North Charleston 2012 Fall Magazine

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Brain Power Aeronautics.

Renewable energy. manufacturing. defense contracting.

North Charleston’s high-tech workforce looks to the future.

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Run! Charleston Marathon

First of its kind City Fireboat

We have the

North area’s health covered!

Roper St. Francis has the North area’s health covered with the care you trust including family practice, emergency medicine, lab and imaging services.

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Inside

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36

44

Living

Working

Playing

3 4 c it y fi r e b oat

3 8 At tr ac ti o n s

1 1 C har le sto n m ar ath o n After a few years of wrangling and event changes, the Charleston Marathon seems to be hitting its stride. A look at what it takes to plan an event that runs through two cities. Plus, a map of the full course.

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A han d mad e li fe Park Circle resident Gretchen Scronce lives a modern, yet often homespun, life in Park Circle.

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North Charleston's new fireboat, the first of its kind in the Lowcountry, serves as an on-the-water firefighting resource, rescue boat and dive platform. The boat weighs in at about 19,500 pounds, yet it drafts only about two feet of water. It can hit 43 knots (about 50 mph), and since it’s steered by jet drives, can stop on a dime.

3 6 Li fe by d e s i g n North Charleston resident and graphic artist Laurel Stender recently captured top prize in the national Runway to Win design challenge issued by Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Her sold-out design, featured beside the likes of Marc Jacobs and Beyoncé, showed off multihued lines that ultimately spelled “Obama.”

An i mal s an d anti q u e s Meet Una Ashcraft, founder of the Spay Not Slay League and the driving force behind The North Charleston Village Antiques & Collectibles Show.

Visitors to North Charleston won’t ever run out of things to see and places to go. The city’s attractions run the gamut from a Civil War submarine to a topnotch golf course and a wildly popular water park.

4 0 r e stau r ant pro fi le s Hungry? Then belly up to the bar or grab a table. North Charleston’s got everything you need, from fast food to trendy restaurants.

4 4 Santa St y le Richard Cleaver has been paying Santa Claus for the past 23 years, lately for the city of North Charleston's big holiday festivities.

4 5 e ve nt li sti n g s From concerts and sporting events at the coliseum to major holiday festivals and local theater and independent films, North Charleston has it all.

Health Guide Special section by Trident Health System 1 8 Pati e nt s D o n ' t Have to Wait to S e e O b ste tr i c ian 1 9 B r e a st Car e C e nte r Fo c u s e s o n Co m fo rt 20

h ow to Ma nag e D iab e te s

2 1 E xplo r e Ro b oti c S u rg e ry

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The cover Photograph by Dan Hale featuring Clemson University Restoration Center scientists Johanna Rivera (from left), Nick Rigas and Nestor Gonzalez .

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located at 5300 Archdale North Charleston P.J. Browning Publisher The Post and Courier 843.937.5332 pbrowning@postandcourier.com

Tom Clifford Executive News Director The Post and Courier 843.937.5515 tclifford@postandcourier.com

Gayle J. Smith Director of Advertising The Post and Courier 843.937.5405 gjsmith@postandcourier.com

“Caring for Our Community since 1971”

Steve Wagenlander Director of Audience Development The Post and Courier 843.937.5746 swagenlander@postandcourier.com

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Matt Winter Editor, North Charleston Magazine Manager of Innovation and New Initiatives, The Post and Courier 843.937.5568 editor@northcharlestononline.com mwinter@postandcourier.com

Jay Fletcher Contributing Design Editor jfletcherdesign.com

Dialysis Clinic, Inc.

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Administration Office 1411 King Street, Charleston, SC 29403 Phone 843-723-7227, Fax 843-723-7404

North charleston magazine is a special publication of The Post a n d C o u r i e r n e w s p a p e r, 1 3 4 C o l u m b u s St., Charleston, S.C . 29403. Copyr i g h t 2 0 1 2 b y T h e P o s t a n d C o u r i e r.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without express written permission from The P o s t a n d C o u r i e r.

Contributors

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Katie Abbondanza Abbondanza, a local writer, profiled a mom/ do-it-yourselfer (p. 14), an antiques dealer and animal lover (p. 16), and a longtime Santa (p. 44).

Dan Hale Hale, who with wife Amelia owns Dreamland Images, shot portraits for our cover story on North Charleston's brainy workforce (p. 24 ).

Brendan Kearney

Marie Rodriguez

Kearney, a Post and Courier reporter who covers Boeing, contributed information about the aeronautics giant for our cover story.

Rodriguez, a frequent photographer for Charleston Scene, tackled number of shoots for this edition (ps. 14, 17, 44).

David Quick

Rob Young

Quick, a marathoner and fitness writer for The Post and Courier, took a look behind the scenes of the Charleston Marathon (p. 11).

Young, a Lowcountry freelance writer who works in North Charleston, interviewed graphic designer Laurel Stender (p. 36).

Letter

Few things in life are as exciting and rare as witnessing the start of something truly monumental.

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It felt an awful lot like that while I was helping to put together this edition’s cover story, “Brain Power,” (p. 24) which takes a look at North Charleston’s brainy, high-tech and altogether impressive workforce.

I drove up to the old Navy base and wound my way through the rubble of redevelopment to the Cooper River, flowing largely unseen behind a wall of industrial buildings and shipyard cranes.

I parked in a gravel lot near a boxy white building, a giant construction site and a long, low-slung industrial building. The big white building contains the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, the current home of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley. That’s how most people, myself included, know the place: You can pay to see the sub on most weekends.

At the door, I hit the button and was buzzed upstairs by security. There, I met a former colleague of mine, Peter Hull, who now works as a writer for the Clemson University Restoration Institute, or CURI. Until a few years ago, CURI was best known for its work exploring and stabilizing the Hunley. That conservation work has enabled CURI scientists to develop new processes that help calm the belligerent relationship between old metal objects and saltwater.

After catching up a bit, Peter led me on a fascinating tour. We wandered through the laboratory downstairs, stopping to gawk at an electron microscope and checking out some of the old iron relics that have been preserved at CURI. “This process they’ve developed removes the corrosion but doesn’t compromise the artifact underneath,” Peter explained.

We stopped to talk to some of their resident and visiting scientists (hailing from France, Uruguay, England, Finland and Chile). I was tickled to see that, just like in the movies, they wore white lab coasts and had written equations on glass window panes (you can see them in our cover shot).

We visited the Hunley, now sitting right-sideup and looking remarkably well-preserved in a giant pool of what Peter proudly described as

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“plain North Charleston tap water.”

We stopped to watch conservators working on an enormous, ancient art frame. The painting it held, a portrait of Harriet Aiken completed in 1825, was being restored nearby.

But CURI’s work on relics of the past, as fascinating as those projects may be, wasn’t the reason for the trip. CURI’s focus on the future — that’s where things really get interesting.

How interesting? How about 20,000 possible new jobs? What about the possibility of North Charleston becoming a global player in green energy research, a key force in unlocking the potential of wind-generated power?

Right here in North Charleston, at the giant construction site next door to their lab and offices, CURI is building a $98 million facility that will be capable of testing wind turbine drivetrains up to 15 megawatts. Soon, wind turbine companies from all over the world will be sending their ever-bigger drive trains to North Charleston for testing. The rigs that pass muster eventually will be deployed in offshore wind farms around the globe.

And in place of the low-slung industrial building next door? In a few years CURI will open its new graduate education center, already named after the Zucker family. (You can learn more about the Zuckers, their philanthropic endeavors and their company, The InterTech Group, in our cover story).

“That could house as many as 20 Ph.D.s based here,” Peter said. “They’ll be working with industries, doing research on everything from composite and advanced materials and energy systems to coastal ecology.”

Ancillary businesses are already moving to the Lowcountry to be near CURI. Researchers are studying wind speeds off our coast.

Could North Charleston — and by extension the Lowcountry and the state — soon become a nationally or even globally important player in wind energy?

In a few years, could wind generate power for our coastal communities?

That would, indeed, be monumental.

matt winter E d i t o r, N o r t h C h a rl e s t o n M a g a z i n e e d i t o r @ n o r t h c h a rl e s t o n o nl i n e .c o m

News on the wing

moving fast at boeing, charleston international airport Boeing CEO Jim McNerney credits South Carolina’s elected officials and education system for his “ahead of schedule” local Dreamliner complex and called hiccups at that plant “growing pains” typical of a new airplane with a new engine.

Speaking at a business forum in Charleston, McNerney hinted in October that further expansion of Boeing’s North Charleston operations is likely as long as that government support and the maturation of the 6,000-member workforce here continue.

McNerney visited Charleston during a busy time for Boeing. The airframer was in the midst of increasing production of several of its commercial jet programs, finalizing design of future airplanes and strategizing for the looming American military cuts.

McNerney said that progress would not be hampered by the failures of General Electricmade engines on a Boeing 787 in North Charleston and a 747-8 freighter in Shangai.

The Federal Aviation Administration had ordered all in-service GEnx engines be

checked every 90 days for drive-shaft cracks, which had been found in two 787 engines.

Air India took its first two Everett, Wash.made 787s from the complex near the airport in September.

C har le sto n Ai r p o rt The first phase of the $150 million makeover of Charleston International Airport’s terminal was set to start three months earlier than announced.

The airport terminal will undergo a major overhaul over the next two or so years. The work was expected to begin with a $15 million expansion of the ramp leading to the terminal and construction of a new rental car pavilion.

Charleston also is adding six new gates, a third baggage carousel, consolidated security, a dome over the atrium, new office space and a redesign that will direct passengers through security behind the airline kiosks instead of through the lobby.

Source: The Post and Courier

Smoking ban

City Council split on measure

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In a split vote, North Charleston City Council rejected an ordinance that would have prohibited smoking inside public places — much like bans that have been in place for years in Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville and other towns.

Mayor Keith Summey resisted such a step, arguing that businesses should be free to settle their own smoking policies. He was joined by council members Ed Astle, Rhonda Jerome, Bobby Jameson, Dorothy Williams and Sam Hart.

Members Ron Brinson, Todd Olds, Bob King, Dwight Stigler and Michael Brown supported the ban, as did the bulk of the 13 people who spoke to council.

Though the smoking ban was narrowly defeated, some North Charleston restaurants already did not allow smoking, and many others were set to institute their own bans.

Source: The Post and Courier

Photograph by Brad Nettles

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Teachers are encouraged to use researchbased lessons, hands-on activities and original source documents. They use the Socratic method during classroom discussions to promote critical thinking.

Kelly Voigt enrolled her son in the school’s inaugural sixth-grade class.

She loved the way the school taught to the top kids, and her son “responded beautifully.”

She decided to leave her teaching job at a high-achieving suburban Dorchester 2 school for a spot at the North Charleston school, and she now teaches science and research.

ACHIEVEMENT Palmetto Scholars Academy ninth graders Spenser Dolley and Jojo Bastian use computers to do research for a biology assignment.

Lo o ki n g ah e ad

BY D i e t t e C ou r r é g é C a s e y

Achieving school North Charleston academy

Palmetto Scholars Academy can’t afford to hire companies to cut its grass, fix its plumbing or paint its walls. The North Charleston charter school receives less funding per pupil than most other schools in the state, so it has to make its tight budget stretch as far as possible.

Parents, faculty and students understand the state-created predicament and step up to fill in the gaps, whether that’s donating toilet paper or replacing classroom light bulbs.

That’s just one of the ways this small school is distinguishing itself from the crowd. Palmetto Scholars Academy is the state’s only charter school for gifted and talented students, and its mission is to push its students to achieve at the highest levels possible.

“It’s awesome,” said seventh-grader Chelsey Graham. “It just gives kids the things they need, and it doesn’t make anyone feel dumb.”

The school opened in the fall of 2010 on the former Navy base, where it leases space from Noisette.

