Meet Your Professionals 2016

professionals Meet your local Fall 2016

1 • Meet Your Local Professionals

Table of Contents M E E T

Y O U R

L O C A L

P R O F E S S I O N A L S

Miracle Ear................................................................................... 3 Galloway and Moseley................................................................ 4 The Iris Digital Agency................................................................ 5 Allstate Bobby Beatson Agency, Inc............................................ 6 Investment Rental Homes, LLC.................................................... 7 Nu-Idea......................................................................................... 8 Central Carolina Technical College............................................. 9 BB&T Scott & Stringfellow..........................................................10 SAFE Federal Credit Union.........................................................11

PUBLISHER Jack Osteen COPYWRITER Rick Carpenter DESIGN Cary Howard ADVERTISING Karen Cave Paige Macloskie Gail Mathis Mark Pekuri PHOTOGRAPHERS Rick Carpenter Keith Gedamke Jack Osteen

USC Sumter.................................................................................12 Carpathian Flooring, LLC............................................................13 Webster University.....................................................................14 Berkshire Hathaway - Susan W. Osteen.....................................15 First Presbyterian Church of Sumter..........................................16

The profiles included in Meet Your Local Professionals are paid advertisements.

Serving Sumter since 1955 SAFEfed.org • 803-469-8600

2 • Meet Your Local Professionals

Polly Poston makes an adjustment on a hearing instrument at Miracle Ear in Sumter.

Miracle Ear

Miracle Ear hears your concerns, frustrations

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t takes patience to work with people who have difficulty hearing.

Polly Poston understands their frustrations because her mother had difficulty hearing and her son lost hearing in one ear.

By slowing down, taking time to make sure her patients hear and understand her creates a special bond between her and her clients.

Poston brought that patience to Miracle Ear in Sumter six years ago and owner Lyle Smith taught her how to administer hearing evaluations and make recommendations to meet the individual needs of customers.

Miracle Ear offers free hearing evaluations to determine if a person has a loss and, if so, at what level. It also provides three different financing options for its patients.

“I try to help that person with a hearing instrument that works best for that loss,” Poston said.

While some assisted hearing service providers open on limited times, Miracle Ear opens Monday

through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and welcomes walk-ins. Poston said she doesn’t confine services to those hours. She often meets patients on Saturdays if that better meets their schedules.

More importantly, she knows the panic that a person feels when he or she suddenly cannot hear because of a low battery or a simple cleaning procedure. That makes her invaluable to patients whom she knows more as friends. She makes a special effort to take care of those sudden needs to help calm the patients.

“We believe in taking care of the patients first,” Poston said. “Sometimes means they have an immediate need.”

That’s one reason Miracle Ear offers services to Veterans so as to keep their instruments working properly. The Miracle Ear Foundation offers help for low-income people who meet certain criteria.

It all comes back to developing an empathy and patience for people who are more than just customers.

At A Glance Miracle Ear Year founded in Sumter 1993

Primary product or service Hearing Evaluations Hearing Instruments Assistive Listening Devices

Top local executives Lyle and Minnie Smith

Physical address 706 Bultman Drive

Phone

(803) 773-4199

Email

MiracleSumter@frontier.com

Website

www.miracleear.com

Meet Your Local Professionals • 3

Britton Moseley and Danny Chandler.

Galloway and Moseley Galloway and Moseley continues a family tradition of providing quality jewelry

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fter two years of studying forestry in college, Britton Moseley decided to walk out of the woods and into the family jewelry business.

As a third generation Moseley, he was excited to follow in his father and grandfather’s steps.

Danny Chandler came to work at Galloway and Moseley right out of high school and under the tutelage of G. B. Moseley Sr., learned the business from the bottom up, from repairing and custom making jewelry, to being involved in all aspects of the business.

“At first, I looked at it as a part-time job, but the more I did it, the more I enjoyed it and the opportunity to better myself by sticking with it,” Chandler said. “I never saw myself as an owner, but I always thought I had a good work ethic.”

Together, they eventually bought Galloway and Moseley in 1995, which now has an 81-year history in Sumter. and opened the Florence store in 2006.

