Second Wind, under sail

“What they really want to see,” the captain said, “is a sailing photo.”

Of course, it can often be challenging to get a photo of your own boat under sail. Fortunately, we have often sailed in tandem with good friends, and their captain is also a good photographer.  This is one that he shot, during a month-long cruise to Long Island Sound and back.

It was a grey day in January when we headed to Rock Hall, MD, ostensibly to check out a boat for a possible summertime charter with our two sons. But en route, Walt said he also wanted to check out a new model of  sailboat from Island Packet, a 41-foot motor sailer.

We had owned several sailboats and chartered others around the world: Greece and Turkey, the Whitsunday Islands, the San Juan Islands and the Caribbean. But I was somewhat cautious. The last time I had been on a big cruising sailboat, I knew, even in my 50s, that my days of clinging to a mast and raising and lowering sails would not last forever.  I expressed these concerns, but told the captain I would keep an open mind.

Arriving at Gratitude Yachting Center, we were taken onboard an SP Cruiser in winter storage. From the moment I stepped onboard, I liked what I saw. All of the sails could be managed from the stern, with electric-powered winches from the safety of  a high-walled cockpit well. Thinking back now over four long seasons of sailing, I can think of only a couple of times when a crew member had to go forward to manage halyards or sheets–usually just a jib sheet that managed to get caught on an open hatch cover. And with a self-tending jib, you didn’t even have to reset the jib when you tacked.

When we entered the cabin, the deal was sealed in my mind. We had loved the layout of our last boat, a smaller Nimble Wanderer, with an open salon and a large galley just a few steps down. To me, it’s like the great rooms you see in many new homes, with the kitchen open to the room so that the cook can feel a part of family activities. The layout immediately evoked wonderful memories of the times we had enjoyed with our family on our last boat.

We knew Island Packet’s reputation for quality, and could see that kind of attention to detail throughout the boat. Mechanical systems were well organized and easy to reach.

We’ve enjoyed thrilling sails, but as retirees interested in spending longer times onboard, comfort and safety were bigger priorities than performance (which was still very good). We appreciated many well-positioned hand holds, the metal safety rail that went around the boat–and a big thick double mattress that could be accessed from either side. Nor would the 6’5″ son have to duck in the main cabin areas.

We signed the contract before we left that day.

Second Wind, from the stern

Because of some new health issues, we have reluctantly decided to put Second Wind on the market. We hope this site helps to communicate why we think she is a such a good boat. We also hope you will send us your questions and post comments on your own sailing adventures!

–The Captain and the First Mate

With hearts open to God, all the world becomes holy

Then, into the water she went…a pretty sight made even better when the engine started at the first turn of the key. YAY!
Now, there are plenty of things to do: cleaning, getting the sails on and stuff like that. But that’s part of the fun.
I especially like the early season because (no matter how many times Mother Nature has pulled the football out from under us in the past) we really think every sailing day is going to come with perfect weather. Well, sometimes it fun even when it rains.

The boat, a 1991 Island Packet cutter (that’s a sloop with two head-sails) is the Donna Marie. Named after my bride of 35 years . . . she still introduces me as her first husband! Scary.
The Donna Marie measures 38 feet from bow to stern. Throw in the swim platform and bow pulpit and she’s 44 feet overall. A gorgeous boat, with really sleek, traditional sailboat lines. She takes a great picture.

Our plans are lofty for this season: a couple of trips to Beach Haven – gotta eat at the Chicken or the Egg. A walk around the oldest resort city on Long Beach Island – also known as The Queen City. And, of course, at least a long weekend at Trump Marina in Atlantic City where there’s great night life at the tiki bar – which is big enough to sometimes host two bands at once!
A favorite relaxing place for us to unwind is Meyers Hole at Barnegat Light. An interesting history, Meyers Holes is a large six to seven foot deep bowl dug out of the Barnegat Light inlet area by the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. They used the material dug up to create what is now a long isthmus extending from High Bar Harbor to the spot where Double Creek meets the main channel. Apparently the isthmus was designed to create a barrier so enemy subs couldn’t send a torpedo through the inlet and hit the mainland.

We’ll also be heading up under the Seaside/Toms River bridge to explore the bay north of Toms River. A trip down the coast to Cape May for a few days is in the works and, if all goes well, we’ll work on a trip to the Chesapeake Bay (our old sailing grounds) for a couple of weeks.