It has worked quietly since then to create an identity and build a high-quality reputation. Its test scores are proof that it’s on its way.

The school was one of 10 in the tri-county area to receive a perfect 100 “A” under the new federal rating system, and it has been rated “excellent” by the state and received a Palmetto Gold Award.

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A g o o d fit The school’s curriculum is designed for gifted and talented students, but students don’t have to meet any admissions criteria.

Any South Carolina resident who applies will be accepted, unless there are more applicants than seats. In that case, the school holds a lottery. It has waiting lists for sixth and seventh grades.

Only about 60 percent of its roughly 280 students are identified as gifted and talented. Students are tested and interviewed after they are admitted, and school officials tell parents whether the school will be a good fit for their child’s abilities. Some withdraw their non-gifted students, while others leave them there and hope they rise to the rigorous expectations.

All the school’s classes are advanced, and the school’s on-grade-level English and math classes are one grade above what students traditionally would take.

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Palmetto Scholars Academy has its charter to operate through the state Public Charter School District, and that’s why it’s funding is lower than most other schools.

Schools that receive permission to operate from the state district receive only state and federal money; they don’t get any local dollars.

A charter with the state district also has implications for its attendance zone — any student who lives in South Carolina can attend. That’s different than the other charter schools in Charleston County, which received their charters from the county school board and accept county residents only.

Palmetto Scholars Academy students come from across the Lowcountry, from Edisto Island to Summerville and Moncks Corner. The school doesn’t offer bus service, so many carpool.

A hunt for a spot to build a new school also is under way. The school is outgrowing its campus — nine of its classrooms are in the building while eight others are in mobile units — but it will have to figure out a way to pay for a new building. The school is preparing to kick off a fundraising campaign.

In the meantime, the school will continue to define itself. Some say it’s a place where freethinkers are valued and where what students wear is less important than who they are. Students say it’s a place where they can be themselves.

“You can’t be bullied for being smart because everyone here is,” said Graham, the seventh-grader.

Source: The Post and Courier

Photograph by Brad Nettles

Living

BY Dav i d Qu i c k

26.2 Charleston Marathon Putting on a marathon is no walk in the park. Just ask the organizers of the Charleston Marathon, an event that features a marathon and half-marathon that starts in Charleston and finishes in North Charleston, as well as 5K, bike ride, youth marathon and expo on the weekend of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Run, run, run Debbie Cropper of Anchorage, Alaska marked her 50th marathon in 50 states last year during the Charleston Marathon.

Over the last five years, organizers had to haggle with officials over permits, determine routes over roads crisscrossed with active railroads, and deal with complaints both by runners over the route and by residents and business owners in North Charleston upset about closed streets.

But many of those issues for the third annual event – to be held the weekend of Jan. 18-20, 2013 – appear to be ironed out and 2013 may be a year where the event finally hits its stride.

S c h o o l-to - s c h o o l While the Lowcountry’s weather is generally mild to hot, mid-January can be cold and downright raw, particular for runners trying to stay warm at the start and end of a marathon.

In a coup of sorts, especially for a marathon event, the 2013 Charleston Marathon and Half-Marathon will start at Burke Middle High School in Charleston and finish at North Charleston High School. Runners will be able wait for the start inside Burke and even have

Photograph by Brad Nettles

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North Charleston's Own

Former Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum and Eric Elliott of VIP Marketing

Congressman Tim Scott and Eric Elliott

VIP Marketing & Advertising is a full service advertising agency based in North Charleston, with a

high energy team of marketing professionals who are experienced in all forms of media. VIP’s motto is, “Clients are #1.” Their team members have worked in the marketing mediums that they advise clients in, which means they bring a wealth of knowledge to the table when creating marketing and advertising campaigns.

Choosing a team that cares about your business and is willing to go the extra mile for you should be a priority when choosing an advertising agency. Eric Elliott of VIP Marketing says "there may be companies larger than ours, but they will never out heart us."

The team at VIP Marketing & Advertising is very committed to their community.

Having just worked as North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey’s Media Planner in the last election, they know the value of establishing quality business relationships. They are no stranger to political campaigns with an endorsement and letter of recommendation from Dorchester County Council Chairman Larry Hargett - whom VIP Marketing assisted with his landslide victory in Dorchester District 4. If your business is in search of an experienced advertising agency VIP Marketing & Advertising could be the perfect fit for your business.

VIP Marketing & Advertising will be expanding. They are slated to open a new branch in Savannah, Georgia in January of 2013 - headed by Charleston native and Citadel graduate, Drew Silver.

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the ability to shower after the races at North Charleston High.

Using the schools is fitting because the event is so closely tied to the public schools. From the start, the Charleston Marathon has raised money for the Youth Endowment for the Arts (YEA), which provides grants for arts programs in public schools.

In the past two years, the event has funded more than $50,000 in 20 different grants, as well as a new initiative and pilot project called “Engaging Creative Minds,” according the Charleston Marathon board member Kyle Lahm.

Lahm added that the Burke-to-North Charleston High route not only provides relief to participants from bad weather but saves the organization money spent on tents and many portable toilets. Ample parking also exists at both sites.

Organizers also are using Burke for the event’s health expo and packet pick-up, to be held 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Jan. 18, 2013, thereby avoiding the elements that marred 2012’s event under a large tent. Winds kicked up dust and made for several unhappy vendors, volunteers and participants.

Other route changes include an additional stretch in downtown Charleston. In the past, only the first six miles of the marathon were in Charleston. The route change adds two more miles in Charleston, including gorgeous vistas of the Ashley River and Charleston Harbor along Lockwood Boulevard and the Battery and all of King Street.

“We’ve mapped this course hundreds of times over the years and I don’t know how many variations we’ve had, but I think this one is really interesting,” said Howie Schomer, one of the event’s co-founders and the point man on route design.

Marathoners and half marathoners split from each other just before the Mile 10 mark, on Viaduct Road in North Charleston. Runners in the half then proceed toward North Charleston Highway while the marathoners head to the Cooper River Marina and a short jaunt on a pier between miles 12 and 13.

Schomer hopes the changes help the event reach numbers that are “decent but manageable,” 1,000 for the marathon and up to 5,000

Graphic by Gill Guerry

Jan . 1 8 , 2 0 1 3 11 a.m.-8 p.m. - Health and Fitness Expo, Burke Middle High School.

3:30 p.m. – Charleston Youth Marathon, final 1.2 mile run, Burke.

Grits 5K, near North Charleston High School.

10 a.m.-4 p.m. – Celebration at North Charleston High School.

Jan . 2 0, 2 0 1 3 Jan . 1 9, 2 0 1 3 8 a.m. – Start of Marathon and Half Marathon, Burke.

8:15 a.m. – Start of the Shrimp and

8:30 a.m. – Start of the Charleston Marathon Bike Ride (40- and 60-mile rides), Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park.

better for those businesses, particularly restaurants and bars, such as the popular Madra Rua Irish Pub. “Everyone I’ve talked to thinks it's great,” said Cloud. “Anything we can do to drum up business after the holidays and before spring I’m all for.”

R ec i pro c al b e n e fit s Ma p o f m ar ath o n ' s Fu ll co u r s e

for the half.

Total participation – including the youth marathon, bike ride and 5K – in 2012 was 4,700, up 500 from the previous year.

The event’s close ties to the Youth Endowment for the Arts and area public school arts programs have reciprocal benefits.

Dr. Jim Braunreuther, fine arts director for Charleston County School District and YEA board member, said besides grant money to fund arts programs – including Shakespearean plays, bands and a steel drum program – it also gives schools another opportunity: to showcase talents.

Schools, not specifically ones receiving grants, are encouraged to “Adopt-aMile” and provide volunteers to pass out water and sports drink, cheer and provide entertainment – namely music.

“It’s their mile,” said Charleston Marathon Director Liz Alford Miello. “They have a lot of room to showcase their talent – choirs, bands, art murals, cheerleaders.

Regardless, Miello said the marathon is in need of volunteers - a total of at least 500 volunteers and ideally 30 people per mile.

B e t te r fo r b u s i n e s s As runners in the half and marathon finish at North Charleston High School – instead of the previous Navy Yard at Noisette - they also will be within a comfortable stroll of North Charleston’s downtown business district.

Scott Cloud, past president of the Olde North Charleston Merchants Association and owner of The Barbecue Joint, said that the marathon in the past two years “killed business” because it not only closed streets but deposited runners and spectators at the finish line at the Navy Yard.

The route change, Cloud said, should be

O n e m o r e le s s o n Besides the arts, the Charleston Marathon reaches out to local children in another way, by promoting physical fitness.

The Charleston Youth Marathon, which is open to all children ages 7-17 who are in good health, is a “modified marathon.” Participants can run or walk 25 miles prior to Jan. 18, 2013, and then run the final 1.2 miles with everyone else to complete a marathon at an event at Burke Middle High School the day before the adult marathon. n charlestonmarathon.com

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PA r k C i r c l e DIY Gretchen Scronce, here holding her son, Emory, works at a library and lives in Park Circle. Scronce and some Park Circle friends launched the Charleston Craft Bee.

BY K at i e A b b o n da n z a

Handmade life, in Park Circle Gretchen Scronce

In college, Gretchen Scronce learned how to knit and became interested in the world of sustainable food. A decade later, those threads are integral to the fabric of her modern, yet often homespun, life. She and her husband, Haley Hall, raise their own hens (“They’re hilarious to watch… I used to call it chicken TV,” she says), swaddle their baby son in cloth diapers and buy their vegetables through a local CSA, or community-supported agriculture.

Park Circle, the neighborhood they’ve called home since 2009, has helped them meet other liked-minded people. There are other neighbors within walking distance who keep chickens and a Facebook group for “rookie moms,” a collection of nearly 100 new mothers who meet for playgroups and trade off childcare.

“We love Park Circle,” Gretchen explains, adding that she and Hall bought a house there about a year ago. “We realized we really liked the mix of people there. It’s a close-knit community. My husband is black and I’m white, and … the neighborhood is diverse.”

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It’s also where she met Allison Nadeau, Christine Tiller and Lauren Pavao, the women who later banded together to form the Charleston Craft Bee. Initially, the Bee was going to be a single meet-up inspired

by Etsy, the online mega-destination to buy and sell all things handmade. They have since hosted three Bees, have a welldesigned website and are active on social media.

“It kind of exploded on Facebook,” Scronce says, noting that all three events sold out.

Crafting can be really fun, but it can also be really expensive and daunting.”

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To ease these artistic and financial anxieties, the Bee charged only a small fee and provided materials for specific projects to be completed that evening. Each of the coordinators led a craft based on a central theme for the evening, like homemade cleaning and beauty products or holiday gifts.

Explaining potentially complicated tasks isn’t new to Scronce; by day, she works in the technology learning center at Charleston’s main library. There, she teaches computer classes and assists patrons who want to brush up on Microsoft Excel or sign up for an email account.

“People are surprised that I don’t do anything with books,” Scronce says, given her background as a librarian. She and her husband Hall met while they were both pursuing master’s degrees in library science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently the library technician at Trident Technical College.

In Hall, Scronce has found a true partner.

He’s the one who often gets up early to feed the chickens and watches their son Emory when she has to work weekends at the library.

“I have to give my husband props,” she says. “He is an equal parent. That’s one of the things that makes working full-time and having a family easier.”

Scronce also brings a healthy dose of pragmatism to her life, whether she’s dealing with crafting, cooking or child-rearing. The Bee is currently on hiatus, two of the coordinators have new babies and two recently launched businesses, but she believes it will be revived at some point, in some fashion. And when she decides to, say, make her own cleaning products, it’s because she wants the solution to be “free of toxic ingredients, and safe for me and my family.”

