Conde Nast picks Savannah among its 'top cities'

Via The Savannah Morning News 

Savannah has been listed as number seven on a list of “North American Top Cities” generated by Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards. It moved up two spots from number nine in 2013.

“I think I speak for everyone in Savannah by saying how extremely proud we are to continue to be acknowledged as one of the top ten visitor destinations in North America. To be regularly recognized in this way by the readers of one of the leading travel publications in the world is a compliment that our entire community can take great pride in,” said Joseph Marinelli, Visit Savannah president.

This is the eighth consecutive year Savannah has been named as a top destination on this list.

According to Condé Nast Traveler, candidates for the Readers’ Choice Awards are judged based on a standard five-point scale: excellent, very good, good, fair and poor. Cities are judged according to rankings attributed to arts/culture, friendliness, scenery/sights, restaurants/food, accommodations, shopping and value.

“Accolades like this certainly don’t come easy,” said Marinelli. “In the long run, it makes for an outstanding economic development story that is sure to lead to more home sales and future business growth.”

Savannah Fire now one of highest rated fire services in nation

Via WJCL

Savannah Fire and Emergency Services (SFES) unveiled its new logo today designating that the department has received the highest classification available to fire departments across the nation.

During a brief ceremony before city council, Savannah Fire Chief Charles Middleton called the department’s upgrade to ISO Class 1 a “red letter day” for the entire community.

“This is a testament to the training and preparedness of Savannah’s fire department,” Chief Middleton said.

ISO stands for Insurance Service Office, a national organization that provides insurance information on risk. ISO assesses a fire department’s capabilities on a 10-point scale by looking at a range of criteria such as training, equipment, response time, facilities, and water infrastructure.

Historically, insurance companies have in part based their home insurance premiums on a community’s ISO classification. The better the rating in the community, the lower the potential premiums for its property owners.

Of the nation’s roughly 48,000 fire departments, just 62 have received the highest classification available – ISO Class 1.

“That equates to less than one-quarter of one percent of all departments evaluated nationwide,” Middleton said.

Savannah Fire’s reclassification from Class 2 to Class 1 officially occurs Dec. 1, 2014.

“We appreciate everything you do to keep this community safe, and it is comforting to know that we are protected by one of the very best departments in the entire nation,” Mayor Edna Jackson said. “You make us proud.”

Impressions in Black and White

                                                 John Wollwerth.

The Photography Club of Beaufort presents its 2014 annual photography exhibit,” Impressions in Black and White” at USCB’s Center for the Arts. The show will begin on Thursday, Dec 4th with a preview reception. The public is invited to attend. The exhibit will remain open through December 21.

The outstanding results of a year of studying, shooting and creating will be presented at this exhibit.   During 2014, the Photography Club focused on programs and workshops that taught the subtleties of Black and White photography and printing. From Ansel Adam’s zone system to high key infrared photography; all aspects of capturing images in Black and White were brought to the attention of the members.

To add even more interest to the year-long assigned subject, each member was challenged to express two, or all, of these three elements: Solitary, Metal, or Emotion. The resulting images were fun to critique and we know our audience will enjoy seeing the exhibit.

The Center for the Arts is located on the historic Beaufort campus at 801 Carteret Street. Hours are 10-5 Monday through Friday. The exhibit can also be viewed on Saturday and Sunday when performances are being held.

National Geographic Traveler Best Trips 2015: Sea Islands, SC

Photograph by Peter Frank Edwards, The New York Times/Redux

Pathway to a Forgotten Past

Cruise highway 278, the main road on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island, and it may seem that little has changed in the 59 years since entrepreneur Charles Fraser developed this sultry Lowcountry sea island as one of America’s first "eco-planned" resorts. But visitors are beginning to learn that some of the most important chapters of American history took place here, right beneath their vacation-tanned feet. Take Mitchelville, for instance, a settlement established by freed slaves in 1862, a year before the Emancipation Proclamation. On St. Helena, the Penn Center stands as one of the first schools in the South to educate Gullah people.

These spots surprise and intrigue visitors, who arrive knowing little, if anything, about them. Why? “Well, who writes history?” Joyce Wright asks rhetorically, eyebrows arched. Wright is executive director of Mitchelville Preservation Project, one of the member organizations in the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. Here, visitors experience Gullah culture through storytelling, sweetgrass basket weaving, and sampling traditional food. Though the corridor cuts through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, Hilton Head and St. Helena are the heart of living Gullah culture, where once forgotten stories find voice. —Julie Schwietert Collazo

Travel Tips

When to Go: March 9-14, 30th Annual Hilton Head Island Wine and Food Festival; late May, 29th Annual Original Gullah Festival, Beaufort; October 12-19, 10th Annual Historic Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival, Bluffton; November 6-9, Penn Center Heritage Days celebration of Gullah culture, music, and art, St. Helena Island

How to Get Around: A car is required to visit the Sea Islands and Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor sites in South Carolina (extending north and south of U.S. 17 along the Atlantic Coast and 30 miles inland). St. Helena Islandand Hilton Head Island are located east of I-95, between Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia. There are international airports in both cities, as well as a regional airport on Hilton Head. Rent a car at any airport. From I-95, take exit 33 for Beaufort and St. Helena, and exit 8 for Hilton Head.

