“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” —Martha Graham

Lovely and willowy in a red blouse, black slacks and matching slender heels, Patti Maurer (size 2, maybe!) and her shadow, Chanel, a Cavachon (bichon/Cavalier mix), whirled about in a graceful greeting at their front door. Stepping into the beautiful entrance hall of this fabulous home, the urge to twirl around with them was inspirational. With a stunning marsh view inspiring us, Patti, excitedly related, “I've been dancing since I was 3 years old and love it more every day! When I announced to my dad my passion to major in dance at the University of Colorado, he insisted on a backup, so I graduated with a BFA in Dance and a BA in Psychology.”

What’s the most fabulous thing you’ve bought lately?
A large shipment of my “Jerri Boots” from Spain that I have tweaked somewhat and made even more killer. They are arriving with “BLEU by SENDRA, Handmade in Spain” imprinted on both the shaft and insole!

What makes you laugh so hard you cry? 
Usually I find myself laughing the hardest at all the hysterical, clumsy, or awkward moments I seem to have! I have a lot! Then of course there is Bon Qui Qui, who is really hysterical!

Beaufort seemed a desolate place to Ines Figueroa when she first arrived from Puerto Rico in 1995. Fleeing the grip of a bad marriage, yet leaving also the warm embrace of her family and tropical home, this woman of faith embarked on a journey that was to bring great trials and equally great rewards.

Puerto Rico is called the Isle of Enchantment. Days are warm all year round. People grow bananas and mangos in their backyards. There are over a hundred beaches strung around the coast of this U.S. territory, measuring just 100 miles long by 35 miles wide, and everything thrills with life and warmth. Her tight-knit family consisted of 17 siblings born to a carpenter father and seamstress mother, so there was no such thing as loneliness…she left a part of her heart there when she came to sleepy Beaufort.

Dona Wood is the Assistant to the Headmaster at Hilton Head Christian Academy, a small private school that offers intimate schooling opportunities for children grades K-12. With class sizes of about 10 students per teacher, each child has the opportunity to be given direction and support in finding their personal gifts and talents. One year ago, the school developed a marketing internship program to provide information to parents and the community about the school, the teachers, projects and events. Dona oversees this program. The students are chosen by recommendation from teachers, based on their skills in graphic design, photography and creative writing. All of the interns were waiting for me in Dona’s office, each eager to share their experiences in the program. I asked them to summarize how it made them feel more connected to the students, teachers and parents.

Gillian lives in a world of art and beauty, some of it natural and some of it created. Her Sea Pines home is a sanctuary for everything from butterflies to bunnies and her strikingly lovely art reflects her strong emotional ties to her surroundings. She is a self taught artist among her many other achievements and she paints sailboats that look for all the world as if they are flying and shore birds that seem to float off of the canvas. All of this is wrapped up in a tiny lady topped by a head of flame red hair and a smile that is as big as her heart and love for her faith.

If I could change the world I would _________.
End World Hunger. The thought of any baby, child, adult, or animal that may go to sleep hungry absolutely breaks my heart. I do believe there is hope but we all have to work together to make it happen.

What are the qualities your friends love most about you?  
I would have to say my positive attitude, creative energy and kindness.

Once upon a time there were three sisters, Kathie, Carol and Janet. They were raised in a small town in Martins Ferry, Ohio by two loving parents, John and Betty Petras. They fondly recall the days growing up, watching and helping their parents collect treasures in the house, garage and a storefront building. They developed a taste for beautiful and unusual things and an eye for quality from both parents.

“Many people do not realize that by the age of three a child understands about 70 percent of the conversational vocabulary they will use in their entire lifetime. By talking, singing and reading to their children in the early years, parents are giving a gift of great importance.”

The wonderful people at Born To Read—a grass-roots organization that  visits mothers of newborns in local area hospitals and brings them books—are truly a hidden treasure. As I talked with Executive Director Terri Sassmann in Beaufort, she opened my eyes to what committed and dedicated people are trying to achieve for moms and newborns. I became totally caught up in this fascinating story and I hope you do too.

What words most define what you want to achieve in this life?
Carpe-diem! I want to make the most out of everything I experience in my life pertaining to my family, work and friends.

