Black Chamber holds First Friday networking
The Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce will have its First Friday Networking Event on September 2 at the chamber office located at 801 Bladen Street from 6 to 8 p.m.  Drawings, prizes and refreshments. The public is invited.  Members $5 and Non Members $10.  Details call 986-1102.

Lunch and Learn series continues in Port Royal
The popular “Lunch and Learn” series held every other Saturday at the Port Royal Farmer’s Market continues September 3 with an instructional class presented by Master Gardener Hugh Jamison on Do-It-Yourself drip irrigation.  Beaufort water is expensive, and even if you have a well, overhead watering for flower and shrub borders and vegetable beds can actually be harmful.   Learn about the various options you have for creating an inexpensive and  efficient method of applying water directly to plant roots. The class will begin at 11:30 a.m., but come early with your market basket to visit the many wonderful vendors here.  The classes are free and questions are invited, so bring a lawn chair to the big oak tree behind the Master Gardener table.

Lowcountry Chorale holding auditions
The Lowcountry Chorale will be starting rehearsals for its 17th season at 6:45 p.m. on September 6 at St. John’s Lutheran Church on Lady’s Island.  We are looking for singers with a sense of fun and an appreciation for the nostalgic. There will be an audition for voice placement with the director. Our concerts will be performed November 18 and 19.  Please join us for this groundbreaking form of entertainment. Call 521-1017 and leave a message or simply come to rehearsal on September 6 and see what we are all about.

Beaufort Women’s Center support group
If you are a post-abortion woman struggling through the pain of issues relating to an abortion experience, there is healing and hope! The Beaufort Women’s Center is offering abortion recovery assistance through “Healing Hearts”,  a 10-week support group that will meet at the Center on Thursday evenings from 6:30-9 p.m. beginning September 8.   All inquiries are confidential. Seating is limited. Call 843-525-0300 today and let the healing begin. Ask for Susanne or Donna for more details.

Sportfishing club holds monthly meeting
The Beaufort Sportfishing Diving Club’s September meeting will be held Thursday, September 8 at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club located off of Meridian Road on Lady’s Island. The social begins at 6:30 and the meeting begins at 7 p.m.  The club’s very own Female Angler of the year Carol Currin will be the guest speaker.  Her topic will be inshore fishing from a female perspective and what is expected of your fishing partner.  This should be a very interesting topic along with providing rods, reels, and different type of rigs for various species. You do not need to be a member and guests are always welcomed.  For additional information please call Captain Frank Gibson at 843-522-2020.

Local DAR chapter to hold gathering
The Thomas Heyward, Jr. Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will hold their next meeting on Thursday, September, 9 at 2 p.m., gathering at the Clubhouse at the Islands of Beaufort. The speaker will be Ms. Julie Good, Executive
Director of Historic Beaufort Foundation and the topic of her talk will be “Our Future is Here.” Hostesses will be Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Henson, Ms. Heyward and Mrs. McKenney. For additional information, please call Chapter Regent Nancy Crowther at 524-0134.

Lowcountry Civil War round table to be held
Join us on Wednesday, September, 14, at 6:45 p.m. in the Bluffton High School Auditorium on McCracken Circle off Buckwalter Parkway for a very interesting presentation on the “Republic in Peril: The Threat of Foreign Intervention in the Civil War” by Dr. Howard Jones. Dr. Jones is University Research Professor and chair of the Department of History at the University of Alabama. He received his doctorate from Indiana University and was on the faculty at the University of Nebraska before his present position at the University of Alabama, where he teaches courses in American foreign relations. Dr. Jones is perhaps best known for writing the book on which Steven Spielberg’s powerful movie “Amistad” is based, the story of a group Africans kidnapped for slave trade who turn on their captors in a bid to return to their homeland. Guests attending the meeting at 6:45 p.m. must pay $10 each at the door. For more information, call Chris Clayton, LCWRT President at 843-681-1956, or go to the LCWRT website at www.lcwrt.squarespace.com.

Bay Street Outfitters hosts fly fishers meeting
The Sea Island Fly Fishers meeting is scheduled for September 14, 6 p.m., at Bay Street Outfitters in Beaufort. Following a social hour the program will feature Capt. Tuck Scott speaking on “Match the Hatch (Salt Water)”. Scott, the head guide at BSO, will discuss how fish see prey and why different flys work in different seasons and conditions. There is no charge and the club welcomes anyone interested in the sport, especially beginners. Visit www.flyfishingbeaufort.com for more club information, or call Jack Baggette at 522-8911.

Upcoming Pet Fair to benefit United Hospice
On September 17, at United Hospice of Beaufort, 1605 North Street, there will be an adoption fair, dog show, pet boutique, photos with your pet and more. Proceeds to benefit The United Hospice Foundation. For more information, call 843-522-0476.

Beaufort Kennel Club offers obedience classes
Beaufort Kennel Club will be offering a series of Dog Obedience Classes at Beaufort Academy starting on Saturday, September 17. Cost is $90. For more information and to register, please call 843-986-0834.

Register now for Business Expo 2011
Registration is now open for booths at the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo 2011.  This year’s expo is scheduled for Tuesday, September 20 at the Beaufort Holiday Inn &amp; Suites. The Expo will take place from 12 - 5 p.m. and will be followed by our September Business After Hours from 5:30 - 7 p.m. Contact Amy Kaylor at 843.525.8524 or email amy@beaufortsc.org with questions or for more details.

Safe boating course offered to the public
Beaufort Sail &amp; Power Squadron’s Public Safe Boating Course begins Tuesday, September 20 at the Port Royal Town Hall, 700 Paris Ave., Port Royal. The class is limited to 40 and will continue for eight additional Tuesdays. A class for boating on local waters is included. This course satisfies the state registration requirement allowing persons under 16 to operate a boat with more than 15 HP without adult supervision and meets SC and National Association of State Boating Law Administrators requirements for certification in the U.S. and Canada. Many insurance companies give a discount for successfully completing approved boating
courses. To preregister before September 20, call 843-812-6457 or safeboatingcourse@yahoo.com or mail a check for $75 ($115 per couple) payable to BSPS to Tom Mobley, 139 Sunset Blvd., Beaufort. Walk-in registration on space available basis is from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Sept. 17 and from 5-6 p.m. on Sept. 20 at Port Royal Town Hall. The cost is $75 or $115 per couple and includes course manual and CD, plotter and dividers needed from charting work.

Get ready for annual Youth Conference
The 19th Annual Beaufort County Youth Conference will be held September 24 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, 914 Ribaut Road, Beaufort. This free conference is planned by teens, for teens. All middle and high school students are invited to participate. There will be workshops, T-shirts, lunch and entertainment. For more information/registration, call Carrie at 812-4399 or Theresa at 838-7922.