“I’ve only made a handful of things for Emory,” she explains in an easy tone. “I did it because it was fun or because I could make it quickly or cheaply.” Now that she’s a mother, she spends more time prepping on the weekends “to make the week go more smoothly” and admits that sometimes her family might order dinner in.

But on most weeknights, Scronce and Hall spend their evenings with Emory, and then cook dinner together after their son goes to bed. Like crafting or raising chickens, it’s the kind of ritual that spans the gap between old-fashioned romance and a modern marriage. n

Photograph by Marie Rodriguez

City Scenes Play like a panther

More than two dozen North Charleston Elementary School students got to work out like NFL players during the Play 60 program, put on by the Carolina Panthers and A Brighter Future Foundation. The Play 60 program is designed to help fight childhood obesity by encouraging kids to be active for an hour a day.

By Wade Spees

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U p co m i n g S h ow s

S h o p fo r a c au s e Una Ashcraft founded Spay Not Slay League in 1974 and raised thousands of dollars for the cause through garage sales and auctions. In 2012 she helped start the North Charleston Village Antiques & Collectibles Show, which also helps raise money to help prevent euthanasia of unwanted pets.

The North Charleston Village Antiques & Collectibles Show will be held Oct. 27-28 and Dec. 8-9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Felix C. Davis Community Center, 4800 Park Circle.

BY K at i e A b b o n da n z a

Two loves, animals & antiques Una Ashcraft

Una Ashcraft loves animals so dearly, she can’t bear to have pets anymore—she finds it too heartbreaking when one passes away. When Ashcraft moved to North Charleston from her native Britain with her American husband in 1972, she was horrified to discover tens of millions of animals a year were euthanized in the United States.

“The only possible way to stop it would be to spay and neuter,” she explained recently over a glass of iced tea. Not one to sit around, Ashcraft started the Spay Not Slay League in 1974, and did “just about everything” to collect money for the animals, including garage sales and auctions. The group raised about $30,000 before she passed the management of the fund over the Coastal Community Foundation, which provides administrative oversight of the endowment.

Her organization has stayed true to its original mission for nearly 40 years, and Ashcraft still designates which efforts Spay Not Slay will support. And in 2010, she realized she could combine two things she loves—an-

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tiques and animals—by bringing an antique show to North Charleston.

“Well, I’ve always liked antiques,” she said.

“And bit by bit, if you sell one thing and replace another thing, you become a dealer.”

Ashcraft knew of another North Charleston resident who liked antiques and animals: Mayor Summey (he’s “just tops” in her view).

She approached him, and the mayor not only supported the idea, but suggested she talk with Lisa Reynolds in his office to get the project started. The North Charleston Village Antiques & Collectibles Show began soon after.

Reynolds, who collects china and vintage glassware, became the organizer of the event, and says there are between 15 and 30

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vendors at each show. Folks who want to sell pay $65 to set up a booth, and those looking to buy donate $2 at the door for the privilege to peruse the wares, which are set up in the Felix C. Davis Community Center.

Dealers come from across the Southeast to sell vintage jewelry and clothing, rare dolls, silver, antique books and more, and there’s a small food court set up as well. Reynolds says the show offers a smart alternative to the mall, noting antiques are a way to “recycle what we already have.”

The shows are held every other month, and they’ve donated anywhere from $500 to $1,400 to Spay Not Slay after each expo. With the new influx of money, Spay Not Slay teamed up with the SPCA in 2010 to spay and neuter 500 animals over the course of three days.

Ashcraft, who used to sell her collectibles at Rainbow Market and at a downtown exhibition, has a booth at the North Charleston show she helped start, and is happy to report they’ve had two successful years.

“It just took off. It’s a solid show now,” she says. “Lisa does all the work, so I just enjoy it.” n

Photographs by Matt Winter (top left) and City of North Charleston

City Scenes Burgers and Beer

North Charleston's Holy City Brewing hosted an all-American shindig by paying homage to a muchloved combo: burgers and beer. The event featured live music and patties from Sesame, Big Billy’s Burger Joint and others. Brew flowed from Holy City, naturally, along with Coast Brewing Company a few other local brewers. By Marie Rodriguez.

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Dr. Susie Wilson with one day old Merritt Beckaham.

Hospital Patients Don't Have to Wait to See Obstetrician

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VERYONE KNOWS WAITING IS A PART OF PREGNANCY. BUT WHEN A PREGNANT WOMAN IS READY TO DELIVER OR OTHERWISE NEEDS URGENT CARE, IT’S BEST FOR HER TO SEE AN OBSTETRICIAN/GYNECOLOGIST RIGHT AWAY.

The new Ob/Gyn Hospitalist Program at Trident and Summerville Medical Centers will ensure she does. Introduced in July, the program provides obstetrics and gynecology coverage at both hospitals around the clock. This ensures that an Ob/Gyn is immediately available to care for a patient who does not have a physician, or until a woman’s personal physician can see her at the hospital.

Summerville Medical Center (SMC) was the first hospital in the state to provide a dedicated Ob/Gyn hospitalist team with doctors devoted exclusively to that endeavor, without private practices of their own. Trident Medical Center (TMC) in North Charleston began the program in August.

Both are campuses of Trident Health, which is partnering with Ob Hospitalist Group (OBHG) to offer the dedicated program at the two hospitals.

Dr. Susan Kady Wilson leads the team

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at SMC, while Dr. Larry Wilson spearheads the TMC group. All the physicians are board certified in their specialty and have received additional training in advanced fetal monitoring, risk management and operative delivery.

“We provide an Ob/Gyn in the hospital 24/7, 365 days a year,” says Dr. Wilson.

“One of the most recognizable advantages is having someone in house when an emergency presents.”

At the same time, patients appreciate having an on-site Ob/Gyn who can quickly discern when a woman does not need emergency care or hospitalization so she can return to the comfort of home.

Dr. Christine Case, an Ob-Gyn with Coastal Women’s Care, sees the new program as an added layer of safety for patients.

“If they come in with an obstetrical emergency, there will be a doctor at the hospital ready to take care of them.”

Special Section by Trident Health

In most cases, patients receive same-day mammogram results.

The center offers the following procedures: 3 screening mammography 3 diagnostic mammography 3 breast and general ultrasound 3 stereotactic biopsies 3 ultrasound biopsies 3 bone density testing

Renovated Breast Care Center Focuses on Patient Comfort Extensive renovations of the Trident Breast Care were completed in June, and patients are offering plenty of compliments.

“They are just amazed at how good it looks,” says Medical Imaging Director Jodi Barteet, who envisioned and oversaw the expansion project. “It’s very private and has a serene atmosphere. It’s very calming.”

In addition to a color scheme... the center soothes the senses through music, aromatherapy and lighting. The private waiting area includes a station with coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

The center is located on the Trident Medical Center campus at 9313 Medical Plaza Drive in North Charleston.

The Trident Breast Care Center has grown by 75 percent, from 5,000 to 8,800 square feet, and now has a second waiting area that is for patients only.

Given the stress that many women feel when going for a mammogram or a biopsy, the staff wants them to feel as comfortable as possible. Barteet toured breast care

Special Section by Trident Health

programs in other cities to gather ideas during the planning process and also drew inspiration from the modern day spa.

In addition to a color scheme of cream, light tan and soft blue, the center soothes the senses through music, aromatherapy and lighting. The private waiting area includes a station with coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

Barteet had a chance to experience the impact of those improvements from a patient’s perspective when she underwent a biopsy at the newly renovated center.

“The atmosphere really did help calm me down while I was there,” says Barteet, who received good news from her results.

The Trident Breast Care Center has a dedicated staff with board-certified mammography radiologists and a breast navigator who helps guide a patient through the next steps following a cancer diagnosis. “Our team is extremely passionate about what they do,” Barteet says.

Plus, patients have the added assurance of being treated at a center that specializes in breast health.

“We are very experienced, and that’s at every level of the team,” says Dr. John McGue, the center’s lead interpreting physician.

The Trident Breast Care Center is accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The center uses only digital mammography, which provides more clarity than analog mammography. In most cases, patients receive same-day mammogram results.

To schedule an appointment, please call 843-847-4883.

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Specialist Helps Patients Manage Diabetes DIABETES, HIGH CHOLESTEROL AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. OFTEN INTERRELATED, THEY POSE A HUGE THREAT TO THE HEALTH OF AMERICANS TODAY. DR. JERRY BACK KNOWS THIS FAR TOO WELL, GIVEN HIS SPECIAL TRAINING TO TREAT ALL THREE CHRONIC DISEASES.

Dr. Jerry Back is the only board certified lipidologist and full time hypertension specialist in the Charleston region.

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As the only board certified lipidologist and full time hypertension specialist in the Charleston region, Dr. Back brings a unique level of expertise, understanding and specialty care to his patients.

His practice in Ladson – the Advanced Centers for Internal Medicine – focuses on strategies for adult patients who are grappling with a diagnosis in one or more of these areas.

“About 50 percent of the people that I see are referrals from other doctors. That’s really an honor.”

A recognized expert in diabetes management, Dr. Back is a leader in the Charleston area for the number of insulin pumps he installs each year, and he is known for simplifying treatment plans through their use. Because of the quick success his patients typically enjoy in meeting blood sugar goals, his practice has been held up at conferences as a national model to follow.

Dr. Back also works toward prevention, for example, offering the PreDx Diabetes Risk Score, which measures biomarkers in blood and scores the likelihood of someone developing diabetes within five years. This helps patients reduce their risks through lifestyle changes and possibly medication.

Likewise, Dr. Back believes that dying prematurely from stroke and heart disease is entirely preventable. He is at the forefront of those efforts as the only internist in the Charleston area who is a board-certified specialist in cholesterol management.

Dr. Back consistently receives top patient satisfaction scores when compared with HCA Healthcare providers from across the country. In the month of June, he was ranked No. 1.

That’s likely due to his successful results – and his emphasis on personal care. “Not only do I enjoy the intellectual challenges that go along with practicing medicine. I also find it to be a very spiritual force on my life.”

Special Section by Trident Health

Robotic Surgery Gives Patients A New Option SHE CALLED IT HER “WEEKEND HYSTERECTOMY.” IT’S SOMETHING BRIDGETTE MANNING LAUGHS ABOUT NOW, BUT LAUGHTER WAS THE LAST THING ON HER MIND WHEN SHE WAS SUFFERING FROM ENDOMETRIOSIS. WITH THREE BUSY YOUNG CHILDREN, BRIDGETTE COULDN’T CONSIDER TAKING A MONTH AND A HALF OFF FROM LIFE FOR A TRADITIONAL HYSTERECTOMY. In 2010, she was glad to learn from her gynecologist about a new alternative available through Trident Health’s South Carolina Institute for Robotic Surgery: minimally invasive hysterectomy.

“It was easier for me than having my wisdom teeth removed for my braces,” says Bridgette. “I came out of surgery with just band aids, and I was at home the next morning. With absolutely no pain, my recovery was amazing.”

Likewise, Nancy Drago didn’t realize how much pain and discomfort her gallbladder caused her until she had it removed. She didn’t realize how simple her recovery would be until after the operation.

Nancy returned home within a few hours of her surgery at Trident Medical Center, and within two days, she returned to her work as an accounting manager for the Town of Mount Pleasant.

Her surgeon, Dr. Jeff Lafond, provided the expertise of 17 years of operating experience and skilled support staff. He and Nancy benefitted from the latest generation of robotics – the da Vinci Single-Site (Si) HD Surgical System. With it, he removed her gallbladder through a single incision, hidden at her belly button. “Now that it’s healed up, you would never be able to tell I had surgery,” she reports.

“Not at all.”

In the four years since Trident Health launched its robotics initiative, the Institute has performed over 2,100 procedures, more than twice as many as any other hospital or health system in the Lowcountry.