Then – oh, then. At the end of the season I’ll be sailing the Donna Marie down the Intracoastal Waterway to Key West. A 30 day trip. With any luck we’ll keep her there for the winter and return to Barnegat bay in April 2011. As I said, “lofty plans” for this year.

Nephew, Tyler, as a graduation event is bringing some of his friends from Cab Calloway High School For The Performing Arts for a weekend sail. Now, that’s going to be an entertaining weekend. These are kids are heading to professional careers as professional actors, musicians and dancers. Since music is at the heart of the Donna Marie’s soul – always great music mixes, brother John and myself with guitars – we’re very excited to have a group of this caliper on board. If all goes well we should ruin them in one weekend. LOL.

This week’s work included bringing the canvas home (dodger and bimini ) for repairs and waterproofing. If there’s no rain tomorrow I’ll bring them up and install them. Well, that’s a quick look at the life and times of the sailing yacht, Donna Marie.
Stay with me for the ride… I’ll include some photos and report the fun.

A baby loggerhead sea turtle heads toward the ocean after emerging from the nest. Typically, loggerheads emerge in the middle of night and extremely sensitive to light. SOURCE: US Department of Fish and Wildlife

Beach authorities report: A romantic beachside proposal turned tragic last week when a couple’s unattended candlelight display caused 60 turtle hatchlings to become disoriented and die. A visiting man set up 120 candle-lit luminaries in the shape of a heart on the beach and proposed to girlfriend. After leaving the luminaries on the beach, that following morning, a litter of loggerhead sea turtles emerged from the nest, and were disoriented by the luminaries and 60 died

Since then we’ve had a couple follow-up stories, it’s been picked up by the AP and it was even our publication’s Editorial today. The couple has not been identified, and the only details that have emerged were that they were visiting.

For me, it’s difficult to be neutral on this, because my mom’s a crazy turtle patrol lady for Hunting Island, and I grew up knowing that this threatened species was already fragile. Beaufort county residents know beaches are their only birthing habitat. In my opinion, what’s particularly disturbing about this story and is despite the fact that 293 warnings have been issued by the Hilton Head town code enforcement,  not a single tourist, hotel or resident has been fined this year. The reporting appears to show that the existing law isn’t enforced, and property owners have little incentive to make sure their visitors or clients are informed on Sea Turtle law. I think the BGIP editorial says it best:

“Turning off some lights isn’t a big sacrifice for us humans. But it can make a big difference for the loggerhead (turtles),” the BGIP editorial states. “With only a 1-in-10,000 chance of making it to adulthood, these endangered turtles need all the help they can get.”

While I do think tourists have a responsibility to learn about the places they visit and do no harm, Lowcountry residents play an essential role to protecting our own environment and inform our visitors.

I just booked my first flight down to Hilton Head since leaving for the wedding of some good friends from the paper, who also informed me this week that they, along with just about everyone else I knew at the paper, is quitting and going elsewhere, partly due to the terribly depressing situation that is this specific iteration of the industry’s death throes.

So for Friday happy this week (yes, I know it’s way past Friday), I’ve complied an all-star list of Second Congressional District related items, as an homage to the friends, talented writers and unique personalities I encountered down there, and because it’s the only time that district has made national news for a political, non-missing persons-related story in many years.

First, Joe Wilson (real name Addison)! The memories we had together! The days spent on the phone, the thumbs ups he gave to constituents at public meetings, where — make no mistake — the people loved him. His reelection is not in doubt, and, in all likelihood, is even more assured after his outburst (just mire through the comments on this AP story the Packet ran if you need proof)

So here are two of our favorite Joe Wilson pictures of all time. Credit goes to Jay Karr/Island Packet.

shake?

constituent services

Joe Wilson! Who knew we’d be hearing from you outraged side all these years later? During our time together, Joe was a consummate incumbent campaigner — shaking hands, dispatching thumbs ups like periods on his sentences to nail in his points, nodding freely when listening to angry sentiments from voters, calling people by their first names, always returning reporters’ phone calls, stopping once to give out his card and shake the hand of the gate guard at Palmetto Bluff, informing the man to call his office should he ever need assistance. For a low-key conservative place like the coast of Carolina trying to vent its frustrations about a perceived influx of illegal immigrants, he was a hero, a guy who during his time in the statehouse championed a bill to make English the official language of SC.