4 • Meet Your Local Professionals

Moseley says his father, George Moseley, taught him aspects of the business including the importance of giving back to the community.

“He taught me the importance of being involved in the community through service organizations such as Rotary and other volunteer groups.”

Moseley said the employees work as a team, assisting customers to meet their specific needs. He said “We strive to provide outstanding customer service and the finest quality jewelry you can find anywhere.” At Galloway and Moseley, the number one goal is to make their customers happy.

“And happy customers are our best ambassadors,” Moseley said.

The jewelers pride themselves in their ability to create one-of-a-kind jewelry while also maintaining an inventory of high quality, fine jewelry from some of the best brands in the business.

But there’s no better name recognition for jewelry in Sumter than Galloway and Moseley.

At A Glance Galloway and Moseley Year founded 1935

Primary product or service Full Service Jeweler Retail Sales of Fine Jewelry Custom Fabrication Repair

Top local executives Britton Moseley Danny Chandler

Physical address 444 N. Guignard Drive

Phone (803) 775-1209

Email Info@gallowayandmoseley.com

Website www.gallowayandmoseley.com

Katie Welch Shaw of The Iris Digital Agency

The Iris Digital Agency

Iris Digital Agency focuses on meeting small business online, social media needs

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hen Osteen Publishing Company launched The Iris Digital Agency in May, it did so to help small businesses take advantage of opportunities on the Internet and social media – some of which small business owners were unaware.

Katie Welch Shaw, a digital specialist with The Iris Agency, said it’s all about being found, especially on social media.

“Different companies will have different things they need from us,” she said. “We want to increase their online presence and visibility in all things social.”

Business owners have, slowly but surely, come to realize managing a brand on social media is where they can develop their voice, set themselves apart from top competitors, and reach current customers as well as potential ones with immediacy.

By now it’s clear that if you have a business and don’t have a web site, you are missing out on opportunities for customers to identify who you are and if they want to spend money with you. Let’s face it – we live in a world where people Google before

they shop and visit online review sites like Yelp before they buy. Because of this, you want your first impression to be the best it can be.

Katie said, “Beginning with your web site, consumers are passing judgement and making decisions about whether or not they’ll even visit your store, restaurant or office. They’re likely to dismiss you entirely, as well, should they believe your web site doesn’t reflect the kind of experience your business – or a business like yours – should offer.”

While many larger companies have had a digital presence for years, Osteen Publishing Co., which owns The Sumter Item, launched The Iris Agency to try to meet the need of local small businesses.

And that’s where Katie comes in.

Katie meets with clients to determine their needs, then develops a plan to help them maximize their return on investment whether that involves building a Web site, a targeted email campaign or a social media strategy. She will partner with you to implement customized strategies that result in real, workable digital solutions, allowing your business to plan for an even more web-based future.

At A Glance The Iris Digital Agency Year founded 2016

Primary product or service Online digital services

Top local executives Katie Welch Shaw

Physical address

36 West Liberty Street (December 2016)

Phone

(803) 464-5055

Email

katie@theirisagency.com

Website

www.theirisagency.com

Meet Your Local Professionals • 5

Bobby Benson understands the importance of honest talk with his clients.

Allstate Bobby Beatson Agency, Inc.

Beatson provides needs analysis as a trusted adviser

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s a young professional, Bobby Beatson learned the important service insurance provides for families. After starting out as a life insurance consultant for Met Life, Beatson learned how to generate a personal analysis of each client’s personal needs.

“Most people don’t know their liability until they need it,” Beatson said. Advising them as a consultant in advance of those needs, pays off.

When a local agent recommended he consider opening a new Allstate agency in Sumter in 1999, Beatson realized he could leverage his knowledge of personal clients’ needs into a valuable service for residents.

Advice from local Allstate agents Jim Thorne and Ernest Session eased his transition into new lines of insurance while opening a branch office at the same time.

He built his business by serving as a trusted adviser instead of trying to sell insurance. He said by giving customers honest information about their 6 • Meet Your Local Professionals

needs and their risks, when they needed to file a claim, they appreciated him more.

He speaks honestly to them about how automobiles rates are climbing this year for the first time in a while, in part, because cheaper gasoline has generated more traffic which translates into more accidents.