What would people learn about you if they looked in your closet?  
That I need to take some time to organize my own closet!

February 8th, 2002 began as an ordinary, cold winter day for Nan and her husband Jim. That evening they attended the grand opening of a new restaurant in town and met up with their son Jacob, who was playing pool with his friends. Little did they know it would be the last time they would ever see Jacob alive. The next morning the phone rang at 4:27 a.m. What they were about to hear would change their lives forever. The person on the other end was Jacob’s girlfriend telling them that Jacob had just been shot. They immediately rushed to Jacob’s apartment. The police and paramedics were there. They were not allowed into Jacob’s room. No one was saying anything. After waiting an agonizing two hours, a policeman came out and announced: “We have to call the coroner.” Nan and Jim were stunned–in shock and total disbelief that Jacob had been fatally injured. The next few months were a blur. They were trying to find ways to cope and pick up the pieces to get on with their lives.

In the last decades, as Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) has continued to develop its world-class reputation, it has recruited an increasing number of top-notch international students.  Meet Elva Jiang.  Elva graduated from SCAD’s Savannah campus last year with a B.F.A in fashion and fashion marketing and management. Now, as CEO and founder of Eva Design House—a luxury goods and jewelry marketing company—her success story is emblematic of a new breed of young entrepreneurs who are defining the future: call her a global wunderkind.

Nancy Dennis, accompanied by her dog Buster, greeted me on the lane leading to their waterfront home near Land’s End on St. Helena Island.  Once out of my car, I stood mesmerized by the 180-degree view of marsh meeting Port Royal Sound, glistening in the afternoon light.

Mary Kate Boyle had no idea that she was on the brink of disaster. With a lengthy career as an emergency room and intensive care unit nurse, she was very familiar with symptoms of heart disease.  However, hers were atypical. She and her husband had been living a fairly healthy lifestyle: eating a healthy diet; maintaining healthy weights; both very busy and physically active. An extensive cardiac workup two years before had revealed nothing alarming. Mary Kate had been experiencing tightness in her neck and back for a few months, along with a funny feeling in her chest. She did not have chest pain, nausea, or pain radiating down her arm. She chalked it up to stress. Her mother-in-law had recently died. Her daughter had endured a complicated pregnancy and almost died and then required emergency surgery right after her delivery. Her daughter- in- law was pregnant, due to deliver anytime.  Life’s tensions seemed a legitimate explanation for the physical tightness.

On a sunny afternoon, as students were just getting out of Hilton Head Christian Academy (HHCA), Deb Copeland—“Miz Deb”—whizzed into the school lobby, whisked me down the hall, whooshed words at me in an explosive rush and then deposited me at our classroom destination. I was there to talk with six students, ranging in age from first to seventh grade, who attend HHCA through the sponsorship and financial support of Deb Copeland.

After a string of dreary, dank, dark days here in the Lowcountry, five minutes with Penny Rickard lifted the atmosphere and turned on the lights. She is a radiant woman. The theme for this month’s “Thanksgiving” issue of Pink is: Be grateful. We sought out a woman whose life embodies that concept. Penny was the clear choice.

Lisa Hayes is a young, dynamic leader with impressive credentials, goals and unparalleled motivation.

Armed with a BS degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, Lisa began her professional career in New York City, first as a manager for an advertising agency, then as an account executive for an apparel company. In 1998 she moved back to her hometown of Atlanta, got her MBA from Emory University, and spent the next three years working as marketing director and senior project manager for a tax compliance company. Although she was living a comfortable life, she felt something was missing.

In October 2000, Suzanne Hobbs, working as a TV reporter in Idaho Falls, was the first reporter on the scene to cover a story she’d never forget. She had learned not to get too personally involved in her work. Like many of us, she developed an emotional barrier between herself and the tragic real-life stories she was exposed to day-after-day. But that fall morning, she watched the tiny lifeless body of a newborn being retrieved from a filthy dumpster. She couldn’t let it go. And what she did changed her life.

I had a phone call a little while ago from Sharon Haag, who is the executive director of the May River Montessori School in Bluffton. She shared with me that her mom, Jeanne Fawcett, was having her 90th birthday and that she was still reading not only to herself for pleasure, as she had done all of her life, but also reading at the school one day a week or more and to four different classes!

