Grand Strand Newsmakers

Walters named safety director of the year by Campus Safety Magazine

Campus Safety magazine has named Georgetown County School District Director of Safety and Risk Management Alan Walters as this year’s national K-12 Director of the Year.

Walters was recognized on July 13 at Campus Safety Conference East, which took place in Philadelphia. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Director of the Year program, the event also honored past winners.

“I am proud to represent Georgetown County School District and bring home this national award for K-12 Campus Safety Director of the Year,” Walters said.

Judges were impressed with Walters’ rewriting of his district’s emergency operations plan and arranging for the evacuations, shelters and recovery sites in response to Hurricane Matthew. He also supervised $1.5 million in renovations at 20 locations. Upgrades included cameras, access control, secured walkways and bullet-resistant doors and glass.

Campus Safety would like to thank this year’s program judges for taking time out of their busy schedules to evaluate the entries: Campus Safety Web Editor Amy Brennan; University of Southern Mississippi Director of Sports Security Lou Marciani; Safeguard Risk Solutions CEO and President Gary Sigrist Jr.; and Hospital Security Consultant Tom Smith.

Family Justice Center begins construction on new Georgetown facility

Following a groundbreaking July 19, the Family Justice Center of Georgetown and Horry counties will immediately begin construction on its new headquarters, to be located at 2705 Highmarket St. in the City of Georgetown. After years of renting, achievement of this long-awaited goal will finally give the Family Justice Center a permanent home, said staff and board members.

The construction project will expand an existing office building at the site by 2,568 square feet. This will give the Family Justice Center a total of about 5,250 square feet for its operations, including 13 offices, a training/support group room, kitchen, reception area, children’s playroom, large conference room and storage space. The facility is located on a parcel of about 1 acre.

This move is made possible by a USDA Rural Development loan and a construction loan from First Citizens Bank at very competitive interest rates. The advantages of moving to this new property are a much better configuration of office space to more efficiently serve its clients, state of the art security system, an entrance for victims of domestic violence separate from visitors and volunteers at the site, and room on the property to eventually build a much larger shelter in the future. A capital campaign for the shelter will likely begin in early 2018.

The move and expansion are a huge step for the Family Justice Center, and will help it meet increasing demand for services in an area ranked among the highest in incidents of domestic violence. In the facility it currently rents at 1530 Highmarket St., the center served 850 clients last year and expects to have served more than 1,000 by the end of this year.

“I believe that providing services in this lovely environment will send a comforting message to our clients that they deserve the best we can give them,” said Vicki Bourus, executive director of the center. “We are so excited about this beautiful new facility.”

More than $10K donation made to Folds of Honor

During this season the Pelicans have been proud to partner with Budweiser and our local distributor Better Brands here in Myrtle Beach to help drive donations and awareness for Folds of Honor over the past two months. Folds of Honor is a national nonprofit organization that provides scholarships for the families of those who have fallen or been disabled while serving our country as part of the military.

On-field on July 20 was Better Brands Vice President Jason Hayes and Sales Manager Kelly Lewis from Better Brands, one of area’s largest companies who has had the pleasure to serve and support the Myrtle Beach community for over 50 years. On July 20, Hayes and Lewis were pleased to support our military heroes by presenting Folds of Honor with a donation of $10,438 from sales of Budweiser as well as donations from partners like the Pelicans.

Two area nurses receive national service award

Two nurses who reside in Horry County are 2017 national award recipients from national professional nursing associations. Victoria Grainger of North Myrtle Beach who is currently a charge nurse at Novant Hospital in Brunswick has received the 2017 Behind the Scenes Award from the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA). She will be presented this award in St. Louis in September at the 2017 ENA National Conference.

Gina Carbino who resides in Myrtle Beach, currently serving as the Statewide Forensic Nurse Coordinator employed by South Carolina Victims Assistance Network, has received the 2017 Service Award from the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN). Gina will be presented this award in Toronto in October at the 2017 IAFN National Conference.

Each year only one nurse in the world is the recipient of these prestigious awards. More information can be found on the respective organization’s website at www.ena.org and www.iafn.org.

Check presentation proceeds benefit “Shop with a Hero” program

It’s Christmas in July! Sticky Fingers Restaurants and the Dickens Christmas Show & Festivals presented checks totaling more than $1,300 to the local “Shop with a Hero” program. Myrtle Beach Police Department and Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue personnel raise money during the year to provide a holiday shopping trip for local children. As part of the Dickens Christmas Show & Festival last year, visitors could take photos with an officer or a firefighter, and each photo was worth a $1 contribution.

Residents show appreciation for publis safety personnel

During the July 17 North Myrtle Beach City Council meeting, Seabrook Plantation, Barefoot Resort and other city residents gathered to express their support and appreciation for the service rendered by North Myrtle Beach, Horry County, South Carolina and Federal public safety personnel.

In addition to City Council, also on hand for the occasion were Tom Keegan representing U.S. Congressman Tom Rice, State Senator Greg Duckworth, State Senator Greg Hembree, County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus, County Councilman Harold Worley, Horry County Police Chief Joe Hill, Horry County Fire/Rescue Chief Joseph Tanner, Horry County E-911 Director Renee Hardwick, North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce Chairman Scott Ellis, North Myrtle Beach Public Safety Director Jay Fernandez, and North Myrtle Beach Fire Chief Garry Spain. Seabrook Plantation resident Lawton Dews organized the event and spoke to those in attendance about the pride and appreciation one should feel for public safety personnel locally and throughout the country..

American Legion presents city with new flags

During the July 17 North Myrtle Beach City Council meeting, Art Willms of the American Legion presented the City with new flags for use at the North Myrtle Beach Veterans Plaza located at the North Myrtle Beach Park & Sports Complex.

Mayor Marilyn Hatley and City Councilman Bob Cavanaugh accepted the new flags on behalf of the City. Councilman Cavanaugh worked with Mr. Willms to arrange for the presentation.

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Grand Strand Newsmakers."