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

For some people, their life path becomes clear at an early age. That’s what happened for Kathy Watson. The eldest of five children, she grew up in Easton, Md. Her father was a physician with a busy practice and her mother was the domestic engineer, tending to all the details required to handle a household and raise a family. Learning from her parents’ example, Kathy gained some excellent time-management skills that have served her well throughout her school years and career. Her parents strongly encouraged her to be independent, discover what she wanted to do and go after it. And that she did!

The title for this piece came directly from Maryann Bastnagel’s professional website. The words are as succinct and straightforward as the woman. Nothing in her life seems wasted—not words or time or energy. We arranged to meet after Maryann checked her calendar and found one opening on one specific morning when she was on Hilton Head to attend a board meeting of the Economic Development Corporation for the Town of Hilton Head. The interview was scheduled after that meeting, before she flew back to Delaware to continue consulting on a management project.

With creative images dancing in her head, young Mallory Russell began her search for the perfect recipe. With visions of college scholarship money, her family jumped at the opportunity. The fantasy-invoking opportunity was a contest sponsored by Jif peanut butter in 2011 that requested recipes for “The Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich” from kids 6-12 years old.  Mallory’s maternal grandmother found out about the contest and alerted the family.  

One of the fastest growing water sports in the world has arrived in Beaufort. It’s dragon boat racing, which originated in China more than 2,000 years ago. The first international dragon boat races were held in Hong Kong in 1976 to promote tourism. The fever quickly spread. Some statistics report nearly 50 million dragon boaters in China. There are now more than 90,000 in Canada and the USA, and dragon boat racing is spreading to every continent. Deeply embedded in China’s dragon culture, each boat has an ornately carved dragon’s head at the bow and a tail at the stern. The hull is painted with the dragon’s scales. The paddles symbolically represent the claws. Dragons were traditionally believed to be the rulers of rivers, lakes and seas, dominating the clouds, mists and rains from heaven. A dragon boat team consists of 20 paddlers seated two abreast, a helmsman, who steers the boat from the rear, and a drummer who sits at the front to pound out the cadence for synchronized stroking.

Janice Barnwell is a fifth-generation Hilton Head Islander. Her son, Chauncey, is sixth generation. Her mother was one of 15 children born on Hilton Head.  Her family’s annual reunion—held alternately in Hilton Head and Alexandria, Va.,—includes at least 45 of her first cousins. Some of her cousins’ children have children, making them seventh-generation Islanders.

Elizabeth Klosterman, a native of Charleston, moved to Beaufort seven years ago, returning to the place where some or her relatives were originally planters before relocating to Charleston.

For Janna Jones Kersh, the birth of Avery, last summer, was one of those epic moments that will stay with you for a lifetime. “It happened so fast,” Janna recalled. “When she was finally out, I took a long, deep breath and just enjoyed the moment.”

The story spread as fast as kudzu’s invasion into the Southeast. From the salons to the saloons, and places in between, locals were talking about Amanda Russ, the owner of Pomodori Italian Eatery on Hilton Head Island, who jumped into a lagoon and wrestled the dog she’s been caring for this past year from the jaws of an alligator. 

Mary Tatum is an outstanding example of a person who inspires others and makes a difference. When her friends or family are struggling with problems, she not only encourages them, she also tries to comfort them by sending her favorite message of hope from the Bible, quoting Isaiah 41:10: “Fear not, I am with you; do not look around you in terror, and do not lose courage for fear of what may happen, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you.”

A strikingly beautiful young woman walked alone into the lobby of the Sonesta Resort on Hilton Head Island.  She may or may not have noticed heads turning—it’s simply a fact of her life. She carried a curious looking tortoise shell box with a handle—neither a purse nor a briefcase. Later she explained, “It’s the carrying case for my crown and I’m officially required to take it wherever I go. I knew if I came down the elevator from my room and walked into the lobby actually wearing my crown, I’d never get to our interview because people would’ve continually asked to take their pictures with me.”

When Jessica and her husband Creg went to the 20-week ultrasound of their first child, they could have never expected the news they would receive and the amazing journey that laid ahead. “At 20 weeks we learned that [Payton] had stopped growing,” began Jessica. “The diagnosis was absent end diastolic flow and basically she was not getting enough nutrients. We knew then she was going to be a preemie.”

Beth Whiteford has a history—as a volunteer, that is. As a longtime volunteer in her home state of Massachusetts, it was important to her to find some way to help in her new community. Three years ago she saw a request for volunteers for Operation Safe Harbour, called their office and went in. It was a good fit and she has been there ever since.