Where to Stay: Beaufort is a convenient home base since it’s only five miles west of St. Helena and less than 35 miles north of Hilton Head. The city’s National Historic Landmark district is home to numerous bed and breakfasts, including the Rhett House Inn, a restored antebellum manor house and celebrity favorite (past guests include Tom Hanks and Barbra Streisand). There are ten guest rooms in the main inn, seven rooms with gas fireplaces and private patios or decks across the street in the Cottage (built in 1864 as one of the first southern schools/stores for freed slaves), plus the two-bedroom Newcastle House overlooking the gardens. Rates include a full breakfast, and the option to create an all-southern plate: eggs, biscuits, grits, country ham, and a tall glass of sweet tea.

Where to Eat or Drink: Dye’s Gullah Fixin’s is as close as it gets to eating in a Gullah grandma’s kitchen. Dye Scott-Rhodan is the chef, and her relatives—including a ten-year-old niece—pitch in as servers at the small restaurant. Hours are limited and reservations are required, but it’s worth the minor hassle to reserve a seat at Dye’s table. Try authentic Gullah dishes such as “old fashion church tater salad,” “okra matoes stew,” and the specialty of the house, Malaysia "sweet tater" bread pudding.

What to Buy: On South Carolina rice plantations, hand-woven sweetgrass baskets were used as sieves to separate seed from chaff. Today, local weavers craft and sell the sweet-smelling, coiled baskets (available in various sizes and designs) daily at the historic Charleston City Market and regularly on St. Helena Island at venues such as the Penn Center and the Red Piano Too Art Gallery.

What to Read Before You Go: Pat Conroy’s memoir The Water Is Wide (Dial Press Trade Paperback, reprint, 2002) chronicles his year spent teaching Gullah children in a one-room schoolhouse on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina (fictionalized as Yamacraw in the book).

Helpful Links: Hilton Head Island, Gullah Community, Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor

Fun Fact: The Gullah/Geechee people living in the Lowcountry and Sea Islands are descendants of enslaved West and central Africans forced to work on coastal rice plantations. The isolation of the Sea Islands enabled the Gullah/Geechee to develop a separate Creole language and distinct culture from African Americans living in other parts of the United States.

Insider Tip From Julie Schwietert Collazo: The annual Gullah Celebration is held in February. The monthlong festival showcases music, food, and arts.

Picture of the Week

Via The New York Times 

South Georgia Step Dancers: 2013

Hilton Head Island 1970

       Bill Emory

How Hilton Head Was

Via Hilton Head Monthly 

Dean Rowland 

                    Charles Simmons Jr.

His home had no running water and no electricity, and there were no paved roads, no stoplights, no marinas and no bridges anywhere on Hilton Head Island. But there was food on the table, friends to play with, school to attend and work to do every day. 

This was life on Hilton Head Island in the 1930s, not just for Charles Simmons Jr., now 85 years old, and his family, but for all of the other native black islanders as well.

It was a good Gullah life, a life apart from the big wide world around them, except for the occasional trips to Savannah by boat for groceries, clothes, and socializing with family and friends....

http://www.hiltonheadmonthly.com/style/lifestyle/3260-how-hilton-head-was

Ticket prices drop 13 percent at Savannah-Hilton Head airport

Via The Island Packet 

Just a year ago, Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport was tied for fourth in a ranking of the most expensive airfares among the country's 100 largest airports.

Now, after adding low-cost carrier JetBlue in February, the airport has dropped to No. 25 on the list.

Ticket prices have fallen 13.7 percent -- the sharpest decline in the U.S., according to recently released Bureau of Transportation Statistics' numbers for the second quarter of this year.

Airport officials credit JetBlue for the lower prices.

"It's helped lower fares across the board," said Lori Lynah, airport director of marketing. "We have more seats and more service in the market. ... With more competition, the fares will be lower."

The company added flights to and from Boston's Logan International and New York City's John F. Kennedy International airports.

It also prompted other airlines to compete.

Delta, United and US Airways added more service, giving passengers the weekly option of 45 more flights and 5,000 additional seats, Lynah said.

The airport has seen 1.4 million passengers in 2014, up 16 percent from last year. The average ticket price, as high as $503, has fallen to $434, according to the transportation bureau.

Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce president Bill Miles said the JetBlue effect has been felt on Hilton Head.

Hotel occupancy rates in October jumped 9.6 percent from last year. He attributes that rise, in part, to more corporate and leisure travelers flying into Savannah-Hilton Head.

"It certainly is a big win for our residents, for our visitors and for the business community," he said. 

"Any time you are able to bring in and recruit additional airlines, especially when you land one like JetBlue, it's going to increase seats in the market."

Love firm to redesign Ocean Course at Sea Pines

Via http://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net

Love Golf Design, the firm run by PGA Tour star Davis Love III and his brother Mark, has been hired by South Carolina’s Sea Pines resort to redesign the resort’s Ocean course.