And then there’s my favorite Joe Wilson story from my Packet tenure:

Wilson invites DeLay as guest

By Tim Donnelly
The Island Packet
Aug. 17, 2005

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson is holding a campaign fundraiser Friday on Hilton Head Island that features House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the embattled Texas Republican who has been investigated and criticized for several charges of ethics violations.

But despite the negative publicity that has surrounded DeLay for the past year, Wilson said Tuesday that he thought DeLay’s presence at his event, a golf tournament, will be a lightning rod for support, not criticism.

“The name recognition of Tom DeLay has increased over the last year,” Wilson said Tuesday, speaking in a phone interview from the route of his bus tour of the congressional district. “It would be my view that among Republicans, the name recognition has really increased in (a) positive way. Among other people, there’s been an increase, but it hasn’t been positive. Overall, people have been very appreciative of his effectiveness.”

DeLay has taken heat for trips that may have been paid for by lobbyists or outside groups, for using campaign funds to pay family members and specifically for his ties to Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist recently indicted on charges of fraud. DeLay has denied any wrongdoing.

For Wilson, a congressman who has served the Lowcountry area, including Beaufort County, since 2001, this will be his third golf fundraiser on the island and the second featuring DeLay. The first year’s guest was Rep. Ernie Istook, R-Oklahoma.

Wilson said DeLay asked to be invited back to this year’s event. There was no discussion about replacing him with another guest due to the controversy.

Read the rest.

Next! From The Guide, the Island Packet/Beaufort Gazette’s tragically overwritten, underappreciated, much-maligned, fatted-with-Simpsons-references, Ted-Leo-biased entertainment publication (voted best in the state — eat it, Aiken Standard), only somehow still  in operation due to chief Jeff Vrabel’s ability to glamour the paper’s executive editor into thinking the weekly tab is nothing but a list of choral society performances and columns talking about how much we love tourists.

Beatles day got the Page 3 funny business treatment, with one of the best headline puns of all time:

“Beatles: Rock Band” – Bigger Than Mario, or, All You Need Is $249.99

….just went to New Hampshire for a birthday party. Isn’t he cute? I haven’t worked all that much with rolled fondant, but these turned out really great. There is a sweet little birthday girl in the great state of New Hampshire who loves pigs, and these are going to her. (Hope she doesn’t look at the website until after Friday!). When her mom asked me to do these, I was really excited to try it.

On another note, Harbourfest is now underway at Shelter Cove Marina. This is where it all began for Sweet Carolina Cupcakes one year ago, so it holds a special place in our hearts. Last night was the first one of the year and it was fantastic. Lots of nice people and gorgeous weather. Come out and see us on Tuesday nights, grab a cupcake, and enjoy the fireworks.

This is a quick post but wanted to add a picture of one of our flavors — Eclair. We start with a white cake filled with Bavarian Cream and topped off by a rich chocolate ganache. Super yum! ( I would never say that in real life, but here it seems ok!)

Got to run for now…Be Sweet!

It gets you out of the car and into the air that this week is drunk with the aroma of Confederate jasmine.“

~David Lauderdale, Beaufort Tree Walk gives preservation efforts deep roots, Island Packet, 5/12/09

David once worked in the same building as Arthur Sulzberger Jr. at The Raleigh Times (a paper mentioned in this telling but honest-in-its-pessimism Vanity Fair piece last month), a scrappy energetic former paper in a great news town whose building has since, fittingly, been turned into a bar. David’s a solid reporter-turned-columnist who dabbles in that particular Pat Conroy ability to invoke the presence of tall Lowcountry oaks and sleepy spanish moss into his writing.

______________
“We won’t leave behind much in the way of original scholarship or art, but future anthropologists will (kindly, one hopes) take note of how slavishly we tended to a garden of sequels, prequels, adaptations, remakes and reboots. It was all we talked about.“

~Hank Stuever, The Trouble with Quibbles, Washington Post, 5/11/09

What could be better? White Chocolate AND raspberry…SOOOOOOO good! Our friend Lullabelle recommended this new combination, and it’s a winner. Delicate white cake with red raspberry filling, topped with white chocolate buttercream, more raspberry, and drizzled with melted white chocolate. Trust me, I did the taste test on this one…simply decadent! We have them in the store today, but they are going fast.