Wendye Savage’s dad put an “e” on the end of her name because he wanted her to be special. She is. Wendye has a gift, which became apparent when she won her first poetry contest at her elementary school. She was a fifth-grader. “I don’t remember the poem exactly, but I know I wrote about slavery,” she recalled. “I’m not sure how I even knew what poetry was, but the words just seemed to flow out of me. And then I kept winning contests at my church.” 

Carrying on a conversation with Laurie Jaccard is a treat. She is whip smart and powerful, yet down-to-earth and bubbly. Our discussion naturally swings to and fro from her answering my questions to her asking me questions. She is as interested in me as I am in her. Her interest is genuine. There is no small talk. She is a woman first and then the CEO of a multi-million dollar, national health care company, which she created from a team of one—her. 

As a fourth generation Blufftonian who grew up on the May River, Amber Kuehn is well acquainted with our pristine local waterways. She has always been fascinated with the salt marsh estuaries, the creatures that live there and the delicate balance required to keep this ecosystem healthy. During her teenage years, Amber spent countless hours going up and down the river in her boat. Her time on this water playground planted the seed for her future career.

Dooya, Dooya, Dooya Dooya wanna dance? Well, if the answer is yes, here is a way you can not only dance to the music in classic Southern style, but contribute to a worthy cause while you are at it!

On a recent rainy afternoon, Millie Timmerman, who was honored for her 35 years of service with the Hilton Head Hospital Auxillary this year, energetically greeted me. “I always wanted to be a nurse, but my father felt teachers were badly needed and offered to pay for teacher’s college,” she recalled. “Funny thing, my sister who wanted to teach went to nursing school, and I wound up teaching 2nd and 3rd graders.”

For adventurous and courageous Wallis Singleton everything is possible. She just graduated in May 2015 from Technical College of the Lowcountry, Beaufort with a degree in nursing. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health from University of South Carolina, Columbia. Before formally launching her nursing career, Wallis decided to expand her horizons in a developing country and participate in their health care programs. She learned from a friend about Work the World, an organization based in the United Kingdom, that offers overseas elective experiences for students in healthcare fields. She was eager to experience living and working in Africa to learn how healthcare is provided there.

Jo Ann Graham walked through the door with the athletic grace and fluidity of a dancer. Not surprising. She spent her first career as a dance educator and choreographer and consulted with the South Carolina State Department to develop the public school dance curriculum for grades K -12. The surprise was Jo Ann never saw a dance performance until she was 21; she was 28 before she started dancing.

The words came pouring out of Candace Woodson like lava from a volcano. It was last November, when Candace was alone in her car, driving back to Hilton Head after a doctor’s appointment in Charleston. The news was everything she had hoped. Candace was told she was cancer-free, unleashing an unbelievable euphoria that led her to a comfortable and familiar place—composing a song.

Holly Wright has landed in the life that suits her. She is a personal trainer and the owner of Trinity Fitness in Bluffton. Her path here was neither direct nor obvious, but as she recalled different events in her life, what emerged suggested she’s been led in this direction throughout her life.

Susan Roberts has worn many hats in her professional career. She has been in communications, public relations and business. In fact, she was a partner in a large retail furniture business. She has been a stay-at-home mom, a teacher and a docent.  She has helped students with learning issues, and acted as a substitute teacher for local schools. Her arrival story, like many others, began with Hilton Head vacations. She and husband Dean started coming here in the 80s and soon purchased a villa. They moved here permanently 13 years ago and now live in Hilton Head Plantation. 

Tall, willow-slender and crowned with lioness hair, Elizabeth Sullivan Cutshall greeted me in the Hilton Head office of Wells Fargo Advisors.  Elizabeth is with the Bezilla-Kinney Wealth Management Group. Her title is Senior Registered Client Associate and recently, she was named Assistant Vice President. We smiled at our quasi-matching business attire—flared black slacks and tailored black/white jackets.  She started her college career in fashion merchandising. In fact, there was an illustrated book on fashion in her office.  But that was before she moved to Hilton Head and destiny change