He also encourages parents to spend time educating their children about the importance of focusing on driving, particularly when they first begin. He said recent statistics reveal that 53 percent of 16 year olds have an accident in their first year of driving. Many of those accidents are caused by text messaging while driving which rates as the number one cause of deaths among teenagers.

Caring enough about Beatson’s customers to tell them those kinds of honest truths may save the life of our most precious resource: our children.

At A Glance Allstate Bobby Beatson Agency, Inc. Year founded 1999

Primary product or service Auto, Home, Life Insurance

Top local executives Bobby Beatson

Physical address 389 Rast Street

Phone (803) 778-6579

Email iBBeatson@allstate.com

Website www.allstate.com/BBeatson

Nancy Mims connects quality homes with qualified renters.

Investment Rental Homes, LLC

Investment Rental Homes matches owners with qualified renters

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ith more than 20 years of experience, Nancy Mims, a Sumter native, decided to launch a new business here that matches qualified renters with available properties she manages.

And while those 20 years focused on subsidized housing units in Columbia and Lugoff, her new venture allows her to travel less and work with relationships she’s built in the Sumter area.

At the same time she turns her life’s passion into a personal business, Investment Rental Homes, LLC. “It’s very rewarding to help people find a home that meets their needs,” Mims said. “And it’s also rewarding to help property owners make money on their residential asset.

Mims provides homeowners with confidence as she pre-qualifies potential renters by conducting thorough background checks by gleaning information from criminal, credit and National Eviction Registry sources. But even with that

information, she said the best information comes from landlords who, like her, have a stake in the process.

“That reference is much more important than their credit score number,” she said.

Mims knows that many real estate companies offer rental service, but unlike them, she solely focuses on leasing. Who are her clients?

Primarily property owners and investors who want to create income from their houses indefinitely or until their home may sell, she said.

Mims points to a demographic of people that are not buying their home for various reasons but deciding that renting a home is their best present option.

Rather than having property owners sell in a buyer’s market, she encourages them to rent their property and make money from it while she manages the property.

At A Glance Investment Rental Homes, LLC Year founded 2016

Primary product or service Residential rental properties

Top local executives Nancy Mims

Physical address

995 N. Pike Road West

Phone

(803) 603-2494

Email

nmims@irhpm.com

Website

www.Irhpm.com

Meet Your Local Professionals • 7

From the left, Cary Coker, Julie Coker and Thomas White look over details of plans to meet the needs of one of their clients at Nu Idea.

Nu-Idea Nu- Idea offers myriad of products to meet needs in the school, church, and office furniture markets

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hat started as a wooden school desk manufacturing company (in Darlington and later moved to Sumter) has morphed into the only local, largest, stocking school furnishing company in South Carolina. They now reach beyond state lines into North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.

Many of the 300+ lines the company represent in the school market have allowed cross over into other markets that include outfitting churches and offices.

Cary Coker, President of the company, said that wood furnishings dominated the market until the 1980s. While school furniture products were stagnant for many years the last five to 10 have proved to be very different. Coker said that for years, schools were really cookie cutter. Many had the same architectural design and then were outfitted with the same style furniture and in the same color. Today, schools want modern furniture in their classrooms that allow students to collaborate 8 • Meet Your Local Professionals

to learn. Media centers look like a Barnes and Noble and much of the furniture is technology friendly. Cafeterias now are called food courts and look like a restaurant.

Coker said his staff works with clients to determine their needs and the best products to meet those needs. The company also recently hired two Sumter natives to help them better serve their clients. Thomas White will be covering Sumter and the southeastern portion of the state, and Julie Coker is an interior designer and in a sales support role.

You can see Nu-Idea’s products in Crestwood and Lakewood high schools, the Sumter County Judicial Center, First Citizens Banks (formerly Sumter National), Morris College Chapel, the Jones car dealerships and other businesses.

Coker said that while products have evolved over the years, the company’s customer service remains a priority.

