If you ask Betty Melkon how many careers she has had, she—like a true Southern woman—will grin and begin her story with “Well…” All told, she’s been a teaching administrator, a lobbyist and meeting planner for superintendents and principals, worked in securities, banking and real estate, owned a business called At Your Service, and is now a certified health coach and yoga instructor. Her across-the-board resume has nothing to do with her being flighty or lacking vision. In fact, Betty might be one of the clearest headed people you will ever meet. Her career path speaks well to anyone who knows the value of making ends meet, and bespeaks her resiliency to pursue her ultimate passion: helping people see food as medicine.

“There is a Hebrew word, ‘mitzvah,’ which means a good experience or a good deed. We named our dog Mitzi, short for Mitzvah, because she has been such a wonderful experience for us.” —Ray Mintz

Joan Davis tells me I’ll know her by the golf clothes and distinct knee socks she’ll be wearing. She’s sitting at a table outside of Starbuck’s in Pineland Mall; I recognize her instantly. (Later she will ask me if I think she looks like Shirley MacLaine. She really does.) I compliment her quirky wild socks before going in to get coffee. The barista says, “Oh you’re interviewing Joan today, right?” I ask if she knows her. “Only for 15 minutes, but we’re good friends already. Don’t you love those crazy socks she sells!”

Dr. Rick and Joni Vanderslice met on a blind date on Hilton Head Island in 1996. Their instant attraction led to marriage just a year later. Rick is the founder of the Urology Group on Hilton Head Island and Joni is the president and founder of J Banks Design group. They have two beautiful and accomplished daughters, Sarah, 16, and Grace, 14. They are a devoted family and support each other in everything they do. Their passion is to make a difference in the world.

Like the life she’s led, there is nothing sugarcoated about Fran B. Reed. Ask her about her second husband and she openly discloses, “He beat me black and blue and purple all over.” When the subject turns to her suffering a stroke that kept her housebound and bedridden for five years, Fran explains, “A lot of the people said to my daughter, ‘Don’t waste your time with your mom. She’s going to die anyway.’”

There are love stories that are sweet and simple. There are love stories that provoke wailing and explosive theatrics. And there is Amy and Michael’s love story.

To describe Aileen Cangiano-Heath as a high-energy woman may be somewhat of an understatement considering her credentials and accomplishments. She’s a medical doctor, a Navy lieutenant commander and the senior medical officer at the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort medical clinic. She is also a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. On the personal side, Aileen has been married to Michael Heath for 17 years and has two daughters.

Like the life she’s led, there is nothing sugarcoated about Fran B. Reed. Ask her about her second husband and she openly discloses, “He beat me black and blue and purple all over.” When the subject turns to her suffering a stroke that kept her housebound and bedridden for five years, Fran explains, “A lot of the people said to my daughter, ‘Don’t waste your time with your mom. She’s going to die anyway.’”

At the age of 29, Laurien Hayes has already been to more places and sampled more cultures than many will ever have the opportunity to experience. Born in Laurel, Md., the middle child of Susan and Douglas Hayes, Laurien was exposed to volunteerism at an early age. Alongside her parents, she delighted in being of service to her community, whether it was for a church project, community event or helping out in the local food pantry. Although she didn’t know what it was called when she was young, her heart, mind and spirit were guiding her toward the noble path of social work.

For the past 18 years, Sandra Berthelsen has invited the same group of her closest lady friends to stay at her and her husband’s vacation home on Hilton Head. The women gather to reconnect and relax. But more importantly, “they get to let go of their daily professional and family obligations (especially cooking), to laugh and to talk about anything and everything,” explained Sandra, who is known as “Sandy with a y'” by her friends.

The wisdom philosopher Heraclitus gave us is, “The only thing that is constant is change.” Many things that change are beyond our control. Some people accept it, others resist. There are those of us who talk continually about wanting or needing to change but, according to myriad polls, few of us actually make it happen by choice and effort. Jessica Long is the exception to the statistics.

On the surface, Amy Metzger looks like an ordinary, although beautiful, woman. But join with me to go a little deeper to discover a heart as big as some of the trees she attends to at The Greenery, where she works.

As the pace of the holidays picks up, it’s time to practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty to cheer those around us in need.

The air in the busy coffee shop was infused with energy, and it wasn’t the caffeinated coffee! It arrived in the form of the lovely, blond-haired, Terry Karmel, a licensed marriage family therapist. Her vitality and obvious enthusiasm for life made our conversation concerning holiday blues and respect in relationships most informative.

Susan Cato will retire from her position as Executive Director of Child Abuse Prevention Association (CAPA) in Beaufort County on Dec. 15. She has given 29 years of leadership and service, developing CAPA into a powerful and essential support organization for at-risk children and their families. In addition, she has guided the organization in maintaining a standard of excellence at CAPA’s Open Arms Shelter, which has housed over 2,100 children since its inception in 1985, and provided vital education and services throughout Beaufort County and the communities CAPA serves. After three decades and a nationwide search for her replacement, Susan is delighted to have her successor Christina Wilson “take over the reins.”

Dream Catcher is doing a turnaround for December. Instead of asking people 
what they would like to have or do to “conquer their bucket list,” 
I have asked seven women what they would like to give. 
If you had unlimited resources or a direct pipeline to answers to prayers, what would YOU do?