More and more letters from parents in South Carolina who want real school choice…

“Give parents options, and they will take them” (LTE, State Newspaper)

State Department of Education spokesman Jim Foster evidently believes low-income South Carolina parents are too dependent on the state to take advantage of the proposed tax-credit program to foster private-school choice. Even if they received a full scholarship, he rhetorically asked your reporter: “How do they get to school? Who pays for their breakfast and lunch? How do they get home in the afternoon? Who pays the additional costs that public schools currently pick up?” (“School choice gets push,” April 20).

That is the sort of paternalistic outlook for which statist bureaucracy is renowned. Here is an alternative: Let the parents have that choice of a good, safe school, and see if they don’t find a way to make the sacrifices to get the kids fed and to school and back.

Having options outside the suffocating embrace of government-controlled education can be liberating.

ROBERT HOLLAND

Myrtle Beach

“Give parents choice to improve education” (LTE, Beaufort Gazette)

The Obama administration and the Democrats are nationalizing the banks, the American auto industry and companies that have taken bailout money. Health care is next. Will “Big Oil” follow? They also believe that federalizing public education is a major priority. Today, public education is really “government education.”

Numerous books and editorials have been written and TV interviews have proliferated as to what is the root cause of the problems of public education in America. The list is too long to repeat, but what all of these experts miss is the fact that public education will never improve so long as “government” runs it. Three trillion dollars and 30 years of trying prove that fact.

A former Israeli diplomat recently visited the Lowcountry and was asked, “What more does America need to do to help Israel?” His surprise answer was for America to ensure that it maintains its technological superiority in the world and to do so by doing a better job of educating its children, which he said we were not doing. That means American education is a national security issue.

The South Carolina legislature is considering legislation that would allow parents “choice” as to where their children receive their K-12 education — public or private. This is absolutely a step in the right direction. It comes with legislation that requires testing to prove that private school children are learning. This legislation can free South Carolina from the basement of American education. Please support this bipartisan effort.

TOM HATFIELD

Hilton Head Island

“S.C. public schools aren’t making the grade” (LTE, State Newspaper)

Much of the disputed stimulus spending revolves around education. My parents were teachers back in the old days when we respected the teacher and did not dare complain that Mrs. So-and-So was mean to us.

It is an entirely different world today. Teachers and students alike are threatened, classes are disrupted, and after all the money former Gov. Dick Riley threw at the schools in the ’80s, we still are one of the lowest-scoring states in the nation.

My wife, who has a doctorate, was a teacher for 35 years. She worked in a world where everything was upside down. The inmates ran the asylum. The teachers who had the most responsibility had the least authority. If the child did not learn, the teacher was held responsible. In my school days, if I flunked, I was held responsible.

I am wholeheartedly behind any politician who endorses school vouchers.

I have no interest in throwing money down a rat hole. Tell me why I have to pay taxes to send my children to a public school that is propagandizing them and never holds them accountable.

If all public schools were like they are in a few counties, I am certain parents would continue to send their children there. But if they are like the majority of our districts, I would like my money back. For the most part, public schools get an F.

W. ASHBY RHAME

Rembert

“School Choice” (Guest Editorial, Newberry Observer)

In Newberry and across South Carolina the HOPE, LIFE and Palmetto Fellows Scholarships have helped thousands of students attend college. Some have gone to private schools, others to public ones. Some will be the first in their family to attend college. For others the scholarship helps lighten the load of high interest student loans.

The basic idea is simple. College graduates are important for the state’s economy and the life of our local community. Helping students obtain a higher degree serves a common public purpose. Extending the opportunity to low-income students also reduces social and economic inequality.
This is a great example of School Choice and we need to offer something like it for younger students as well.

Lawmakers in Columbia are considering such a proposal right now. It’s called the South Carolina Educational Opportunity Act. It is Senate Bill 520 and House Bill 3802.

The legislation offers income tax credits to parents who transfer their children from public to private or home schools. This will be a cash windfall for local schools in Newberry. That’s because over $5,000 in locally raised money per student will remain with the school district when children transfer out. There is also another $1,000 in federal spending, most of which would also remain with the public district. In other words, public schools would have dramatically more money to educate fewer children.