At A Glance Nu- Idea Year founded 1921

Primary product or service School, Church and Office Furnishings

Top local executives Cary Coker

Physical address 230 E. Liberty Street

Phone (803) 773-7389

Email info@nu-idea.com

Website www.nu-idea.com

Dr. Jessica Daniel works in her natural environment.

Central Carolina Technical College

Daniel lands a natural teaching environment

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entral Carolina Technical College instructor Jessica Daniel gets paid to teach people about what comes natural to her.

After all, while growing up in Lynchburg, Virginia, her parents taught her to enjoy the outdoors while respecting the environment. She also spent a lot of time at a relative’s farm nearby.

So when she went off to Virginia Tech to earn her bachelor’s in natural resource management, she took with her a basic knowledge of the skills she needed for success. But it was during a summer internship working for the Student Conservation Association at Devil’s Tower National Monument that she transferred that classroom knowledge to the wilderness environment.

“That experience really sealed the deal for me,” Daniel said. National Park Service employees at Devil’s Tower walked her through the symbiotic relationship of mankind and the environment.

After earning master and doctorate degrees at Central Washington University and the University of Idaho, respectively, Daniel realized she wanted a hands-on approach to applying classroom

technology to real-world experience.

That led her to CCTC where she teaches six courses in natural resource management. She likes the small classroom size where she knows the names of each student and how he or she wants to use a two-year degree in her program to work in forestry, farming, wildlife management, fisheries, outdoor recreation or the Department of Natural Resources – and, in some cases, continue toward a four-year degree.

“As a new faculty member,I want to make sure we’re equipping students with a foundation of knowledge and skills to succeed in their chosen profession,” Daniel said. She said she likes to offer guest lecturers and field trips while also teachingstudents how to manage the on-site facilities that include a nature trail, a forestry production and natural component, beehives, a corn field and a blueberry orchard, to name a few.

But for Daniel, it doesn’t seem like work. It’s just part of her nature.

At A Glance Central Carolina Technical College Year founded 1962

Primary product or service Higher education

Top local executives

Dr. Tim Hardee, President; Terry Booth, Vice President for Business Affairs; Lisa Bracken, Vice President for Student Affairs; Frederick Cooper, Vice President for Academic Affairs

Physical address

506 North Guignard Drive, Sumter

Phone

803-778-1961

Email

admissions@cctech.edu

Website

cctech.edu

Meet Your Local Professionals • 9

From left, Scott & Stringfellow advisors, Charles Noyes, Kirk McLeod, and Travis McIntosh.

BB&T Scott & Stringfellow Make secure financial decisions for your long-term, family future

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n today’s ever-changing economic climate, no one has a bigger stake in planning for your financial success than you. In spite of — or maybe because of — all the economic news and analysis available, you may have wondered if you are making the right financial choices for you and your loved ones.

L. Travis McIntosh, Charles V. Noyes, II, and R. Kirk McLeod, III of the Sumter office of BB&T Scott & Stringfellow are three advisors who will help you structure a plan to maximize your potential for a sound financial future.

By leveraging their extensive personal and professional experience, they can provide sound solutions to help you optimize your financial resources and meet your unique objectives.

Your advisor will begin with an in-depth discussion of your specific needs and investment goals. Based on your priorities, he will develop a comprehensive investment strategy that considers risk reduction and helps to enhance long-term

growth.

For clients who are seeking consistent revenue and earnings growth, a diversified portfolio of equities representing diverse market sectors may be recommended. Your plan may contain a mixture of stocks, mutual funds, managed portfolios, and/or annuities. If income development is a consideration, your financial plan may include taxable bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, certificates of deposit, annuities, or preferred stocks to help provide tax efficient returns and credit quality.

The financial advisors at BB&T Scott & Stringfellow are dedicated to helping clients define and achieve their financial goals and dreams. In addition to serving your planning needs, they can help you benefit from the vast banking resources available from its parent company, BB&T. For more information, contact the Sumter office at (803) 774-2700.

