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s is set for 10:45 a.m. Oct. 31.  

To ensure a safe walk, participants are invited to walk in small teams of friends and family on sidewalks, tracks and trails.  
Held annually in more than 600 communities nationwide, Walk to End Alzheimer’s raises awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. 
Vineyard Bluffton has a team of dedicated walkers. The assisted living and memory care community walks for its residents with Alzheimer’s and their families.  

Three years after breaking ground, the Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion at Medical University of South Carolina is open.

The $385 million project in Charleston provides state-of-the-art care for children and women.

MUSC’s new facility has 250 beds, about 20% more than its previous children’s center, according to hospital officials. An entire floor is reserved for children with heart conditions, while another is for children with cancer. The neonatal ICU and the cancer unit are designed to keep families together during the hospital stay, with more than 80 licensed b eds and single-patient family rooms. There also are play spaces so kids still have the chance to be kids, including an atrium playroom.

Baseball is back. The National Pastime returned last month and there’s no better way to get into the swing of season then enjoying some great baseball reads. From the thrill of flipping baseball cards to the drama of a pennant-winning home run, Monthly has compiled a list of books and articles that are essential reading as we enjoy the return of Major League Baseball.

Part of Monthly’s mission is to promote and sustain activities that improve the quality of life for Lowcountry residents. Every month in our Community Connection section, we print announcements from charitable funds, non-profit organizations, civic club, social service agencies and others who are working to serve the needs of local youth, families, adults and animals.