Beaufort Garden Club, Port Royal Elementary students to celebrate Arbor Day
The Beaufort Garden Club and 24 second graders from Port Royal Elementary School will celebrate Arbor Day at noon on Friday, Dec. 5 by planting an American Elmwood in the back field of the school. The public is invited to join the celebration.
The tree has been donated by Jay Weidner, owner of J Weidner Landscape Gardening.
The Beaufort Garden Club, the second oldest garden club in South Carolina, celebrated its 90th year in 2024.
County Assessor hosting community events
Beaufort County Assessor Ebony Sanders is hosting two remaining community events at County Library Branches to allow the public an opportunity to meet with her staff and share questions and concerns regarding real property valuation, exemptions, appeals and general property information.
Each community event will be from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. No appointments are necessary.
In the event of an unforeseeable change in the date, time, or location, the Assessor’s Office web page will be updated to reflect rescheduling. If you have any questions, please contact Liz Rigg, Appeal/BAA Coordinator at BAA@bcgov.net or 843-255-2404.
The dates are as follows:
St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road: Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Bluffton Branch Library, 120 Palmetto Way: Thursday, Dec. 11.
Second Helpings welcomes 3 new board members
Second Helpings has elected three local leaders to its board of directors.
Renata Johnson Green is the principal of Ridgeland Elementary School in Jasper County, a position she’s held for nearly 12 years. Under her leadership, the school’s S.C. Report Card Rating has risen substantially, to Average, and has been named a Points of Light Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and a National Beta Club School of Distinction. A career educator, she also has 10 years of teaching experience, and was named Teacher of the Year twice.
John Shoulders recently moved to Hilton Head from Roanoke, VA, where he had been Senior Vice President of Business Affairs for Feeding Southwest Virginia (an affiliate of Feeding America) until his retirement in 2021. Prior to that, Shoulders was a commercial bank lender and executive officer with Wells Fargo and Truist banks and then formed a private commercial investment company.
Kathryn Weismantel is the Chief Marketing Officer of IKS Health, a trusted innovator in healthcare technology and care enablement. Prior to that, she was Head of Marketing, Americas, at Oliver Wyman, a global management consulting firm.
Second Helpings is a nonprofit food rescue organization striving to eliminate hunger in the South Carolina Lowcountry. It collects and distributes food which would have otherwise ended up in landfills. Our 468 volunteers delivered 3.3 million pounds of food in 2024, free of charge, to 54 agencies in Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties which serve 13,000 people every week. Second Helpings is a United Way Agency. Visit www.secondhelpingslc.org.
Nemours Wildlife Foundation welcomes Clements as Wildlife Scientist
Nemours Wildlife Foundation, headquartered in Yemassee, recently welcomed Stephen Clements to its team as Wildlife Scientist.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Clements to our team,” said Andrew Bridges, President and Chief Executive Officer. “He is an accomplished young scientist – truly one of the best and brightest – and we look forward to working with him to provide actionable scientific solutions to the most pressing conservation challenges in the Lowcountry and beyond.”
Clements’s connection to Nemours began in 2015, where, as an undergraduate researcher, he began studying aquatic invertebrates in managed impoundments. During his graduate studies, he lived on-site for three years, using the lab as a home base while conducting research into waterfowl diets and energetics throughout the region.
Those formative experiences launched a career in waterfowl ecology and conservation, including extensive fieldwork across the Southeast. Nearly a decade later, he has come full circle — returning to Nemours as Wildlife Scientist. In this role, he will design and oversee ecological research programs, publish peer-reviewed research, contribute to habitat management, and assist with education and outreach initiatives. His work will build on the Foundation’s legacy of research, education, and stewardship while advancing conservation in his home state.
“Having grown up in South Carolina, I cannot imagine a greater professional and personal privilege than contributing to the conservation of the state’s natural resources through research,” Clements said in a news release. “While my prior experience has largely focused on waterfowl ecology and management, I am particularly excited about the diverse research and outreach opportunities this position offers.”
Nemours Wildlife Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit private operating foundation whose mission is to facilitate conservation and human well-being in the ACE Basin and beyond through collaborative scientific research, leadership development, management demonstration, and experiential education.
