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<p>SCORE, the nation's largest provider of free business mentoring services to aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners, held its annual celebration and awards ceremony at the Lexus Dealership in Hardeeville on Jan. 11. The event included business mentors, clients, sponsors, and SCORE leadership and was catered by Downtown Catering. During the annual SCORE event, the following awards were given, including the SC District SCORE Chapter of the Year, which was presented to the SCORE South Carolina Lowcountry Chapter:</p>
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<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="https://staging.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Rod-Casavant-receiving-SCORE-award-e1548383041890-768x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-38874" width="349" height="465"/><figcaption><em>Right: Rod Casavant receiving SCORE award.</em></figcaption></figure></div>
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<ul><li>Client of the Year: H.O.P.E Life - Dennis Ittenbach</li><li>Client of the Year: Ashley Avery Design, LLC, dba Palmetto Cabinet Studio - Ashley Avery</li><li>Client of the Year: Instructor of Massage Therapy TCL - Denise Van Nostran</li><li>Mentor of the Year: Jim Bequette&nbsp;</li><li>Thrive Lowcountry Women’s Conference 2018 Outstanding Volunteers: Tamra Avrit, Laurie Brown, Ellen Maloney</li><li>Mentor Rookie of the Year&nbsp; (Co-winners): Art Gopalan,&nbsp; Ellen Maloney</li><li>Outstanding Chapter Leadership: Mike Waters, Tamra Avrit, Peter Veneto</li><li>Outstanding Chapter Service: Jim Perry</li></ul>
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<p>The Lowcountry Chapter of SCORE has received the honor of being named the South Carolina District Chapter of the Year. The Lowcountry Chapter also received the highest rating of platinum for the second year in a row.</p>
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<p>“We are proud of all the award recipients this year and are very appreciative of our SCORE business mentors that volunteer their time, as well as all the sponsors that partner with us,” said Rod Casavant, SCORE South Carolina Lowcountry Chapter Chairman. “We feel privileged to support and contribute to the success of many outstanding small businesses in the Lowcountry.”<br></p>
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