Trident is now an observation site for training surgeons from throughout the US. Local surgeons have emerged as superstars in their respective fields and the surgical team as a whole has earned recognition for efficiency and superior outcomes.

Trident’s program started in 2008 with prostate surgery, and it soon became clear how robotics would boost quality outcomes for patients and redefine expectations for recovery. In the early years, Trident Health incorporated robotics in kidney procedures and gynecologic surgeries. Now, it also uses the technology for general surgeries such as gallbladder removal, thoracic procedures and esophageal repairs as well.

“We’ve taken full advantage of the new possibilities that da Vinci surgery provides, and our program at the South Carolina Institute for Robotic Surgery continues to grow,” says Trident Surgical Services Director Donna Daws.

Special Section by Trident Health

Bridgette Manning was back at home just a day after her hysterectomy.

The da Vinci Surgical System combines superior 3D high definition vision, patented EndoWrist instruments and Intuitive motion to allow for unparalleled precision, visualization, dexterity and control.

The end result: a breakthrough in surgical capabilities that is changing the experience of surgery. For the patient, that can mean less blood loss, less pain and less scarring than more conventional methods.

Moreover, Trident Health continues to integrate new capabilities offered through da Vinci. They were the first in the Lowcountry to use Intuitive Firefly Technology, recently used by Dr. Ted Brisson while removing part of a patient’s kidney. Luminescent dye helps distinguish cancer from healthy tissue, which shows up neon green.

Through it all, Trident Health has shown its commitment to robotic surgery by investing in training and equipment. The robotics team is made up of 18 surgeons and now is on two campuses – TMC in North Charleston and Summerville Medical Center (SMC), which acquired a da Vinci Si HD Surgical System in September.

SMC Surgical Services Director Bill Jones says the new robotics team in Summerville has benefited greatly from training at TMC. “We have the resources of one of the best surgical robotics programs in the country immediately available to us,” he says. “The future is here.”

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Trident Health has three Emergency Departments conveniently located throughout the Tricounty.

Seconds that Save Lives

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F YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF A STREAMLINED EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, TALK WITH WILLIAM PASSMORE, WHO COLLAPSED ONE MORNING THIS SPRING WITH THE CLASSIC SIGNS OF A STROKE.

Thanks to insightful communication with first responders from the field, the staff in the Emergency Department at Trident Medical Center (TMC) got a head start in preparing for a CT scan of Passmore’s brain. That test confirmed that he needed a clot-busting drug within three hours of his stroke’s onset to be effective.

“That medicine and the quick response of the people at the hospital and in the ambulance saved me,” says Passmore.

“They are the reason I’m walking and talking.”

It’s true that Trident’s Emergency Department is constantly refining its response to stroke to ensure that patients receive the right treatment as quickly as possible. The staff also prepares for cardiac arrest, trauma cases, critically ill children and countless other possibilities. “You have to be prepared for anything,” says Preston Wendell, MD, who led the response in Passmore’s case and now serves as director

of the Summerville Medical Center (SMC) Emergency Department.

In making sure they can best serve each individual patient, the emergency staffs also look at the bigger picture. Three years ago, the emergency departments at TMC and SMC introduced a fast-track system to assess and treat less critical conditions.

Overall, patients are seen and receive treatment faster. “We streamlined, and we cut our wait times drastically,” says David Mizzell, RN, director of the TMC Emergency Department.

In fact, Trident Health updates digital billboards with the real-time waits for their emergency departments at TMC, SMC and Moncks Corner Medical Center. “We’re not afraid to put our times out there,” says Mizzell, “and it shows we are always challenging ourselves to do better.”

Trident Health has other statistics worth talking about, too, for example, door-toballoon (D2B), time, which tells how long

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it takes to unclog a heart attack patient’s artery after the patient’s arrival at the hospital. The average door-to-balloon (D2B) time for Trident Health is 54 minutes compared to the national standard of 90 minutes.

To that end, Trident Health has worked with local EMS so that an EKG for a suspected heart attack patient can be transmitted from the field to the hospital before the patient’s arrival. This helps with early diagnosis and allows the cardiac catheterization lab to be fully prepared.

For larger scale emergencies, Trident Health helped bring e-Net Messenger to the Lowcountry. This new communication platform allows text and voice messages to be sent simultaneously to multiple users in the local emergency medical community, which can save valuable time in crisis and mass casualty situations.

“Every day, we look at areas we can improve,” Mizzell says.

Special Section by Trident Health

From left to right first row: Ashleigh IgbokweHamliton, MD; Marcelino Yera-Paez, MD; Second Row Maria Gibson, MD;Maribeth Porter, MD; Alex DeCastro, MD; Third Row John Freedy, MD, PhD;

New Family Practice Focuses on Coordination of Care

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EDICAL HOME MAY BE A HEALTH CARE BUZZWORD, BUT THE STAFF AT TRIDENT FAMILY HEALTH HAS SOUGHT TO PROVIDE SUCH A PLACE FOR ITS PATIENTS FOR MANY YEARS.

Previously known as University Family Medicine, the practice sits to the left of Trident Medical Center (TMC). It’s just a short walk from the Emergency Department entrance, allowing convenient access to all services on the hospital campus.

“Being on the Trident Medical Center campus and serving primary care needs for people from newborn age to elderly – it’s a perfect setup for the most comprehensive care you can think of,” says Dr. Maria Gibson, Trident Family Health Medical Director.

Before Trident Health acquired it this spring, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recognized the practice as a Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home – the highest level possible.

As a result of the change in ownership, the practice must re-apply for the recognition. Yet, Dr. Gibson says the shift provides patients with better coordination of care and communication between primary care physicians and specialists than before.

Trident Family Health’s history is rooted in an earlier partnership between TMC and MUSC’s Family Medicine Residency Program, and much of the setup remains the same. Each patient benefits from medical care provided by a clinical team of nurses, family medicine resident-physicians and MUSC faculty. Physicians see patients in the practice’s family medicine center and follow them to the hospital setting. Pregnant patients, for example, will benefit from their primary care doctor being on hand for labor and delivery.

Special Section by Trident Health

Trident Family Health is also distinguished by the following: 3 A philosophy of partnership between the patient and physicians with an evidence-based approach to care.

3 Walk-ins and scheduled weekday appointments as well as 24/7 telephone access to Trident Family Health doctors.

Appointments are often available within one hour of a patient’s phone call.

3 Multiple physicians recognized as Best Doctors in America and by the NCQA for care of patients with diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular diseases.

3 A wide variety of other services that also includes women’s health, cancer prevention and sports medicine.

3 Effective use of information technology to support the patient and promote seamless communication among all providers.

3 Cultural and linguistically appropriate efforts, including teams that can provide health care in Spanish as part of the Salud Project.

3 The ability to serve patients of any age, which allows multiple family members to see the same doctor. “We are honored to serve as many as three generations from one family.”

-Dr. Gibson, Medical Director Call 843-572-8277 to learn more or schedule an appointment with Trident Family Health.

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Clem son University R e sto r at i o n I n st i t u t e Meet some of the resident and visiting scientists at CURI (from left): Paul Mardikian, Ryan Schkoda, Johanna Rivera, Nestor Gonzalez (back, white shirt), Nick Rigas (front, in blue shirt), Curtiss Fox, Jim Tuten and Dr. Tom Salem (far right).

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Photograph by Dan Hale

brain

What makes North Charleston such an economic dynamo? Why does all the really big business news seem to emanate from here? Its network of deep-water ports, rail, airports and highways? Its longtime role as a manufacturing center of the Charleston region? These are all factors, but they’re not the real story. It’s the people.

The workforce. The big brains churning on complex processes. The ideas sparking across the city, nearly every hour of every day.

Consider the aeronautics and manufacturing expertise at Boeing and its myriad suppliers. The global business savvy of an outfit like The InterTech Group. The secretive intelligence of the city’s growing cluster of defense contractors. Medicine, education, science, manufacturing, innovation and leadership. We’ve got it all.

Here’s a look at some of the smarts behind the success.

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I n n ovati o n & Le ad e r s h i p North Charleston’s official motto is “A great place to live, work or play.” Its unofficial motto might well be: “A great place to do business.” Threads of independent thinking, risk-taking and quick decision-making are woven into the fabric of the place. City officials are known to move quickly and tap into deep political and business connections to solve problems and open up new opportunities for businesses, to forge public-private partnerships that foster creative thinking and nurture innovation.

Organic results bubble up, creating clusters of innovation in everything from renewable energy to neo-traditional development efforts, defense software and cutting-edge manufacturing. The city’s even home to the

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Lowcountry Innovation Center, a workplace that caters to “knowledge-based workers.”

Leadership comes not just from forwardthinking municipal officials. The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce is headquartered in North Charleston, as is the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. Such organizations not only help lure new business and support start-ups but also regularly host conferences, idea exchanges and high-level meetings that focus on innovation.

Every year since 1974, dozens of the Lowcountry’s movers and shakers have enrolled in the Chamber’s 10-month Leadership Charleston program. The course features robust exploration and discussion of political, social, and economic affairs, touching on everything from schools and hospitals to the

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port and military facilities.

The Chamber also recently hosted its first Emerging Technology Exchange, which focused on data mining. Fittingly, the event was held on the campus of the Clemson University Restoration Institute, known as CURI. Perhaps no operation in North Charleston, or perhaps even the Lowcountry, embodies the spirit of innovation quite like CURI. At the growing campus on the old Navy base, Clemson’s internationally flavored collection of resident and visiting scientists simultaneously preserve the past while laying a foundation for the region’s future.

This dovetailing of past and future is best seen in the groundbreaking work being done on two of CURI’s marquee projects: the conservation of the Civil War submarine

Image by Renk Test Systems

R e sto r at i o n Conservators at Clemson Restoration Institute work on an 19-century frame and the Civil War submarine H.L. Hunley.

T u r b i n e t e st r i g This rendering shows the size of the 15-megawatt rig planned for Clemson's test facility in North Charleston.

H.L. Hunley and the installation of a nearly $100 million wind-turbine testing facility.

The Warren Lasch Conversation Center (located in the same building as CURI’s staff offices) still houses the sub as it is prepared for display at a planned museum in North Charleston. The lessons learned through the preservation of the centuries-old iron hull led CURI conservators to develop new processes that remove corrosion without compromising artifacts underneath. Further refined and scaled up, these advanced engineering techniques may one day protect cargo ships, steel bridges and, of course, offshore wind turbines.

CURI’s main focus when it comes to wind power doesn’t lie in the notoriously unfriendly interaction of metal and saltwater.

Its scientists are also concerned with helping green energy innovators around the world figure out how to test and improve the everbigger drivetrains needed to make this form of renewable energy economically viable.

In 2009, Clemson was awarded a $45 million grant by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a unique testing facility that would do just that. That start-up fund was augmented by more than $50 million in public and private funds.

Crews already have laid the concrete foundation for CURI’s 7.5-megawatt test rig, which is expected to be installed early in 2013. A colossal, four-story, 15-megawatt rig will follow soon after. Both testing rigs will live in a massive, white building near the Lasch Center. CURI’s property includes deep-water

Photographs by Matt Winter (top) and Grace Beahm

access needed to receive giant turbine drive trains from manufacturers around the globe.

Nick Rigas, senior scientist and director of the wind-turbine drivetrain testing facility, says the project represents the kind of innovation the state needs to attract and retain world-class designers and engineers.

“Innovation boosts the economy and drives work force development,” Rigas says.

“The drivetrain testing facility is designed to meet industry’s future needs, and job creation requires a similar long-term view.”

Work also has begun on the Zucker Family Graduate Education Center, which will be used by cutting-edge industries to form the public-private partnerships needed to commercialize their innovations. The center, which will be built next to the Lasch Center,

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got a kick-start in 2012 when the Zucker family (see more on p. 30 ) gave $5 million to help pay for the facility.