Tax credits will also extended to corporations donating to non-profit scholarship granting organizations that serve low-income families. This will dramatically expand access to educational options and reduce the shameful educational inequalities that characterize most of South Carolina

Parents in upper middle and high-income families already enjoy K-12 choices. They can move between attendance zones or districts, place their kids in a private school, or sacrifice a parent’s time and income in order to home school their child. Many other families don’t have these luxuries.

School choice is proven. It means real options for parents. It also means real reform and accountability, which is the catalyst to expanding what matters most in education: parental involvement.

CHAD CONNELLY

Newberry

Ugh. Worst day since I’ve been here. Salaries are cut. Furloughs later this year. 11 people laid off (no specifics on who yet). Hourly employees all get their hours cut. We’re only supposed to work 37.5 hours a week now, which is nonsense because everyone will essentially be working harder now. It’s a 6.25 percent pay cut. About $2,000 a year. That doesn’t include these furloughs, which could be anywhere from 3-5 days. Also, they got rid of the Palmetto Passes (dammit!). That’ll be another $40-50 a month. Reimbursement for mileage was reduced. Uh, what else. Features section will probably be merged, meaning we might lose an editor or two.  Salaried people get wage cuts, too. Those making more than $60,000 get a 10 percent cut. Good news: no more layoffs this year.

I’m so glad I’m not still there, because I always said taking away the Palmetto Passes (the toll transponder paid for by the company at 75 cents a trip) would be the last straw. It was a symbolic gesture of the needling mindset that was scaring talented people away from print, and they would have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. The news in the above e-mail can be distilled into the basic message of “we want you to worker harder, over shorter hours, for less money, and at more inconvenience for you (until your job is eliminated, at least).” What people making these decisions don’t seem to factor in is: the news doesn’t go away when you have fewer staff members to cover it. It’s like driving the school buses in the morning or having firefighters on duty all day: it’s a cog that has to turn no matter what. It just has to get done somehow.

I still get angry about this because I care about my friends there, and still hold sentimentality towards the paper itself. The Packet doesn’t deserve this. Thanks to its location in a growing community with an older population, its readership is holding strong, even increasing in subscribers in recent years. Its sports section just won huge national honors. The online coverage we did of the missing persons case brought an unheard of number of web hits to the site. Its readership is loyal, involved and interested.

But the Packet, like so many other newspapers, is tied to the finances of the overall company. Unlike a mass new media market in San Francisco waiting to fill the void when the Chronicle falls, if the Packet goes away, no online news source is primed to rise up in its stead. That means no comprehensive resource for for information on hurricane evacuation or recovery efforts, no local coverage of a national PGA tournament, and no weekly arts and entertainment publication to let people know of local events in one of the most popular (and affluent) tourism spots on the East Coast.

My advice to Gary Pruitt and other newspaper executives: either a) accept the fact that newspapers are no longer viable business operations and  just shut them down already to stop giving the illusion of job security for your employees while you bleed them to death or b) grow a pair and make a fucking stand against the dying of the industry. You’ll notice there was no plan for a recovery strategy announced today other than this continued and failing effort to stop the bleeding. That’s because there isn’t one.

I still don’t regret the move in the least. And for a kid with summer breeze in the veins like me, that’s saying a lot.

Tiki Hut reopens… and it sure feels like summer

Published Saturday, February 16, 2008

photo by Jay Karr/Island Packet

These awards are listed as embargoed until March 14, but I’m posting them here for several reasons. One, because I think the idea of posting something online while still insisting on a two-month embargo is a tragic indicator of the ridiculous lack of understanding the newspaper industry has toward the internet; two, because this list isn’t even complete anyway, with some of the major categories missing, which angers me because it causes me to spend more time caring about a batch of ultimately inconsequential awards than necessary; and three, because I’m not part of the South Carolina press anymore, and I’m sure the world (read: mothers of SC journalists) are dying to know.

Friends, coworkers and one small shameless self-promotion from my former paper in Hilton Head in bold italics. There’s no doubt that journalism awards do grab journalists’ attention on an annual basis as it provides us the opportunity to measure up against each other in the only tangible public means of performance review outside of layoff avoidance. But they’re also nonsense prizes, judged by editors from other papers in another state who are typically too busy with the actual work of doing journalism to avoid procrastinating reviewing someone else’s work, and because the awards distract from the real purpose and drive behind the work reporters are doing, specifically the impact stories and information have on the immediate community. Particularly in the state the industry is currently in, it seems more like a distinct act of self indulgence than ever before. To wit, the slogan for the SCPA 2009 conference is “Something to cheer about.” Good journalism is still happening in newspapers, recognized or otherwise by press associations, but until a long-term strategy emerges that’s more creative than the bail-out-the-water-before-the-next-cannonball-hits approach, it’s hard to find something cheer about.

