April 6, 2021 • Volume 24, Issue 7 • Complimentary • BlufftonSun.com
WEAR A MASK!
INSIDE • Native Blufftonian gets first PGA shot at RBC Heritage 10A • Self-taught teen crochets creatures, characters and Bernie 16A • ‘Amazing Race’ sisters still visit, call Bluffton ‘home’ 20A • Food trucks have place at Backyard 26A • 10 Hot Spots to get your gardening started for spring 30A
New state Veterans Affairs secretary shares department goals By Gwyneth J. Saunders CONTRIBUTOR
The first secretary of the new South Carolina Department of Veterans Affairs said his aim for the department is to bring all available resources together “so we can really raise awareness across the state, and live up to the aspiration of being the most military veteran friendly state in the Union.” William F. Grimsley is part of a long line of military veterans who came from Beaufort, where he now lives. He was named to the new cabinet post March 4, 2020, seven years after retiring as a major general from the U.S. Army. He recently spoke about his goals for the organization at the monthly meeting of
the Sun City Veterans Association. “Ultimately, it’s about providing the best, most consistent, and equitable service to veterans and their family members across the state, no matter where they live,” he said. “The first thing we have to do is get right-sized. “It’s a matter of following through, starting with the organization – the processes, the procedures. There’s a whole list of training and leader development pieces, there’s the material solutions, and eventually there’ll be some people moved around, and maybe some additions.” The new cabinet position was a division within the state government for
Please see GRIMSLEY on page 8A
GWYNETH J. SAUNDERS
Sun City Veterans Association Commander Tom BeGasse, left, and Will Grimsley exchange a few words before the start of the monthly meeting of the SCVA. Grimsley is secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and was appointed March 2020 to the newest state cabinet post.
DRCI awarded grant for veterans, first responders program The Don Ryan Center for Innovation has been awarded a 2021 Relentless Challenge Grant from the S.C. Department of Commerce Office of Innovation. The grant was created with the mission of progressing and supporting technology-based economic development projects, commercialization of new ideas and the next
generation of industry-leading companies. The grant will be used to support a new program created by the DRCI to help active and retired veterans, police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel become successful entrepreneurs. The program, the DRCI Heroes Initiative, was developed as a new way to help valued heroes transition to NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
J R P LU F F M U D D E R C A M P R I S I N G 2 N D -4 T H G R A D E
JUNE 21-25 & JULY 12-16
20
21
P LU F F M U D D E R C A M P R I S I N G 5 T H -7 T H G R A D E
JUNE 28-JULY 2 & JULY 19-23
Call 843-645-7774 to apply or visit portroyalsoundfoundation.org
business ownership, while also helping the further economic growth of our region. While many of the region’s veterans and first responders have strong technical training and a deep understanding of technology, they might not have been exposed to the concepts of being a business owner or taking their ideas into the marketplace. The DRCI
Heroes Initiative will provide the resources to help these heroes navigate the challenges of business ownership. At the same time, the launching of these new technology-based businesses will further grow our local economy. For more information, visit donryancenter. com.