Clemson President James Barker said it will become “the go-to place for innovation in advanced materials, the environment and sectors related to energy, power systems, logistics and transportation.”

Man u fac tu r i n g Until a few years ago, if you asked the average Lowcountry resident what kind of work goes on in and around North Charleston, they’d most likely mumble something vague about manufacturing.

Of course, if you ask that question now, you’ll most likely get an answer involving just one company: Boeing.

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North Charleston’s reputation as a manufacturing mecca is well-deserved, and it predates the arrival of the aeronautics giant. For decades, North Charleston (incorporated and otherwise) has served as the Lowcountry’s industrial base. The city and its unincorporated edges are home to an array of manufacturing operations, along with the army of managers, engineers and machinists needed to keep such processes humming.

Consider Cummins Inc., which is expanding its turbocharger manufacturing operation at the Palmetto Commercial Park on Leeds Avenue. The company expects to add dozens of positions to its stable of engineers and mechanical and electrical technicians over the next few years.

Look, also, to the Robert Bosch plant over

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on Dorchester Road, with more than 1,500 workers churning out the latest in passenger car diesel and gasoline fuel injectors, anti-lock brakes and electronic stability controls.

These are just the well-known companies, North Charleston’s manufacturing sector extends to petroleum products, specialty chemicals, shipbuilding, metal fabrication, even custom liquor manufacturing. Every one of these companies requires not only skilled line workers but also teams of highly educated engineers and production managers.

Of course, you won't find processes any more complex than at North Charleston's new big boy on the manufacturing block.

“We don’t build toasters at Boeing,” says Jack Jones, Boeing South Carolina vice president and general manager, prompting laughs from

Engineering a future Flight test engineers and other Boeing employees look over a 787 Dreamliner at the North Charleston plant.

a recent trade conference audience. “It’s highly sophisticated, technologically advanced.”

Lowcountry residents know generally what the Boeing South Carolina vice president and general manager was talking about, but for the uninitiated, the 787 Dreamliner is widely acknowledged to be the latest and greatest in commercial aviation. And North Charleston is one of two places where they undergo final assembly and delivery.

Made of composite materials instead of aluminum, the Dreamliner boasts 20 percent better fuel efficiency, cabin comforts like bigger windows and higher humidity, and other tech marvels like dramatically swept wings and a flight deck dominated by screens and software rather than switches.

So, as you might expect, there’s a lot of

Photographs by Wade Spees

brainpower and know-how among the 6,000-member jet-making tribe that is Boeing South Carolina.

There are the fabricators who make parts to tiny tolerances. There are the people who operate the mandrels that spin the fuselage mold around as the composite tape is pasted on and the autoclaves that heat those huge composite tubes to hardness. There are the engineers who ensure the two- and threedimensional plans are being followed. There are test-flight pilots who put each new jet through its paces. There are the back-room analysts who track the supply chain and budgets, and lawyers who draw up contracts and defend the company in court. And there’s Jones and his senior management team (which until recently included a multilingual

Ph.D. named Marco Cavazzoni) whose focus is on upping the production rate and putting finished planes in the hands of airline customers.

They came to North Charleston from Boeing’s nerve center in the Puget Sound region of Washington state or from the space program in Florida; from other aerospace companies and from military backgrounds; and, in many cases, from within 100 miles of here and through a special training program at Trident Technical College.

Asked during a recent trade conference if he had any advice for students, Jones said education is the ticket to joining the hightech bustle at Boeing South Carolina.

“Finish,” he said. “Get your degree and pursue it.”

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Big business Imagine you’re sitting in an airplane, absentmindedly staring at the pieces and parts encapsulating you as you zip along at 550 mph, 32,000 feet off the ground. Ever wonder how someone could possibly make that oddly curved piece of cabin wall? Or what kind of strange material they used to make that hatch or floor panel?

Some of the answers can be found inside a nondescript building not far from the cluster of trendy restaurants along Park Circle’s East Montague Avenue. In those offices resides a global powerhouse of a company that, in all likelihood, owns another company that made that piece of the plane.

“We make parts on essentially every aircraft made in North America,” says Jay Tie-

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demann, executive vice president and chief operating officer of The InterTech Group.

“Everything from doors and hatches to floor panels to cabin wall installations to avionics racks, exhaust systems.”

But that’s not all The InterTech Group does. Not even close. While many companies pay lip service to the term “diversified,” the folks at InterTech live it every day.

“It’s not just products. It’s products and services,” Tiedemann says. “We are a diverse holding company. We do everything from specialty chemicals to sporting goods to clean room products to location-based entertainment.”

What’s location-based entertainment?

How about local restaurants, the South Carolina Stingrays hockey team and a local ice skating arena?

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“We own a number of ice arenas, not just Carolina Ice Palace,” says Anita Zucker, InterTech CEO and one of the wealthiest people in South Carolina. “We’re going to have 17 sheets of ice in Canada. So we’re really into the ice business.”

Naturally, InterTech’s interests extend to fire as well as ice. Their companies make polymers and fibers highly resistant to heat and fire. These materials are used in firefighters' turnout gear and unspecified military applications.

InterTech has employees all over the world, and its local workforce includes the high-tech crew at one of its local subsidiaries, including TWL Precision Inc., a supplier of turbocharger components for engine giant Cummins. TWL recently acquired a

W e w i ll b e m aki n g co m p o s ite pi ec e s th e r e , uti li zi n g m u lti -ac c e s s ro ute r s to fo r m s h ape s . w e ' ll b e u s i n g l a s e r i n s pec ti o n stati o n s , auto c l ave s .

Th i s i s n ot yo u r n o r m al w r e n c h -tu r n i n g a s s e m b ly ki n d o f o pe r ati o n .

— Jay Tiedemann, executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Intertech Group

G lo b a l c o n g lo m e r at e Anita Zucker, CEO of The InterTech Group, at the company's offices off East Montague Avenue in North Charleston.

75,000-square-foot building in a development near Palmetto Commerce Parkway and plans to increase its workforce to about 90 positions.

TigHitco, an InterTech aerospace subsidiary, recently announced plans to develop a major manufacturing plant on a 25-acre site within Palmetto Commerce Park and create up to 350 jobs. The first of three phases of the $30 million to $40 million factory is expected to open in 2013.

These expansions require highly skilled workers and engineers, Tiedemann says.

“It’s not like making paper or screws, or widgets. They’re very technical, very highperformance products. They have to be made to very tight tolerance level. We will be making composite pieces there, utilizing

Photographs by Dan Hale

multi-access routers to form shapes. We’ll be using laser inspection stations, autoclaves.

This is not your normal wrench-turning assembly kind of operation.”

The brainpower of InterTech’s North Charleston workforce doesn’t stop with engineers. Managing a global conglomerate is no simple task. It’s all done by the executives and managers in that building off East Montague Avenue.

“We do a lot of work internationally,” Zucker says. “We have to have complex financial abilities within our company, and we have to have an understanding of practices around the world.”

Tiedemann says they focus not only on serving their existing companies but also on potential acquisitions.

“We provide legal services, tax services, risk management, technical guidance. Finance. We are the bank for all of our companies. They don’t have to worry about where they’ll get money to expand.

“This office is also responsible for all of our acquisition due diligence. When we go to buy another new business, the team comes out of this building to assess that target entity, ascertain whether it’s a business we want to own, and what’s the maximum price we’d pay for that business. What are the risks, what are the rewards.”

Heart, as much as brains, defines The InterTech Group’s role in North Charleston.

Anita Zucker and her late husband Jerry Zucker, who founded the company, are known for their philanthropy.

Millions of dollars have flowed to local

schools, nonprofits and fledgling enterprises (including Clemson’s new research campus, named in the Zucker family’s honor).

“We do a lot of manufacturing, but at the same time we’re also very big supporters of the community and very much believe in sharing and giving back,” Anita Zucker says.

Education, in particular, is an area of particular interest for Zucker. North Charleston’s K-12 schools must sharpen their focus on science, technology, engineering and math (areas known in education jargon as STEM), she says.

“STEM is something we have to really get kids excited about when they’re little, and expand that process and develop teachers who can teach it effectively, and get our kids to want to go into more of the high-tech jobs. “… Are we satisfied with the workforce we’re getting? I’d say yes we are right now.

But for the future, there’s work to be done.”

M i litary m i g ht Everybody loves the C-17s. The giant, globe-trotting aircraft have become Lowcountry icons and symbols of North Charleston’s proud military history.

Keeping Charleston Air Force Base’s 437th Airlift Wing in fighting shape requires massive intellectual firepower, honed by endless training.

But North Charleston’s military might extends beyond the Air Force base’s gates.

The city supports a low-profile cluster of hightech, high-dollar military contractors populated by a brainy mix of ex-military types, savvy businesspeople and software engineers.

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MRA P A worker installs electronic equipment on a mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle on the former Navy base.

Many companies are connected in some way to the production or outfitting of the MRAPs — mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles — that are flown oversees in the belly of the locally based C-17s.

In fact, two of the region’s largest defense businesses will share an estimated $698 million contract to engineer, install and support vehicle communications electronics in North Charleston over the next few years.

The locally based Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, or SPAWAR, recently picked BAE Systems and Scientific Applications International Corp. for the work.

th e fe d s North Charleston is home to a number of federal operations, some of which may seem obscure but actually serve vital functions.

One such outfit is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which operates out of a quiet office suite off Goer Drive.

Scientists there work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Charleston to hunt down the bad bugs of the world

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and stop them from entering the United States. The interception of insects is serious business, and it takes place daily in Charleston, mostly because of ships from across the globe that call on the port. They check out shipping containers, inspect military aircraft, airport baggage, cruise ships and other pathways for the unwanted travelers.

The objectives are both economical and environmental: The yearly impact of invasive species and weeds in the U.S., including control and prevention, is $134 billion.

The South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council also calls North Charleston home.

This small but regionally important agency, one of eight such councils across the nation, operates out of offices near Leeds Avenue.

SAFMC scientists labor to keep tabs on fish populations and fishing efforts off North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and eastern Florida.

SAFMC staffers have, in recent years, found themselves embroiled in heated controversy over strict federal fisheries laws.

Meetings held in North Charleston have been known to draw angry snapper fishermen up from Florida and feisty environmental lobbyists down from Washington, D.C.

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G ua r d i n g ag a i n st i n va d e r s John Weaver, a USDA entomologist, uses a high-powered microscope to identify an insect at the North Charleston facility.

Photographs by Grace Beahm (top) and Wade Spees

Photograph by Wade Spees

g e t ti n g s marte r One of South Carolina’s biggest colleges resides in North Charleston. With about 17,000 students, Trident Technical College dwarfs the College of Charleston and the Medical University of South Carolina and lags Clemson University by only a few thousand students.

With a staff of more than 300 (including 57 PhD.s), the college offers university transfer associate degrees and applied technical associate degrees, diplomas and certificates. The curriculum includes programs in agriculture, business, computer technology, engineering technology, health sciences and more.

The school has adapted with the changing needs of students and dynamics of the Charleston region. The college’s culinary program, for example, filled the void when a celebrated culinary college left Charleston.

When Boeing decided to build its plant in North Charleston, the college developed an aeronautics studies program.

The college isn’t just making its students smarter. The institution plays an important role in workforce and economic development, regularly hosting trade and technology conferences, academic and robotics contests, and sustainability symposiums.

S t u d e n t b o dy With a student body of more than 17,000, Trident Technical College ranks as one of the largest colleges in the state.

North Charleston also boasts the distinction of being one of the few cities in the state to include more than one institution of higher learning. Charleston Southern University ranks as one of South Carolina’s largest accredited, independent universities, enrolling 3,300 students. Affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, the university awards bachelor’s degrees in 61 majors and

master’s degrees in business, criminal justice, education and nursing.