But don’t take my word for it: journalists like awards.

Full lists of winners here.

SCPA News Contest Results are not for release until the News Contest Awards Presentation, which will be held
March 14, 2009 in Myrtle Beach. For more information, see http://www..scpress.org.

100 Judson Chapman Award Open Division
1st The State
C. Aluka Berry Tale of the Tuba
2nd Carolina Forest Chronicle
DOT rejects guardrail
3rd The Post and Courier
Kiawah Controversy
102 Copy Editor of the Year Open Division
1st The Post and Courier
Allison Nugent
103 Cartoon or Humorous Illustration Open Division
1st News-Chronicle
Mike Beckom
2nd Carolina Forest Chronicle
Michael Tidwell
3rd The Greenville News
Mitch McKell
104 Mixed Media Illustration Open Division
1st The News
Football Fever
2nd The Post and Courier
Let’s put a smile on that face
3rd The Post and Courier
Dog chow
105 Sports Series of Articles Open Division
1st The State
Bob Gillespie, Bob Spear, Pat Obley, Neil White, Akilah Nelson and Steve Wiseman
Best Athletes of All Time
2nd The Herald-Journal
Jason Gilmer Family matters
3rd The Herald-Journal
Jason Gilmer Three who shoot their age

106 Online Column Writing Open Division
1st The Island Packet
Liz Farrell Ode to the Ugly Land
2nd The Herald-Journal
Lane Filler The illegal immigrant next door
3rd The Herald-Journal
Jason Spencer What the rest of the media missed
107 Online Video Open Division
Results Pending
108 Online Single Photo Open Division
1st The Herald-Journal
John Byrum No-arms golfer
2nd The Morning News
Angela Kershner Cops on donut shops
3rd The Morning News
Angela Kershner Spitting image
109 Innovative Concept Open Division
1st The State
GoGamecocks.com
2nd The Post and Courier
Watchdog
3rd The Herald
Popcast
113 Informational Graphics Portfolio Open Division
1st The Sun News
Chris Mowder
2nd The Herald-Journal
Gary Kyle
3rd The Post and Courier
Gill Guerry
117 News Graphics Open Division
1st The Herald-Journal
Gary Kyle Gas to energy
2nd The Post and Courier
Gill Guerry Foreclosures
3rd The Lancaster News
Jamey Shepherd Crimes occured
111 News Special Edition or Section All Daily Division
1st The Sun News
Horizon 2008: A look at the economic future of our coast
2nd The State
Voter Voices
3rd The Greenville News
Day in the life of downtown
112 Sports Special Edition or Section All Daily Division
1st The Island Packet
Staff Verizon Heritage
2nd The Herald-Journal
Staff Good Vibrations, Prep Football 2008
3rd The Herald-Journal
Staff A Different Era, Motorsports 2008
114 Illustrations All Daily Division
1st The Herald-Journal
Gary Kyle Shopping Commandos
2nd The Greenville News
Mitch McKell Domestic Violence
3rd The Sun News
Chris Mowder Countdown to the S.C. Primary

115 Critical Writing All Daily Division
Results Pending
116 Photo Page Design All Daily Division
1st The State
Tom Peyton and C. Aluka Berry Horse Power
2nd The Morning News
Traci Bridges Monster Madness
3rd The Herald-Journal
Bevin Hutcheson Thanks for the memories
118 Feature Headline Writing All Daily Division
1st The Post and Courier
Beth Harrison
2nd The Post and Courier
Sandy Schopper
3rd The Island Packet
Steve Austin
119 Best Pictoral All Daily Division
1st The Post and Courier
Grace Beahm Bridge Run
2nd The Island Packet
Jay Karr To the Moon
3rd The Post and Courier
Grace Beahm Birds Eye View