Diversification does not ensure against market loss. Comments regarding tax implications are informational only. BB&T Scott & Stringfellow and its representatives do not provide tax advice. You should consult your individual tax professional before making any decision that may have tax consequence. BB&T Scott & Stringfellow is a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. BB&T Securities, LLC, is a wholly owned nonbank subsidiary of BB&T Corporation. Securities and insurance products or annuities sold, offered or recommended by BB&T Scott & Stringfellow are not a deposit, not FDIC insured, not guaranteed by a bank, not insured by any federal government agency and may lose value. Investment Advisory Services are offered through BB&T Securities, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor.

10 • Meet Your Local Professionals

At A Glance BB&T Scott & Stringfellow Owner BB&T

Year founded 1893

Primary product or service Financial Services/Investments

Top local executives

L. Travis McIntosh, Charles V. Noyes, II, R. Kirk McLeod, III

Physical address

690 Bultman Drive Sumter, SC 29150-2549

Phone

(803) 774-2700 Toll free: (888) 901-6688

Email

TMcIntosh@BBTScottStringfellow.com CNoyes@BBTScottStringfellow.com KMcLeod@BBTScottStringfellow.com

Website

www.BBTScottStringfellow.com

Donna Yount of Columbia speaks with a teller, Candace Ferry, in Sumter who can complete transactions by video conference through SAFE Federal’s Personal Teller Machines.

SAFE Federal Credit Union

Putting members first pays big dividends for SAFE

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hat started as a credit union for Shaw Air Force Base employees in 1955 has grown into the largest credit union in the midlands and the fourth largest in South Carolina.

SAFE Federal Credit Union, which got its acronym from Shaw Air Force Employees, now has more than 112,000 members with more than $990 million in holdings. That total should grow to more than $1 billion by the end of the year, says Toby Hayes, vice president of marketing for SAFE. SAFE provides the same service as most banks, but instead of paying back Wall Street stock holders, each year SAFE tries to return part of the earnings to the members at the end of the year as a bonus. They have succeeded in doing that for 19 years straight.

That’s what separates the credit union from banks, Hayes said. He points out that SAFE has members; banks have customers.

“We don’t exist without members,” Hayes said.

“They invest in the credit union with their trust and hard-earned dollars, therefore everything we make,

At A Glance

we give back to them.”

Hayes said the credit union tries to keep up with technology by applying innovations that provide the ultimate service experience. In fact, they don’t just have Automated Teller Machines, they have Personal Teller Machines.

What’s the difference?

When members approach one of their PTMs now in Columbia, they connect via live video conference with a teller at the other end in Sumter.

The teller can provide immediate service whether that involves making a loan payment, depositing a check or checking your balance – services you usually expect from a live person dealing with you.

Hayes said SAFE FCU prides itself on providing excellent member service exemplified by recognition as the Sumter Item’s Readers’ Choice Best and Friendliest Financial Institution in Sumter for 16 years in a row.

“We are grounded by doing what’s best for our members,” Hayes said.

SAFE Federal Credit Union Year founded 1955

Primary product or service Financial Services

Top Local Executives Beverly Gagne, President & CEO

Physical address 160 W. Wesmark Boulevard Sumter, SC 29150

Phone (803) 469-8600

Email marketing@SAFEfed.org

Website www.SAFEfed.org

Meet Your Local Professionals • 11

Dr. Kajal Ghoshroy

USC Sumter

Teacher for life

At A Glance

By Steven Powell

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tudents in Dr. Kajal Ghoshroy’s Biology 101 classes might arrive at USC Sumter a little rough around the scholarly edges, but their academic skills evolve quickly under her tutelage.

“Mentoring begins as soon as my students come in to the classroom,” says Ghoshroy, who earned the 2016 John J. Duffy Excellence in Teaching Award.

“Sumter is a rural part of our state, and about 70 (percent) to 75 percent of the kids come from very small, regional high schools where they have not been taught how to study, and especially how to study science.”

Overseeing a classroom largely composed of first-generation college students, Ghoshroy welcomes her charges with a syllabus detailing daily assignment schedules. She approaches complex scientific concepts with real-life examples, introducing gene regulation in microbiology, for example, with a thought experiment about rinsing bacteria down the classroom drain: what genes

12 • Meet Your Local Professionals

would be turned on and off as a bacterium finds its environment abruptly change from that of a sink to that of the Sumter sewer system, then the treatment plant, then the Pocotaligo River and finally the Atlantic.