Over the years, these colleges have helped countless young people launch careers and given hard-working adults the opportunity to become smarter, better employees. N Matt Winter, Brendan Kearney and Teresa Taylor contributed to this report.

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Working

BY M at t W i n t e r

Big & bad fireboat

new boat a first for lowcountry

North Charleston’s new fireboat is hard to miss. Big, beefy and fireengine red, this 32-footer bristles with water cannons (also called monitors), radar, infrared cameras and all the latest maritime rescue equipment.

The fireboat, named after retired Fire Chief W. Frank New, serves as an on-thewater firefighting resource, rescue boat and dive platform. When the fireboat began service in July, it was the first of its kind for the Lowcountry, though by late summer similar boats were on the way for the Charleston, Mount Pleasant and St. John’s fire departments. The Lowcountry’s new fleet of fireboats comes courtesy of a federal port security grant and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The city's 12-person fireboat crew is made up of firefighters and police officers (six and six) who continue to undergo almost daily

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training on how to operate the boat and its many pieces of rescue, firefighting and navigation equipment.

Metal Craft Marine in Kingston, Ontario, built the fireboat. The vessel's jet drive configuration is powered by dual Cummins diesel engines, each rated at 480 horsepower, which were manufactured at Cummins Turbo Technologies in North Charleston. The boat weighs in at about 19,500 pounds, yet it drafts only about two feet of water. It can hit 43 knots (about 50 mph), and since it’s steered by jet drives, can stop on a dime.

Photographs by Matt Winter

S m o k e o n t h e wat e r The city's new fireboat, named after retired Fire Chief W. Frank New, employs a jet drive configuration powered by dual Cummins diesel engines, each rated at 480 horsepower. When fighting a fire, the crew engages one engine to power water pumps feeding four water cannons (monitors), leaving the other to power the jet drive.

“They call it a crash stop,” says Assistant Chief of Fleet Maintenance Leon Coker.

“We’ve done it. It’s one of the training evolutions. You go from 43 knots down to essentially nothing, then the boat starts moving backwards.

“The way this thing maneuvers is unbelievable. The pivot point’s the center of the boat. You can literally walk this boat off the pier, sideways, without touching anything, turn the boat on axis, and back it right back on the pier without ever leaving that point.”

The fireboat can pump more than 2,000 gallons of water per minute through four water monitors mounted on the roof, bow and two on the aft deck. It can fight boat fires in open water or be positioned near land to run lines to waterfront building fires or feed water to a nearby fire engine. When the wa-

ter cannons are engaged, one diesel engine powers water pumps while the other engine continues to power the boat's jet drives.

The boat is equipped with superbright lights, a 500-pound electronic davit and an infrared camera.

“We can see people in the water, we can see the hot spots on a boat that’s on fire, things like that,” Coker says. The cabin is equipped with VHF, radar integrated with GPS and displays for the infrared camera.

Though the boat began service July 4, by late summer it had already begun earning its stripes, including responding to numerous on-the-water injuries, boats run aground and people in the water. “They’re averaging at least a call per day if not two or three calls per day,” Coker says.

The fireboat even fought a towboat fire on

the Stono River, on both water and land.

The fireboat crew “knocked it down with the two front nozzles, then they ended up stretching an inch-and-three-quarter line off back nozzle and let James Island finish mopping up and putting out the hot spots,” Coker said. “They stretched hose from this boat, tied up at the pier, up onto land to finish putting the fire out.” N

S e e th e fi r e b oat i n ac ti o n For video of a fireboat demonstration, go to youtube.com/northcharlestonsc.

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Q+A

BY Ro b You n g

Laurel Stender Graphic Artist

Much love to Laurel Stender. The North Charleston resident and graphic artist recently captured top prize in the national Runway to Win design challenge issued by Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign. Her sold-out design, featured beside the likes of Marc Jacobs, Sean John and Beyonce, showed off multihued lines that ultimately spelled “Obama.”

Here, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) student reveals her creative process to North Charleston magazine, as well as her style and lifestyle.

To What do you attribute your most recent successes?

I have to give a lot of credit to SCAD. Going back to school has lit a fire under me. It’s like when you start an exercise regime and you start running, and you hit that point where you get your stride, and you realize you’re capable

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of accomplishing a lot more than you thought you could.

was, and I was thinking how to layer it with colors and show the process of building.

Can you give us a window into your winning design?

How would you describe your design style?

I found a really great typeface at Lost Type Co-op, which is a donation-based typography site. I was immediately struck by how cool it

I like it clean and simple. But not everyone wants clean and simple. Sometimes it’s grungy or something different that the client needs.

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Photograph by Dan Hale

I watched the president’s speech, and I was watching to see someone in it. But I see people in my T-shirts regularly because I’ve been working here so long. Usually, if I walk the (Cooper River) bridge on Saturday, I see at least one of my T-shirts. It’s still kind of fun, because you can say, "I did that."

You’re also a guitarist. Does playing help creativity?

All art is really problem-solving. It’s communicating effectively to other people, to provide a mood, a feeling, a tone. Music is just a different expression of that. I used to write and have my own band and stuff. It was the Laurel Stender Band, but please don’t Google that (laughs).

Is there a problem you’re trying to solve every day? Is it thematic?

Some of it is conceptual. You’re trying to convey something to a customer about a product.

Some of it is official. You’re trying to make sure this piece is balanced or that this is the right font. It’s a lot more left brain than people think.

How much discipline is involved in designing?

I think it’s a lot like writing. People think that a lightning bolt comes out of the sky and you’re hit with inspiration. But it requires practicing and fighting through those moments when you don’t have a good idea. It’s sitting up at night and making yourself sketch. I try to push through the obvious ideas, and discover what’s unique. You have deadlines, and you have to get used to pushing through and working through that process.

What’s your day job?

I design T-shirts (for the Hanahan-based company, Image Branding Group). I mainly work with churches and nonprofits. It’s for a new brand that a coworker and I launched called Our Shirts Don’t Suck. That’s probably 95 percent of what I do at work. About four or five times a year we travel to a pastor’s convention and network and talk to people. I love getting away from my desk for a little while.

Being from Charleston, how have you seen North Charleston change, perhaps from an art-

ist's perspective?

I like to say that I live in the Park Circle area, but I really live parallel to Remount Road.

There are railroad tracks between my house and Park Circle, and I would definitely be considered on the wrong side of those railroad tracks (laughs). But I hang out a lot in Park Circle and I’ve definitely noticed that the artists’ community in that area has really grown.

They have Maker’s Market at Mixson and arts walks down on East Montague, and I’ve been to a number of those.

Where Charleston gets engaged

Favorite places around North Charleston?

I love Madra Rua. It’s my favorite place ever.

I spend a lot of time working at the Starbucks on Rivers. I’ve been to DIG to watch games. I love EVO. I walk around Park Circle a lot for exercise. I just love the area.

How much of your own beliefs play into your work, your design? For instance, could you have done the same work for another candidate with opposing political views?

Everybody has their political beliefs, and I volunteered for his campaign in ’08. When it comes to politics, I don’t think I would have designed something for someone else.

Barry’s Jewelers “Diamonds are what we know best”

7650 Northwoods Blvd.

(843) 569-3400 R61-840348

How else are you involved socially?

I’m involved with an organization called Talenthouse, and I just did a design for a water charity, an organization that brings wells to impoverished places. Clean water is something that is near and dear to my heart. I want to do some pro bono projects for people like that if I can.

Regarding the contest and campaign, you said the following: "This kind of unity is the only way we can rebuild what is lost and experience the future we all dream of." What future do you dream of?

A place where we’re all working for common good instead of concentrating on hostility and what divides us. A place where we can work on building things instead of tearing them down or criticizing. I hope that’s the dawn of things to come in our country. I think we’re tired of the name calling and being held back by the past. N

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Did you see you anyone wearing your T-shirt during television coverage of the Democratic National Convention?

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Attractions in north Charleston

Visitors to North Charleston won’t ever run out of things to see and places to go. The city’s attractions run the gamut from a Civil War submarine to a top-notch golf course and a wildly popular water park. not enough? Head over to the coliseum for world-class concerts — North Charleston is where the big names come to play.

Pl ayin g

North Charleston Coliseum and performing arts center 5001 Coliseum Drive

Bigger and better South Carolina Stingrays' Pierre-Luc O'Brien fights for position amid Greenville Road Warriors in a 2012 game at the North Charleston Coliseum.

North Charleston’s premier event destination attracts top-name concerts, sporting extravaganzas, skating events and hockey games. The Coliseum is home to the South Carolina Stingrays, three-time defending Kelly Cup Champions. As part of the ECHL, the Stingrays were founded in 1994 and have dazzled crowds with awesome displays of skating and stick-handling prowess ever since.

The 3,000-seat North Charleston Per-

R55-833426

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public year-round and has become a favorite destination for residents and visitors. Set on the banks of the Cooper River, the park features a large boardwalk, fishing sites, charcoal grills, a covered pavilion and dozens of picnic tables next to a modern playground.

Public park hours are daylight to dark unless otherwise scheduled. For more information, go to northcharleston.org.

THE GOLF CLUB at WESCOTT PLANTATION 5000 Wescott Club Drive R i v e r f r o nt v i s ito r s A group of otters swim down the Cooper River near North Charleston's Riverfront Park.

forming Arts Center was added to the coliseum-convention center complex in 1999. The city recently completed a massive renovation of the coliseum, which included new luxury suites, high-tech scoreboard and 7,400-square foot addition called the Montague Terrace. For show times and more information, go to coliseumpac.com.

Wannamaker County Park 8888 University Blvd.

Wannamaker Park offers visitors the chance to explore more than 1,000 acres of beautiful woodlands and wetlands and, in the summer months, enjoy a wildly popular water park. Amenities include miles of paved trails, picnic sites with grills, two playgrounds, an off-leash dog park, a park center with snack bar and restrooms, a sand volleyball court and horseshoe pits. Wannamaker also is home to Whirlin’ Waters Adventure Waterpark, a seasonal attraction that features slides, kiddie pools and wave pools. For park fees and hours, which vary by season, visit ccprc.com.

Civil War Submarine Hunley 1250 Supply St. The wreck of the Civil War submarine Hunley was lifted from the Atlantic Ocean floor in 2000. The storied vessel had rested there since 1863, when it sank with its crew of eight men soon after participating in what is widely referred to as the first sinking of a naval vessel by a submarine. Now, this unique piece of history is preserved in North Charleston at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center.

Hunley tours are available every Saturday

from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. The last tour begins at 4:40 p.m.

Tours are not available on weekdays — that’s when scientists continue their preservation work on the Hunley.

Tickets are $12 and can be bought onsite or by calling 877-448-6539 or at etix.com.

Children under 5 are admitted free. For more information, go to hunley.org.

Fire Museum 4975 Centre Pointe Drive The North Charleston and American LaFrance Fire Museum and Educational Center is next to the Tanger Outlet Mall, about 2 miles from Charleston International Airport.

This museum houses the largest collection of professionally restored American LaFrance firefighting equipment in the country. The 26,000-square-foot museum opened in 2007 and houses 18 fire trucks and priceless oneof-a-kind firefighting artifacts.

Admission is $6; children 12 and under get in free when accompanied by an adult.

Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. For more information, go to legacyofheroes.org.

Riverfront Park Old Navy Base McMillan Avenue to Hobson Avenue The rejuvenation of the former Navy base and nearby Olde Village and Park Circle neighborhoods represents one of the most sweeping changes to the city of North Charleston in recent years. The development of Riverfront Park has been a key aspect of this revitalization. The park is open to the

North Charleston’s premier golf facility was developed with the richest traditions of Lowcountry golf in mind. The 27-hole course, designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan, captures traditional flavor through low-flowing earthworks, classic bunkering and native vegetation. The course also offers five tees per hole for all levels of golfers.