120 Humorous Photo All Daily Division
1st The State
Gerry Melendez Stretched voter
2nd The Post and Courier
Melissa Haneline From 9 to 95 (pounds!)
3rd The Island Packet
Jonathan Dyer Nun Run
121 Health Reporting All Daily Division
Results Pending

122 Education Reporting All Daily Division
1st The Herald-Journal
Gary Glancy College tuition rises
2nd The Post and Courier
Diette Courrege School under scrutiny
3rd The Greenville News
Ron Barnett Some of the best school in state behind bars

123 Business Reporting All Daily Division
1st The Post and Courier
Katy Stech
2nd The Sun News
Lisa Fleisher
3rd The State
Kristy Eppley Rupon
124 Entertainment Section All Daily Division
1st The Post and Courier
Preview
2nd The Island Packet
The Guide
3rd The Sun News
Kicks!
125 E. A. Ramsaur Memorial Award for Editorial Writing All Daily Division
1st The State
Warren Bolton
2nd The Greenville News
Paul Hyde
3rd The Greenville News
Beth Padgett

126 Lifestyle/Feature Special Edition or Section All Daily Division
1st The Sun News
With Liberty and Rock for All
2nd The Sun News
Living Here
3rd The Morning News
Inner Views
145 News Headline Writing Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st The Item
Traci Quinn
2nd The Island Packet
Steve Austin
3rd Times and Democrat
Lee Harter and Lee Hendren

146 Sports Headline Writing Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Times and Democrat
Herman Brightman and Jennifer Spears
2nd Times and Democrat
Travis Boland
3rd The Index-Journal
Scott Bryan

150 Spot News Reporting Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Times and Democrat
Gene Zaleski, Gene Crider and Lee Harter Terror in the morning
2nd The Item
Ken Bell Oops
3rd Aiken Standard
Karen Daily Murder-suicide: 3 dead

151 Enterprise Reporting Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st The Island Packet
Renee Dudley An altered life
2nd The Island Packet
Tim Donnelly and Daniel Brownstein The face of Hilton Head’s homeless
3rd The Item
Randy Burns Murder in Lee

152 Lifestyle Feature Writing Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Beaufort Gazette
Mark Allwood Political odd couples
2nd The Item
Ivy Moore A tomato by another name
3rd Beaufort Gazette
Mark Allwood Love your bog, love the Lord
153 Feature Writing Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Bluffton Today
Tim Wood We own the knight
2nd Bluffton Today
Tim Wood Kitt, you’ve met your match
3rd The Island Packet
Liz Mitchell The Alligator Hunter
154 Profile Feature Writing or Story Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st The Item
Ivy Moore The reluctant draftee
2nd The Item
Annabelle Robertson War capture
3rd Times and Democrat
Wendy Jeffcoat Crider A bittersweet moment

155 Short Story Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Aiken Standard
Rachel Johnson Bureaucratic catch-22 denies nonagenarian a passport
2nd Times and Democrat
Richard Walker Trees, power lines victims of winds
3rd Times and Democrat
Richard Walker Serving the sole
156 Column Writing Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st The Island Packet
David Lauderdale
2nd Bluffton Today
Tim Wood
3rd The Item
Graham Osteen

157 Series of Articles Daily Under 26,000 Division
Results Pending
158 Reporting In-Depth Daily Under 26,000 Division
Results Pending
159 Beat Reporting Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Times and Democrat
Richard Walker Cops and Courts
2nd Beaufort Gazette
Jeremy Hsieh County Court
3rd The Island Packet
Liz Mitchell Environment

160 Humor Column Writing Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st The Island Packet
David Lauderdale
2nd Beaufort Gazette
Tim Hager
3rd Bluffton Today
Tim Wood
161 Public Service for Daily Newspapers Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Bluffton Today
Kyle Poplin Community mourns teen
2nd Times and Democrat
Lee Harter Lakes dirty little secret
3rd The Union Daily Times
Graham Williams Patriot’s Lake
165 Spot Sports Story Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st The Index-Journal
Kevin Fiorenzo Fight erupts at girls game
2nd The Daily Journal
Will Vandervort Bowden era over
3rd The Index-Journal
Scott Bryan Neal’s future at Ninety-Six in limbo

166 Sports Enterprise Reporting Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Beaufort Gazette
Jeff Kidd From golf balls to moth balls
2nd The Island Packet
Jeff Kidd Sand sharks struggle to recruit women
3rd The Index-Journal
Matt Anderson Is football in Erskine’s future?