For someone who teaches four classes and more than 150 students every semester, without any help from teaching assistants on grading or laboratory preparation, it makes for a heavy load. But it has helped her build lifelong relationships with students — including a few who came to Sumter without particularly high aspirations but ended up in medical school — who still keep in touch via email and Facebook. Ghoshroy wouldn’t have it any other way.

“If they were to lock me down in a lab, I would wither and die,” Ghoshroy says. “I need to be around people, and I love students because many of them come in as open slates, and it’s remarkable to see them mature and grow up. I love teaching.”

University of South Carolina Sumter Year founded 1966

Primary product or service Higher Education

Top local executives Dean Michael E. Sonntag, Ph. D.

Physical address 200 Miller Road

Phone 803-775-8727

Email suadmiss@uscsumter.edu

Website www.uscsumter.edu

Adrian A. Sandor, owner of Carpathian Flooring.

Carpathian Flooring LLC.

Carpathian Flooring brings special touch that invigorates wood floors

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hen Adrian A. Sandor left Romania for Chicago in the early ’90s, he learned the fine craft of sanding and finishing wood floors to restore them to pristine conditions. He learned to pay attention to details while making repairs and how to correct mistakes that HGTV aficionados created when they tried the “do-ityourself ” approach.

So when he moved to Sumter and discovered no one specialized in finishing floors, he opened Carpathian Flooring in 2003.

“I liked the weather and found out that, while people were installing wood floors, no one was providing floor finishing,” Adrian said. “People here didn’t know how beautiful their floors would look with a professional finish.”

And once some of the key remodeling and construction companies saw his work, they hired him. Now, his clients include Nicole Norris Design Studio, Thompson Turner Construction, Hunter Builders, Wilkes Builders and Hawkins and Kolb Real Estate.

At A Glance

“For those companies, quality matters,” he said.

In fact, for those fixer upper projects, clients can save money by starting with him rather than having him repair their unsuccessful attempts at sanding and finishing floors themselves.

As a natural progression in his business, Adrian decided to create a retail store where he displays floor products from wood to carpet to tile. That allows him to have consistent materials to work with, as well as the security of knowing the quality and durability of the products.

Adrian prides himself in responding immediately to needs of customers and working within the timelines he says will complete the job.

After more than a dozen years in business here, he says the business community feels like family.

“You feel like you know almost everyone,” he said.

Adrian says that kind of community support encourages him to continue to do the best job he can for every customer.

Carpathian Flooring LLC. Year founded 2003

Primary product or service Installing and repairing sanding wood floors; Installing carpet, tile and vinyl; Retail store for flooring products

Top Local Executives Adrian A. Sandor

Physical address 9 N. Guignard Drive

Phone (803) 774-2800

Email Carpathian_floor@yahoo.com

Meet Your Local Professionals • 13

Michelle R. Deatrick Cannon in her office.

Webster University From Resident Assistant to Senior Campus Director; education can change your future

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ichelle R. Deatrick Cannon learned the skills of motivating students to become their best selves while working as a residential assistant in college. “I realized by sophomore year that having structure and support while working toward my diploma made all the difference. It felt great to help my peers excel.” Hired by Webster University years later, she was fortunate to have a mentor who encouraged her to pursue her own advanced degree. “It changed my life.” Now Michelle helps her students attain their own degrees. “It is imperative that students get the right advising and sincere support in order to succeed.”

A typical graduate student has a family and a full-time job. Civilian students want promotion or to change their careers completely; while active duty students see an advanced degree as an advantage preparing them for life after the

14 • Meet Your Local Professionals

military. What Webster at SHAW AFB does is give both students a chance to work together in class; to better themselves in a professional atmosphere, while being taught by instructors working in their field of study New to the Shaw AFB local campus degree list is their Master of Science in Cybersecurity.

In response to the ever-changing world climate, cybersecurity skills are in high demand.

Comparable to other masters’ degrees offered

by Webster, students can complete the MS Cybersecurity in the classroom or on-line, in as little as 18 months.

Michelle is proud to help people earn something intangible. “No one can take away your education. What you put into it is what you get out, and helping someone become a better person through learning is the best type of reward.”