Wescott’s antebellum-style clubhouse can accommodate up to 300 guests and ranks as one of the Lowcountry’s top event venues.

The golf course is open daily 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. during winter months and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during summer months. Greens fees start at $31. For more information, go to wescottgolf.com.

City Art Gallery 5001 Coliseum Drive The North Charleston City Gallery features two-dimensional works by international, national and local artists in a variety of subjects and media. Exhibits are rotated on a monthly basis and may feature two or more artists each month. Visitors can purchase prints, note cards, jewelry and gift items made by local artists. The gallery is in the common areas of the Charleston Area Convention Center and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Disc Golf Park Circle The Park Circle Disc Golf course is located on the outer eight islands of the historic site and runs around the entire perimeter of “The Circle.” While technically nine holes, the course can be played in two directions, offering a true 18-hole experience. Golfers can play a round or two and then retire to the “19th hole” at any of East Montague Avenue’s many restaurants and bars. Open play is Monday to Sunday, daylight-dark. If interested in playing doubles, meet at the No. 1 tee, Tuesdays at 5 p.m., for play beginning at 6 p.m. N

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39

Dining

in north Charleston Hungry? Then belly up to the bar or grab a table. North Charleston’s got everything you need, from fast food to trendy restaurants. Got another listing you’d like to see in our next edition? Send an E-mail to editor@northcharlestononline.com.

ANNA BELL’S 10 STOREHOUSE ROW, 843-554-5333 Situated in the Navy Yard at Noisette, Anna Bell’s is cut from familiar cloth. The same folks behind the Locklear’s restaurants in Folly Beach and Mount Pleasant own the breakfast and lunch bistro. Anna Bell’s accordingly sticks to the tried-and-true, serving comfort food in cozy environs. One could make a pretty good meal just from the appetizers.

For your consideration: fried green tomatoes with dill shallot mayo, tasty corn fritters and baskets of hush puppies and corn bread with honey butter. Other options include homemade meatloaf, fried fish, buttermilk fried chicken and oven-roasted pork loin dressed in red-eye gravy.

The Barbecue joint 1083-A East Montague Ave., 843-747-4567 The Barbeque Joint keeps it simple over at Park Circle, from its six wooden picnic tables decked out with checkerboard tablecloths to a chalkboard menu and one wall made of corrugated steel sheet metal. The menu sticks to the same, unfussy as can be, with barbecue, chicken or a combo platter. The pulled pork tastes dense and meaty, benefiting from the three sauces available, vinegar, red and gold.

Mac and cheese, baked beans, red rice and potato salad help spike the platters, along with cool, crisp coleslaw and collard greens touched up with smoky pieces of sausage.

Specials change up daily, and don’t forget breakfast. The Joint serves up Southern-style breakfasts to a cadre of loyal locals.

Big Billy’s Burger Joint 5070 International Blvd., 843-747-4949 At first blush, it’s an odd perch. But there it is: a Bahamian-influenced burger joint in a retail center with Quizno’s, La Hacienda and

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Outrageously good Pulled pork, slow-cooked ribs, Southern fixin's … if you have a hankering for some true comfort food, check out Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q on Centre Point Drive, by Tanger Outlets.

A staff favorite!

Starbucks. At Big Billy’s, burgers made from hormone- and antibiotic-free beef are topped with lettuce, tomatoes and onions that were raised in the state and cushioned by pillowy buns from the Normandy Farm Artisan Bakery. Plus, the mustard, ketchup, garlic mayo and chipotle mayo are made in-house.

CORK NEIGHBORHOOD BISTRO 1067 EAST MONTAGUE AVE., 843-225-2675 Cork comes courtesy of proprietor Tradd Ashley Gibbs, a third-generation North Charlestonian. He chose the bistro’s name to recognize the sustainability of cork materials, appropriate considering the restaurant’s usage of refurbished or repurposed fixtures.

On whole, the exposed beams, raised ceiling

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and chandeliers create a stylish backdrop.

A seasonal menu occasionally fixes on local items, such as oyster mushrooms from Mepkin Abbey, but also stretches to include PEI mussels, North Atlantic wild salmon and beef from the Painted Hills Ranch in Wheeler County, Ore. An additional pair of winners: the Croque Monsieur sandwich, rich with gruyére cheese, black forest ham and smooth béchamel sauce; and the roasted pork loin sandwich, smeared with double cream brie, a sweet onion marmalade and grain mustard.

DIG in the Park 1049 E. Montague Ave., 843-225-5201 The name for this new restaurant in the Olde Village indicates it’s one of the sister restau-

Photograph by Matt Winter

Stay 2 Nights, Save 20% *Must mention this ad to receive discount.

rants of the successful Daniel Island Grille.

in the early days, it was from the only place

The menu mirrors that of its namesake, with

you could get it: the trailer-based wood oven

appetizers, sandwiches, salads and wraps

that owners Ricky Hacker and Matt McIntosh

named for athletes, stadiums, coaches and

set up at farmers markets and street corners.

clubs. Clever descriptions, including the

Now they have a slick, bright restaurant

prophetic “Tom Brady no ring this year” onion

producing the same crisp, well-dressed pies.

rings, make for entertaining reading. The

Ingredients are obsessively sourced locally,

sports bar ethos is expressed in wings, dips,

and fresh and bright flavors are the results,

chips, nachos and poppers. Daily specials

whether pizza, salad, soup or panini. The EVO

allow the kitchen staff to express its creativity

crew just opened an adjoining bakery, too,

and trick out basics such as meatloaf, grilled

which serves up hand-crafted pastries, sand-

chicken and pasta.

wiches and, of course, plenty of bread.

Doe’s Pita 5134 N. Rhett Ave., 843-745-0026 Doe’s Pita is an enigma stuffed into a single-

Gennaro’s Italian Ristorante 8500 Dorchester Road, 843-760-9875

family house on North Rhett Avenue. Two ladies

This is old-school American Italian at its best.

use a variety of slowcookers and other house-

The decor hasn’t changed much in the 28

hold kitchen gear to produce very tasty salads,

years Gennaro’s has been open, and the menu

soups and sandwiches perfect for a picnic or

hasn’t either. Think red sauce and meatballs,

lunch at the office. Grab a quick bite at a tiny

veal and eggplant Parmesan, iceberg lettuce

table indoors, or picnic at the tables in the front

salads and spumoni, and you’ve got a timeless

yard. The baba ganoush alone is worth a stop.

recipe for an Italian restaurant. A few newer

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griddle great Johnny’s Old Village Grill on Park Circle's East Montague Avenue has been sizzling up flat-top burgers for decades.

Scrumptious, classic and simple, cheeseburgers don't get much better than this.

items are miniature “gourmet pizzas,” steak

Evo 1075 E. Montague Ave., 843-225-1796

and fish dishes and New York style pizza, but

If you had an “Extra Virgin Oven” (“EVO”) pizza

all there, too. Prices are relatively gentle, and

Photograph by Matt Winter

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the piccatas and marsalas and Bolognese are

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Marie’s Diner 5646 Rivers Ave., 843-554-1250

DIG It DIG in the Park serves up great sports bar fare, including wings, dips, chips, nachos and poppers. But look out for specials such as meatloaf, grilled chicken and pasta. the traditional dishes satisfy thoroughly. Get a glass of the house red, a bowl of red sauce spaghetti, and let the evening unfold.

Gringo’s Fresh Southwest 3032 W. Montague Ave., 843-718-2225 Gringo’s, a self-styled “Kinda sorta Mexicanish” place, dishes up a familiar bill of tacos, overstuffed burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, nachos and taco salads inside crispy tortilla shells. The restaurant fills up tortillas with your choice of chicken, steak, ground beef and tofu, along with rice and beans. These are generously sized portions, straight up Americanized or “Gringo-ized” tacos and burritos.

Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q 4964 Centre Point Drive, 843-747-3800 Jim ’N Nick’s bills itself as a Southern kitchen, blessing diners with such down-home provisions as pulled pork barbecue, hickorysmoked beef brisket, spare ribs and those teeny-weeny, oh-so-cute and oh-so-addictive cheese muffins. The restaurant has managed to pull off a rare double feat, inspiring loyal devotees and critical praise. The restaurant cleaves to the ole grilling mantra of “low ’n’ slow,” cooking its pork shoulders for 20 hours. The result: fine, tender, smoky bites, served as a sandwich or as a meal with a pair of sides.

Johnny’s Old Village Grill 1042 E. Montague Ave., 843-747-1841 It's been said by more than a few burger aficionados that Johnny’s has got the best the best patties in the Lowcountry. Only lunch, only

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weekdays, Johnny churns out sloppy, drippy, crunchy masterpieces from a well-used flattop. It’s all booths for seating, and you are sure to see someone you know from the neighborhood every time. They serve various other sandwiches, wedge-cut fries and even beer and liquor. Be sure to ask for extra napkins early — it’s too hard to ask with your mouth stuffed with bite after bite of a massive “Johnny Burger."

MADRA RUA 1034 EAST MONTAGUE AVE., 843-554-2522 Much respect is given to Madra Rua, a pub faithful to its Irish pedigree. The carefully designed bar and restaurant features dark wooden furniture, low ceilings, several alcoves and, naturally, Guinness on tap. Patrons take seats at the bar or settle into snug booths to look over a menu containing selections of Irish extract. The pub serves such traditional Gaelic fare as shepherd’s pie, corned beef and cabbage, and fisherman’s pie, a dish of white fish and shrimp set with mashed potatoes, cheese and a creamy sauce.

Manny’s Mediterranean Cafe 3032 W. Montague Ave. 843-789-4350 Manny’s Mediterranean Cafe focuses on pita sandwiches, hand-tossed pizzas, authentic Greek specialties and platters and, of course, gyros. Long the restaurant’s top seller, Manny’s roasts its gyro meat in a tall, vertical spit, carving out the strips for inclusion on pita bread, along with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and tzatziki sauce.

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At first glance it may seem like most other hole-in-the-wall “meat-n-three” restaurants, but, trust me, this is a good thing. Order your meat and sides, and the wait staff will pile up your plate from the buffet line. Can’t decide on one meat? Too many sides to choose from? No problem. Marie’s is all you can eat! Finished with your fried chicken?

Order up some pork chops! Polish off your mac-n-cheese before the green beans? Just hop up and get some more! Wash it all down with sweet tea, loosen your belt a notch, and consider a nap instead of heading back to work.

MARKET STREET SALOON 7690 NORTHWOODS BLVD., 843-576-4116 How do you prefer your barbecue? Smoked over hickory? Splashed with vinegar sauce?

The Market Street Saloon Smokehouse and Grill serves up its ‘cue with a side of showmanship. The restaurant’s staff performs a number of choreographed, boot-stompin’ dances each evening to complement the joint’s blue-ribbon barbecue, beef brisket, burgers and wings.

Mikasa Room at Trident Tech 7000 Rivers Ave., 843-820-5097 If you’re feeling a little down in the wallet but crave a fine-dining experience, Trident Technical College culinary students can help.

These students run a full food-service operation on campus in a sophisticated new facility, and the public can dine most weekdays of the fall school semester. The two teaching kitchens are visible from the dining room, and the menus reflect students’ willingness to please.

Mikasa opens and closes with the ebb and flow of college semesters, so call ahead before making the trip.

The Noisy Oyster 7842 Rivers Ave., 843-824-1000 One of several Lowcountry locations, The Noisy Oyster is a place that has the look and feel of a beachy seafood shack, no matter how far it is from saltwater. Thatched roofs and surfboards adorn the ceilings, tropical ceiling fans spin lazily, and fishing imagery is everywhere. The menu is, of course, mostly about seafood and is served up in myriad ways. Coconut shrimp, calamari, grilled tuna, whole fried flounder, shrimp and grits, and

Photograph by Matt Winter

the favorite steam pot are but a few options.