167 Sports Feature Story Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st The Island Packet
Justin Jarrett More than a cartoon
2nd The Island Packet
Justin Jarrett Support from the sidelines
3rd The Island Packet
Sam McDowell Just one of the guys

168 Sports Column Writing Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Beaufort Gazette
Brandon Parker
2nd The Island Packet
Justin Jarrett
3rd The Island Packet
Jeff Kidd
170 Page One Design Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st The Island Packet
Pamela Uhles
2nd Beaufort Gazette
Jennifer Alliet
3rd Beaufort Gazette
Ashley Ammons

171 Page Design Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Beaufort Gazette
Jennifer Alliet Festival of Lights
2nd Beaufort Gazette
Jennifer Alliet Halloween
3rd Times and Democrat
Kristin Coker Top reasons to pick…

172 Feature Page Design Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Beaufort Gazette
Pamela Uhles
2nd Beaufort Gazette
Jennifer Alliet
3rd Times and Democrat
Kristin Coker and Sherry Fogle
173 Sports Page Design Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Beaufort Gazette
Dan Worthington
2nd The Island Packet
Mike Bragg
3rd Times and Democrat
Travis Boland

180 JL Sims Memorial Award for Spot News Photo Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Beaufort Gazette
Bob Sofaly 2 cars overturned
2nd The Item
Chris Moore Oops!
3rd The Island Packet
Sarah Welliver Towing crackdown
181 General News Photo Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Times and Democrat
Larry Hardy We’re not satisfi ed
2nd The Island Packet
Kristin Goode Vigil for slain teen
3rd Bluffton Today
Scott Salisbury Autism
182 Feature Photo Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Beaufort Gazette
Bob Sofaly Fun at the fair
2nd Bluffton Today
Stephen Berend Nuns on the run
3rd The Index-Journal
T.M. Jones Providing love therapy
183 Sports Action Photo Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Aiken Standard
Michael Paul Face off
2nd The Union Daily Times
Pete Cochran Feel the pain
3rd The Island Packet
Jay Karr Caught in the middle
184 Sports Feature Photo Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Bluffton Today
Scott Salisbury Post-season anguish
2nd The Union Daily Times
Pete Cochran Coach pitch
3rd The Island Packet
Sarah Welliver Chip
185 Personality Photograph or Portrait Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Bluffton Today
Stephen Berend Cookies
2nd Bluffton Today
Stephen Berend Saving the May River
3rd Beaufort Gazette
Bob Sofaly Humbled on Halloween

186 Photo Series or Photo Story Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Bluffton Today
Scott Salisbury Parris Island female marines
2nd The Island Packet
Jay Karr Go fly a kite
3rd The Island Packet
Kristin Goode Iraqi boy
187 Photo Illustration Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st Bluffton Today
Scott Salisbury Don’t get blown away
2nd The Item
Traci Quinn The war
3rd Times and Democrat
Kristin Coker Orangeburg Massacre
190 Newspaper Web Site Daily Under 26,000 and 26,000 – 80,000 Combined” Division
1st The Island Packet
islandpacket.com
2nd The Sun News
myrtlebeachonline.com
3rd The Herald
heraldonline.com

192 Best Integration of Print and Web Coverage Daily Under 26,000 Division
Results Pending
201 General Excellence Daily Under 26,000 Division
1st The Island Packet
2nd Bluffton Today
3rd Beaufort Gazette

191 Best Online News Project Daily Under 26,000 Division
Results Pending
193 Best Photo Gallery on a Newspaper Web Site Combined” Division
1st The Herald-Journal
Tom Priddy The Final Piece
2nd Anderson Independent-Mail
Sefton Ipock Tent Revival
3rd Beaufort Gazette
Basic Training

Just so you know…my Mom and I both looked at the picture and said “Ewwww!” Now, that’s bad…when your Mom chimes in you know it’s ugly. Oh well…it’s hard to be photogenic when you’re icing cupcakes in 100 degree heat and humidity. Hopefully, my customers will say “I don’t even recognize you from the paper!” Ha! At least my handsome nephew is in the background. And I think he’s even smiling…sort of!

EDIT—-I had to add this…We were just showing the online article to Quinn and he was hearing me say I thought my picture was bad. He said, “Sometimes they edit things to make you look like a fool.” We cracked up!