The Ocean course, which opened in 1962 and was designed by George Cobb, was the first golf course built on Hilton Head Island. It was previously renovated by Mark McCumber’s design practice back in 1995. The course will close next October and reopening is planned for September 2016.

The renovation of the Ocean course is part of a major investment by the resort in its golf courses. Pete Dye and his team recently completed changes to the Heron Point course, which reopened for play in September. Dye’s team softened the green surrounds and contours, enlarged several greens, and changed the putting surfaces were transitioned to Tif-Eagle bermuda.

Additionally, the resort’s flagship, Dye’s Harbour Town course will close for an upgrade next summer, after the 2015 playing of the RBC Heritage event. Fairways will be regrassed with Celebration bermuda, while the greens will be reseeded with Tif-Eagle, and the irrigation system will be replaced.

Next Hilton Head Economic Development Corp. Meeting Agenda

http://hiltonheadislandsc.gov/boards/agendas/2014packets/edc-11-18-2014-pack.pdf

Picture of the Week

                                                 St. Helena Island

2015 Savannah Music Festival Update

Tickets are now on sale for the 2015 Savannah Music festival.

The Savannah Music Festival is dedicated to presenting a world-class celebration of the musical arts by creating timeless and adventurous productions that stimulate arts education, foster economic growth, and unite artists and audiences in Savannah. It is the largest musical arts event in Georgia and one of the most distinctive cross-genre music festivals in the world.

See more at: http://www.savannahmusicfestival.org

Election Day Update

Via the AP 

Beaufort voters approve land preservation money

Beaufort County voters have approved plans to borrow $20 million for land preservation, including raising funds to buy or arrange conservation agreements on environmentally sensitive property.

More than 73 percent of voters supported the idea. Beaufort County voters have authorized more than $130 million for the land preservation effort over the last 15 years.

Officials say the latest borrowing will add about $10 to the property tax bill for those who own a $250,000 home.

The Rural and Critical Lands Program has spent more than $105 million since 1998. They have purchased more than 11,000 acres of land to prevent development. Another $52 million has been spent to arrange agreements with landowners who promise they will not develop another 11,000 acres.

The Beaufort County Open Land Trust manages the program and has identified about $57 million in property it wants to preserve.

Via WTOC 

HHI Mayoral race goes to runoff

The Hilto Head mayor's race will involve a runoff election.

There were five candidates in the race, so many people expected the runoff to happen. Even the incumbent mayor said he wasn't surprised by the results.

Almost 40,000 voters in Beaufort County came out to the polls and casted their ballots on Tuesday. Election officials said that's the best turnout for a Mid-Term Election. Eighty-one of 92 precincts in Beaufort County have been completely counted.

If neither of the Hilton Head mayoral candidates get 50 percent plus one vote of the votes after all the votes are counted, then it will go to a runoff between David Bennett and incumbent Mayor Drew Laughlin.

Laughlin and his team are already prepping for the election in two weeks.

“Largely, get out and vote,” Laughlin said. “We have to make sure we get our people back to the polls again. It means we're just going to have to work hard for another two weeks. I'm happy to see the folks out here. We had a lot of folks that work very hard, which is very gratifying and we just have to keep doing that.”

Mayor Drew Laughlin's November Letter to Residents and Visitors

Mayor Laughlin's November 2014 Article as seen in Celebrate Hilton Head can be found here:

http://www.hiltonheadislandsc.gov/council/mayorart.cfm

Picture of the Week

The Hugo Bowl; Middle Tennessee State vs. Georgia Southern College, 

September 1989; Frank Fortune/Georgia Southern Athletics

                               

New Port Royal Sound Maritime Cenrter Renovations are Underway

Construction renovations have begun on the new Port Royal Sound Foundation Home and Maritime Center. 

The Port Royal Sound Foundation is renovating the buildings at the former Lemon Island marina to establish an engaging and exciting educational experience. The Center will feature exhibits, classrooms, hands-on learning spaces and other areas where visitors can learn and celebrate the uniqueness of the Sound and have diverse and fun opportunities to experience and connect with the Port Royal Sound Area. 

If you would like to help, please contact Jody Hayward, Director, to learn more about donor and sponsorship opportunities and benefits.

Fourth Annual Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Marathon is on November 8

Savannah will host its fourth Rock 'n' Roll Marathon next Saturday November 8. The race os the centerpiece of an entire weekend of health and fitnesss events: 

November 6-7, 2014

Health & Fitness Expo

Savannah International Trade & Convention Center

Thursday: 1:00 pm-7:00 pm

Friday: 10:00 am-7:00 pm

Exhibitor Info| Spectator Info

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah Marathon, 1/2 Marathon & Relay

Start time: 7:00 am

Event Details | Course Information

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah 5k & 1 Mile

5k Start Time: 1:00 pm

1 Mile Start Time: 2:30 pm

Event Details

Kides Rock Savannah

Start Time: 3:15 pm

Event Details

The event means a lot of work for Savannah-Chatham County police, who have to clear all vehicles from the 26 miles of road used by the full marathon, plus addition streets used by the 13 mile half-marathon before the race can begin.