As our region responded to the pandemic, we’ve been inspired to write an article devoted to the people, businesses and organizations who have proven that Beaufort is a city of helpers when times get tough.
These are just a few of the thousands of people from front-line workers to teachers and other locals who have risen to the challenge we have all had to face in 2020.
Local resident and fashion designer Mendy Perdew Hovland started making masks in a converted camper outside of her Shell Point home in late March, and is still at it today in late August. Her efforts grew into a 5 hour a day-5 day a week mission to help as many people as she could. Mendy bought her own materials and supplies to make the masks and also received a few supply donations from her neighbors to help out. Her goal is to make and distribute 1,500 masks and she is nearing that total. Also, with the school year approaching, she has been making masks in local school colors to donate to local schools for staff, students or anybody who may need one. If your school needs some, you can email her at mendyhendricks@gmail.com.
The local food and beverage industry was hit particularly hard during the pandemic. Thinking outside of the box, local restaurant and brewery owner Nick Borreggine and developer Whit Suber created the Community Beer Garden on the Port of Port Royal property along Battery Creek in Port Royal to offer locals a chance to get out of the house and enjoy table-side delivery of meals from local restaurants while enjoying a cold beer and maintaining the current norms of social distancing. Food from five or six local restaurants and food trucks are available at the Garden and folks can enjoy food, drink and socializing while social distancing outdoors.
While the pandemic has been difficult for many, for those who are in the massage therapy business, the pain of social distancing has cut to a deeper level. Relying entirely on providing hands-on services, massage therapists saw their business wiped out entirely in the blink of an eye when the pandemic hit. Deborah Black, owner of Beaufort Massage & Bodywork dealt not only with the pandemic shutdown but had to close her business a second time due to contracting COVID-19 herself. Then, her husband Dan also contracted the virus and was hospitalized for several days with pneumonia. Neighbors and friends came to their aid and made grocery trips to setting up a spare room for Dan’s return from the hospital and even mowing their lawn. That’s what helps make Beaufort a city of helpers. When opening her business back up, a full medical intake form must now be filled out prior to coming in and temperatures are checked and there is more time between appointments to ensure deep cleaning between sessions. “Safety is number one and like everything else…this will pass,” Deborah said. “My family and I are beyond grateful for our wonderful community.”
Folks gasped when the beginning of our local sea turtle nesting season was nearly postponed or cancelled by the SCDNR. After all, sea turtles are important around here. Instead, new policy was put into place according to current social distancing guidelines. Patrols on our many sea islands normally work in teams of five or six when they hit the beaches at 6 o’clock in the morning, but this year, they had to do it in relative isolation. So, it was usually one person by themselves. With the season running from May through September, it was definitely full of long, long days. Thankfully, our local turtle patrol members, volunteers who are passionate about their work, were up to the task. See how they’re doing on Hunting Island.
Knowing that non-profit organizations lack the budget to handle emergencies, Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity put the hammers and saws down for a few minutes and helped make sure that other local organizations were equipped to handle things safely, while dealing with increasing community needs with fewer resources available, through their Masking A Difference program. Lowcountry Habitat helped to distribute 175,000 masks and 2,800 gallons of hand sanitizer among nonprofit organizations and volunteer organizations in Beaufort and across South Carolina. There were well over a dozen local recipients of the supplies including the Beaufort Jasper YMCA, the Lending Room, The Salvation Army, the Beaufort Area Hospitality Association, the Marshview Community Organic Farm and HELP of Beaufort. See the full story.
Local real estate agent/agency owner Will McCullough contracted COVID-19 in July and has now recovered from a difficult fight. The Marine veteran, avid runner, mixed martial arts enthusiast and Chairman of the South Carolina State Athletic Commission spent the better part of three weeks feeling like he got hit “with a ton of bricks,” and actually, at one point, was worried that he wouldn’t make it through. Will’s family went into quarantine and, thankfully, were not affected. Will said he is grateful to his physical fitness because, “I’m frankly not sure it would have ended as well as it did,” without it. Will chronicled his fight on Facebook, and his story was covered locally by WSAV TV. After recovering, Will donated antibodies via blood plasma to do his part to help and encouraged others in the community who have recovered to do the same.
Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling didn’t just use his position in local government to help the community. He also personally purchased 1000 masks and distributed them throughout the community for anyone who did not have a mask while starting a new drive to help bring masks to folks in the area. “I am able to prime the pump so to speak, but 1,000 masks is all I can personally afford so am asking for your help by donating,” Keyserling said in May while trying to raise money to help get more of them into the community through the city’s Pride of Place account, a new community improvement program that seeks to directly involve residents and visitors in improving the city. “Please consider joining me by sponsoring [masks]. Every $2.10 will pay for a mask for someone who might not otherwise have one.” See the full story.
When you’re a business and your revenue gets slashed by a large percentage during a worldwide pandemic the last thing you would think of is to go ahead and spend more money, but downtown’s Panini’s on the Waterfront did just that, for all the right reasons. The local eatery and its owner, Paul Thompson, took serious measures in June and July to make extensive improvements to help guard customers and employees against the threat of Covid-19. Panini’s installed all new HVAC systems and then went a step further by installing a new UV Sanitizing System into all of the new HVAC units to kill any airborne pathogens and contaminants. In addition, the restaurant has had all of its duct work completely cleaned, sanitized and sealed. “We have to do everything we can to protect our customers and our employees,” Thompson said. “This is our community, and we all have to play our part in insuring everyone’s safety.” See the full story.