At A Glance Webster University Year founded 1915 (Shaw AFB campus 2003)

Primary product or service Higher Education

Top local executives Michelle R. Deatrick Cannon Senior Campus Director

Physical address 398 Shaw Dr., Rm 108 Shaw AFB, SC 29152

Phone (803) 666-2254

Email shaw@webster.edu

Website www.webster.edu/shaw/

Susan W. Osteen

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices

Realtor offers highest ethical standards, impeccable personal client services

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n accomplished sales person who once sold women’s fitness clothing during the aerobic video craze of the ’80s has successfully transitioned those skills to the real estate industry.

Susan W. Osteen, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices John M. Brabham Real Estate, says she left the traveling sales profession to raise her children. Then an agent approached her five years ago about joining the agency.

It was a natural fit for Osteen whose sales motto is “Make it happen.”

She quickly realized that real estate sales involve a meeting of the minds between buyers and sellers.

“Being a good REALTOR® is about building relationships through constant and thorough communication and providing the best service to my clients,” Osteen said. “Residential real estate sales are much more than showing pretty houses to people. It’s a complex equation involving at

At A Glance

least 10 steps. My knowledge helps guide buyers and sellers through the complicated and intense process.”

The John M. Brabham Real Estate Agency, in business for more than 60 years, had been part of the Prudential Real Estate organization before affiliating with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in 2014. The agency serves as a broker for residential and commercial real estate and provides property management and rental services.

Osteen remains a top producer, a testament to her commitment to high ethical principles vowing to protect her clients in every transaction.

And while anyone can find a home online, Osteen says she brings her complete local knowledge of the area and property values. She also provides a comprehensive marketing strategy incorporating video, social media, enhanced listing online and in print, open houses and agent caravans.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices John M. Brabham Real Estate Susan W. Osteen, Agent Year founded 1954

Primary product or service Residential and Commercial Brokerage Property Management and Leasing

Broker in charge John M. Brabham

Physical address 1081 Alice Drive, Sumter, SC 29150

Phone (803) 491-4220

Email osteensw@gmail.com

Website www.WeSellSumter.com

Meet Your Local Professionals • 15

The Revs. Nick and Ashley Cheek

First Presbyterian Church of Sumter

New pastor brings energetic message that crosses generations

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hen the Revs. Nick and Ashley Cheek arrived with their family in August for Nick to take over the ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Sumter, they brought minimal household supplies. When they walked into their new residence, they found the home filled to the brim with food and household items – a practice they referred to as a “Southern pounding.”

They appreciated that hospitality and assumed the “Southern pounding” represented the church’s appreciation for the Rev. Nick Cheek taking over the church’s pastoral duties. But after his first service, a new member walked up and told him he had the same treatment at his home when he joined the church.

The Rev. Ashley Cheek – yes, Nick’s wife is also an ordained minister – said that “Southern pounding” spoke volumes of what she already had heard was a “loving congregation.”

First Presbyterian planted seeds in the community

almost 200 years ago and continues to reap the fruits of the founders’ labor. Representatives of the church have cast a wide net in the community by helping launch Sumter United Ministries and the local Habitat For Humanity chapter.

But as members have wandered away in recent years, John Jackson, who headed a committee to find a new pastor, actively recruited Nick Cheek from Woods Memorial Presbyterian in Severna Park, Maryland. Nick and Ashley both served as associate pastors there. Nick impressed Jackson with his unique sermon style that reaches people of all ages by engaging parishioners with down-toearth relational messages.

Since taking on the challenge, Nick took off running, getting to know people in the community and providing a sense of love and fellowship with his congregation to provide them with tools to live out their Christian lives --sort of his Presbyterian version of a “Southern pounding.”

At A Glance First Presbyterian Church of Sumter Year founded 1823

Primary product or service Loving people and serving God In the heart of Sumter

Top local executives Rev. Nick Cheek, Pastor Chuck Fienning, Clerk of Session

Physical address 9 W. Calhoun Street Sumter, SC 29150

Phone (803) 773-3814

Email info@FPCSumter.org

Website FPCSumter.org