FRIENDS&NEIGHBORS
The 29th Original Gullah Festival was held this past weekend and enjoyed great Beaufort weather of not-too-hot and not-too-humid days. page 12
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“The only easy day was yesterday”
U.S. Marine David Braman gives inspiring graduation speech at Beaufort Academy
I
f you had a child graduating Sunday from Beaufort Academy, they had the great opportunity to hear from a BA graduate who offered some solid life strategies for them as they take their first steps into the real world. David Braman is all of a whopping 44 years old and has managed to pack a lifetime of experience into those few years. He is almost a native as he arrived here with a military family when he was a toddler. He, and his three sisters, grew up in Beaufort and came to love and respect this amazing place we all call home. Dave always wanted to be a pilot. His memories go to a photograph of him next to his Dad’s plane at MCAS when he was four. If nothing else, Dave is a very focused young man. After graduating from the Citadel in 1992, he was accepted into the Marine Corp Officer Training Program. He affectionately calls the Marines, “the low budget rodeo” which given that they do almost twice
the “protecting” and get about ½ of the funding that the other military branches, seems an apt description. His training began in Pensacola at the Navy Flight Training School where at the end of training, those cadets at the top of their groups got to choose what type of helicopter they wanted to fly and Dave chose the CH-53E known as the “Super Stallion”. He readily admits that after life in college, some time back here waiting to get a slot in helicopter training school because they were backed up, he had to “retie his shoes a little tighter.” Some of that is probably due to meeting another future Navy pilot named Abby who later became his wife. But tie those shoes tighter, he did and then came a stellar career including three deployments overseas; two in Djibouti (better known to us as the Horn of Africa) which Dave contends is the “unequivocal hottest place on earth”. He gave me the following summary of
his career, “I have been to 6 continents, 32 countries, and 42 states. I have had many tremendous experiences and seen some amazing things. I have also had the misfortune to witness some awful things in some of the worst places on this planet. I have gotten to land a helicopter on Wall St. as well as at the foot of the great pyramids in Egypt.” Just your normal everyday life, right? Not so. But for Dave, family came first, and his wife and new baby, Megan, wanted him home. And home he came when he was assigned to the Presidential Helicopter Squadron called HMX-1 based in Washington, DC. Dave has been flying not only our Presidents between locations, but also the Vice President and the five key heads of departments in the government on a regular, daily basis. Sounds glamourous doesn’t it? A dream job? Maybe, but only if you can GRADUATE continued on page 18
CROQUET ANYONE? On May 16, several hundred people gathered at Brays Island for the 24th Annual AMIkids Beaufort Croquet Picnic, part of a full weekend of fundraising events. AMIkids Beaufort is one of more than 50 programs across the country affiliated with nationallyrecognized AMIkids, headquartered in Tampa, Florida. They are a non-profit organization dedicated to providing Beaufort kids an opportunity to transform into responsible young adults. AMIkids offers a promising future through positive and motivating programs that inspire learning, leadership and personal growth. The South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice assigns select young men to AMIkids Beaufort where they work to separate a troubled past from a bright future through education, work skills training, community service and physical training. Sylvia Murray, director of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, attended as a guest at this year’s event. Thanks to generous donations throughout the weekend, AMIkids Beaufort raised more than $100,000 to directly benefit the at-risk young men they serve. This money will help fund their welding program, which teaches young men valuable work skills. The money will provide much needed funds for a major
infrastructure upgrade at their aging campus in Dale, SC. For 24 years, Brays Island has generously shared part of their golf course and driving range, converting it to high-quality croquet courts, for this fundraiser. This year, along with Brays Island, Brantley and Alice Harvey graciously shared their home, Marshlands, in Beaufort’s Historic District for the Friday night Captains’ Party and silent auction.
MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2015
WHAT’S INSIDE?
See Beaufort’s Health & Wellness Favorites
see page 7
PROFILE
Trey Nelson: Making his dream come true
see page 8
LUNCH BUNCH
Enjoy panini’s and more at Marsh Tacky
see page 23 INDEX
Community 2-5 Business 5 Health 6-7 Profile 8 Social 12-13 Arts 14 Schools 16-18 Sports 20 Outdoors 22 Lunch Bunch 23 Wine 24 Dine 25 Voices 26 Games 27 Pets 28 Events 29 Directory 30 Classifieds 31