Family-friendly, The Noisy Oyster offers food and fun for everyone.

Park Pizza Co. 1028 E. Montague Ave., 843-225-7275 Evo gets a lot of press for pizza in Park Circle, but Park Pizza has made it to its first anniversary in the neighborhood making mighty fine pizza, too, plus calzones, sandwiches and salads. The shop is tiny, and in summer heats up with the red-hot ovens running full-blast. But there is sidewalk seating, a take-out option … and Park Pizza delivers, too.

Pho #1 H&L Asian Market 5300-1 Rivers Ave., 843-745-9623 A restaurant inside a grocery store, Pho #1 serves pho: Big bowls of tasty broth packed with noodles, meats and veggies. They only take cash, so be sure to have some on hand, and order as you begin your shopping. While the noodles heat, peruse the wide array of Asian produce, seafood and staple items. By the time you’re done, your noodles will be waiting for you. Eat in the dining area or have it packed up to go; either way, by the time you’ve squeezed your limes and topped the

bowl with Thai basil and chilis, you’ll know why you see so many Asian folks eating here.

SESAME BURGERS AND BEERS 4726 SPRUILL AVE., 843-554-4903 For burger devotees, Sesame holds uncommon appeal. The restaurant builds everything from scratch, including its half-pound, houseground burgers along with salad dressings, pickles and, yup, the condiments, too. Choose from the Italian burger, capped with fresh basil and bleu cheese; the Park Circle with sharp cheddar cheese, coleslaw, barbecue sauce and tomato; the South Carolina, slathered in homemade pimiento cheese; or even the Memphis, an Elvis-aided creation made with homemade peanut butter, bacon and banana slices. Of course, other selections deserve mentioning, such as the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich and char-grilled corn on the cob. Ditto for the beer, a strong collection of 60-plus varieties.

Teppanyaki Grill 5900 Rivers Ave., 843-746-9882 Teppanyaki describes a Japanese style of cooking that uses a steel-top grill to prepare food. But in North Charleston, they aren’t just

grilling. They’re frying and fricasseeing, stewing and steaming, smothering and covering, simmering and searing. The Teppanyaki Grill and Supreme Buffet lives up to its promise, cranking out a mountain of cuisine: sushi and deviled eggs, macaroni and cheese and egg drop soup, stuffed crabs and lo mein, Pekingstyle spare ribs and pizza. The sheer expanse is remarkable, counting upward of 200 items, including the cook-to-order hibachi service.

WESCOTT BAR & GRILL 5000 WESCOTT CLUB DRIVE, 843-871-2135 The 27-hole Golf Club at Wescott Plantation provides an easy introduction to the Wescott Bar and Grill, a well-appointed gathering spot on the course grounds. A spacious clubhouse houses the bar/restaurant, along with meeting spaces and a pro shop. The menu is limited but chocked with favorites: burgers, wings, chicken fingers, quesadillas, pizza and grilled flatbread sandwiches. Order the “Eagle,” an appropriately titled half-pound Angus burger, which is cooked to temperature, outfitted with your choice of toppings and served on a ciabatta bun. No worries, either. It’s a public course, so everyone’s welcome. N

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Great customer Service. No hassle, no pressure.

8199 Rivers Avenue • North Charleston

Photograph by Bruce Smith/AP (top) and Gareth Fuller/AP

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You’ve got a friend in the car business!

BY K at i e A b b o n da n z a

Spirit of Santa Richard Cleaver doesn’t need his signature suit to reveal his alter ego. His beard is full and snowy, his blue eyes have a telltale sparkle, and he wears gold wire-rim glasses for effect.

"It’s not a fly-by-night type of thing,” he explains. “I’ve been doing Santa Claus for the past 23 years.”

Remarkable physical likeness aside, there’s an air about Cleaver that makes it obvious that he’s devoted to this holiday pastime. During his two plus decades as the jolly guy from the North Pole, Cleaver begins

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Lo o k fa m i l i a r ?

Richard Cleaver has been serving the city as Santa for years.

visiting with kids in mid-November and, in the past, finished up at three or four in the morning on Christmas Day, often cramming multiple gigs into one day. During the North Charleston Christmas Festival alone, Cleaver listens to wishes and takes pictures with 1,200 kids over the course of 48 hours. The sessions with Santa were so popular, they

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added another day this year.

“If you have love in your heart, it’s not hard,” says Cleaver, whose Southern residence is in Goose Creek, although he’s worked as the North Charleston St. Nick for “many years.” What he does find difficult, however, are the parents who foist their scared or bawling children on him for the

Photographs by Marie Rodriguez (top left) and City of North Charleston

Events

in north Charleston North Charleston has it all. Visitors and residents can choose From concerts and sporting events at the coliseum, holiday festivals, league sports and even local theater and independent film viewing. To submit an event for the next edition, email editor@northcharlestononline.com.

Special events Village Antiques and Collectibles: Oct. 27-28, Dec. 8-9 at the Felix Davis Community Center in Park Circle. For updates on addition show dates, go to northcharleston.org.

Mosaics: Oct. 30 at The Meeting Place, 1077 East Montague Ave. Learn the process of designing and creating a mosaic on an 8” x 8” square. northcharleston.org Tribute to Veterans: Nov. 10 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, with the North Charleston Pops! northcharleston coliseumpac.com.

Hand Printing on Fabric: Nov. 27 at The Meeting Place, 1077 East Montague Ave., with Ink Meets Paper’s Allison Nadeau. northcharleston.org Winter Wonderland: Nov. 28-30, 10 a.m.-noon, Armory Park, 5000 Lackawanna

Blvd. Free, kids can meet Santa and enjoy holiday activities, including arts and crafts. northcharleston.org Breakfast with Santa: Dec. 1, 8 a.m.-10 a.m., Felix C. Davis Community Center, 4800 Park Circle. A big meal with the big guy is $4.

Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling 745-1028 or stopping by the community center. northcharleston.org Christmas Festival & Parade: Dec. 1, 4 p.m.-9 p.m. in Park Circle. Carriage rides, kids activities, parade and Christmas tree lighting at 6 p.m. northcharleston.org Charleston Boat Show: Jan. 25-27. at the Charleston Area Convention Center. coliseumpac.com or thecharleston boatshow.com Aesthetic Elements of Art: Jan. 29 at The Meeting Place, 1077 East Montague Ave., with

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sake of a snapshot.

“You get a few criers, but I try not to make them cry,” he explains. “And I try not to force them up to get pictures. There’s no sense in putting them through that. Just to get a picture?”

Instead, Santa Cleaver might get down on the child’s level to try to calm her down. At day care centers, for instance, he’ll play with the kids who are excited about his visit and, sure enough, the criers will calm down and join in on the fun.

“The only training I’ve had is I’ve got 17 grandchildren,” Cleaver says. When his grandchildren were small, they’d “work” alongside him, dressed as elves. But they didn’t necessarily grasp how seriously their Santa took his job. Cleaver tells of a Christmas Eve when he and the grandkids were out delivering gifts, and some children up the street tried to flag him down.

“One of my elves looked at me and asked, ‘Are we scheduled to go up there, Grandpa?’ I said, ‘That’s Santa to you.’”

And off they went for a quick visit. The kids anticipating his arrival had just driven in from Baltimore, and had spent the car ride fretting that Santa might not know how to find them, given that they weren’t spending the night tucked in their own beds.

“The impromptu things are sometimes the best,” Cleaver says, although he also enjoys the mainstay events, like riding atop the fire truck during the parade and eating breakfast with the kids.

“The first time we did breakfast with Santa, we had 15 families,” he explains of the North Charleston tradition where he dines with tots, occasionally stealing some of their eggs for fun. “Now, we’re chockablock for two hours.”

In the past, when his whiskers were still “black, red and yellow,” the folks at Olde Village Barber Shop on East Montague Avenue would powder his beard throughout the season. Now, the maintenance is less about color and more about shaping and fluffing. Cleaver has also pared down his seasonal assignments, sticking with the North Charleston festival and a few others, which ensures he can spend Christmas Eve with his family and neighbors “as a civilian.”

On Christmas Day, Cleaver and his wife hitch up the old sleigh and head to the beach to relax. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, this Lowcountry Santa enjoys some quiet time. N

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Karole Turner Campbell. northcharleston.org Charcoal art: Feb. 26 at The Meeting Place, 1077 East Montague Ave., with Lori Starnes Isom. northcharleston.org

Eduction, Arts & culture Teen Art Workshops: Weekly throughout the fall at the Meeting Place, 1077 E. Montague Ave. Teens ages 13-18 will receive help from local artist Latasha Hollins on the development of their artistic skills. northcharleston.org Ghost walk: Oct. 27 at the The Meeting Place, 1077 East Montague Ave. Spooky tales and creepy legends appropriate for all ages. northcharleston.org Open Studio Workshop: Oct. 30 at The Meeting Place, 1077 East Montague Ave. Workshop featuring Mosaics with Steve Lepre. 843-740-5854 Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy: Nov. 8-11 at the North Charleston Coliseum. northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com Comedian Brian Regan: Nov. 18 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com WEZL’s Evening with the Stars: Nov. 27 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center.

A night of music featuring singer, songwrit-

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ers Rodney Atkins, Darius Rucker and Josh Turner. northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com Mannheim Steamroller: Dec. 1 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. Favorite Christmas music of Mannheim Steamroller along with state-of-the-art multimedia effects in an intimate setting. northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com A Lowcountry Christmas: Dec. 8 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. Featuring Larnelle Harris and the North Charleston Pops! northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com Jim Brickman: Dec. 9 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. American songwriter and pianist. northcharleston coliseumpac.com Daryl Hall & John Oates: Dec. 12 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center.

Daryl Hall and John Oates touring at the 40th anniversary of their first album, "Whole Oats." northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker: Dec. 23 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. northcharleston coliseumpac.com Blue Man Group: Jan. 11 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. Theatrical show and concert combining comedy,

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music, and technology to produce a totally unique form of entertainment. north charlestoncoliseumpac.com Music of Stage and Screen: Jan. 19 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, with the North Charleston Pops! northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com

Sports and fitness CSU football home games: Sept. 8 v.

Jacksonville, Oct. 13 v. VMI, Oct. 20 v. Presbyterian Oct. 27 v. Edward Waters; Nov. 10 v.

Gardner-Webb. charlestonsouthern.edu S.C. Stingrays hockey home games: Oct. 13 v. Gladiators; Oct. 20-21 v. Reign; Oct. 30 v.

Solar Bears, Nov. 2 v. Jackals, Nov. 3 v. Solar Bears, Nov. 16-17 v. Everblades, Nov. 18 v.

Gladiators, Nov. 30 v. Royals, Dec. 1 v. Gladiators, Dec. 7-8 v. Titans, Dec. 11 v. Road Warriors, Dec. 15 v. Gladiators, Dec. 29 v. Nailers, Jan. 6 v. Everblades, Jan. 15 v. Gladiators, Jan. 18 v. Road Warriors, Jan. 19-20 v. Everblades, Jan. 25 v. Steelheads, Jan. 26-27 v. Solar Bears, Feb. 8 v. IceMen, Feb. 9 v. Walleye, Feb. 13 v.

Everblades, Feb. 22-23 v. Road Warriors, Feb. 26 v. Gladiators, March 1-2 v. Komets, March 8-10 v. Road Warriors, March 22 v. Gladiators. stingrayshockey.com N

Photographs by Marie Rodriguez

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Photographs by Alan Hawes (top) and Tyrone Walker R50-831613