Eileen Hutton is a true pioneer. Influenced by her dad and a self-taught reader from the age of 3, she devoured everything she could get her hands on and she continues to do so to this day. Her chosen career path of librarian was a perfect fit. When her mother became ill in 1989, she and her husband Bob decided to pull up stakes and move to Grand Haven, Mich. to be with her. Since there were no jobs for librarians in that area, Eileen combed newspaper ads for other possibilities. She soon found and accepted a job as an assistant to the publisher of a “books -on-tape” startup company. At that time, there were no other similar companies in existence. From there, her career skyrocketed. She was an incredible asset to this new organization, as her voracious reading appetite made her familiar with many genres and authors. She knew who was on the New York Times best-sellers list, negotiated contracts for their books to be put on tape, and became personal friends with many authors. The first romance novel on tape, Montana Sky by Nora Roberts is credited to Eileen. She eventually took over the company and grew Brilliance Audio to become the second largest audio publishing company in the industry. A few of Eileen’s many accolades include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Audio Publishers Association and recognition by the Romance Writers of America for her contribution to the industry. She has served as a consultant to the Library of Congress regarding the digitization of books and has been influential in setting standards for playback devices.

Caroline Fermin returned to Beaufort as the Executive Director of the Parris Island Historical and Museum Society—the first in its 25-year history.

The retired Marine lieutenant colonel’s father was a 26-year-Navy veteran. “My dad was deployed on the USS Constellation when I was born,” she says.

Her tone reflects the jagged course her life has taken. “I believe that through trials and tribulations of life, your faith is what anchors you,” she says.

Walk into any room where Louise Spencer is singing and you can feel the room vibrate. Louise is Hilton Head Island’s cherished hometown diva, possessing an incredibly sassy voice with great range, control and rich expression.

If you look up Carole Glover online, she is a presence. Whether she wants it or not, as the mother of an “American Idol” winner, Candice Glover and beloved “native daughter” of the Lowcountry, Carole Glover has high visibility on her own. Despite her claims of shyness, Carole has risen to the role of sought-after interviewee.

Have you ever played the game where you describe a person in one word and everyone tries to guess who it is? If the person in question was Teresa Wade, the one word would be sustainability. Teresa is the founder of a nonprofit that focuses on sustainable solutions for the future. Her goals are as lofty as her devotion to the subject.

“All you have shall some day be given; therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors.”

-Kahlil Gibran

With all the changes in this world, especially those on beautiful Hilton Head Island, one blessing thankfully remains in tact. No amount of progress can destroy it or remove its beauty, as the spiritual uplifting of giving to others is a permanent, innate characteristic resting securely within our hearts.

Luciana Quiroga is a young woman, not yet 30. There aren’t many decades behind her. But in her last 10 years, she has been on power drive, zooming through a lifetime of events in her personal and professional life. Here are the highlights:

Hilton Head has its own Martha Stewart and her name is Ginger Craig, a brown-eyed dynamo who has her hands in enough high-energy projects to live up to the celebrity Martha. Ginger, and her equally perky four-legged friend, Liza Jane, graciously welcomed me into her lovely, bright living room, where I had the pleasure of meeting Ginger's husband Tim. Accustomed to constant movement from her pet, Liza Jane, contently followed Ginger as she guided me about the elegant home. Every room was decorated with a variety of beautiful dust ruffles, draperies and portraits.

Ever wished you could see the glaciers of Alaska, cruise the tropics of Costa Rica, see the beautiful Smoky Mountains or tour the jungles of Africa? Sue Jarrett doesn’t have to put any of these things on her bucket list because she’s done them all, and much, much more.

Patty Gosdin is glowing; her bright blue eyes have an added sparkle. The weekend is coming, and Patty can’t wait to play with her new toy, a zoom lens her husband bought for her Canon camera. She’s thinking about the images she’ll capture of ghost crabs, egrets and other wildlife and ocean scenes on Hilton Head Island. It’s pure joy for a woman who connects with nature on a deep level. 

What do tuning forks, Tibetan bowls, Chinese gongs, essential oils and energy medicine have in common? Alice Tobin and natural methods for healing and wholeness.

Anne Lear was destined to be a Navy woman. Her grandfather, father and three of her five brothers all served in the Navy. “So, I was actually going to enlist in the Navy as a corpsman, but they talked me out of it,” recounted the 24-year Navy veteran; a pediatric nurse practitioner and the commanding officer of Naval Hospital Beaufort (NHB) and Naval Support Facility since July 2013.

Bring up the topics of alternative medicine, the human body or the cultural differences between people around the world, and Cheryl McCarthy’s voice fills with enthusiasm. And her words are filled with knowledge. “I’m passionate about health. I can’t read enough about health,” Cheryl said. “The human body is a beautiful, complex machine that has an innate intelligence which we might never fully understand.”

Having had one of those really happy kind of lives leads to a different type of bucket list. Anne McNear would like to “do it again” rather than have totally new experiences. How would you feel about that?

“When I visited my grandparents on Hilton Head Island as a child coming from Atlanta, I learned how to pick tomatoes, grow watermelons and peel shrimp.But best of all, I was able to bond with my family.”

Tosha Suggs is now a 42-year-old single mother, raising her 14-year-old son, Christopher, who a freshman at Hilton Head High School. Island life and family bonding brought her back to the Lowcountry and the strength of her character and power of her goals has kept her here.