Charleston magazine Society blog

Last Saturday night’s Environmental Stewardship Awards gala at the South Carolina Aquarium was an evening of elegance and style. For a second year, the SC Aquarium recognized exceptional people and organizations who have demonstrated dedication to protecting natural resources.
 

The red carpet was rolled out for a room full of supporters, including Dr. John and Carol Feussner, Carol and David Rawle, John Kresse, Mary Alice Monroe, and many other notables. Guests were treated to an exquisite dinner by the Charleston Place Hotel and danced to sounds of the high energy band, The Wallers.
 

The awards ceremony recognized many well-deserved recipients: The Legacy award went to Senator and Mrs. Ernest F. Hollings—the latter a founding member of the Aquarium’s Board of Directors and instrumental in its early success and the former a legendary statesman who has contributed countless conservation victories to South Carolina. Ms. Mary Jackson, founder of the Mount Pleasant Basketmakers Association, was honored for her advocacy in preserving the centuries-old tradition of sweetgrass basketmaking and the protection of the habitat of this indigenous grass. Also honored with the Leadership award was Mepkin Abbey for being a key participant in protecting thousands of acres of critical habitat and natural resources in Berkeley County. On August 15, 2006, Mepkin Abbey signed a conservation easement on 3,128 acres owned by the monastery, protecting the land from commercial development in perpetuity. 
 

Congrats to all of the award recipients for a job well done.  GO GREEN!

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On Saturday, April 26th, more than 300 energetic women attended the second annual Charleston Women’s Heart Health Symposium presented by MUSC Heart and Vascular Center Women’s Heart Care and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. This all-day event—organized for the second year in a row by Bev Seinsheimer—was filled with screenings and lectures by leading physicians to educate the public about risk factors, warning signs, and, prevention of women’s heart disease.
 

This year’s lineup included guest speaker Dr. Pamela Morris, a preventive cardiologist from MUSC who educated women on the epidemic of heart disease and how to spread this knowledge on to others. It is an alarming fact that many of us women don’t know about our specific risk for heart disease. The American Heart Association did a very good job breaking down the risk factors based on age and ethnicity.  As an African American woman, I learned a lot about how I can specifically help prevent this disease. Nearly half (49 percent) of all non-Hispanic African-American females have some form of heart disease, stroke or other cardiovascular disease.  That’s scary!

With all of the information given, there was still a lot of fun to be had. Fitness for All, Da Heart greeted attendees with tips for making good health habits as part of our daily lives, and Three Smart Cookies sold delicious no butter or yolk cookies that were a big hit. Guests also got an opportunity to work up a sweat with salsa lessons by Fred Astaire Ballroom Dance professionals. Dancing is an easy and fun way to get the heart rate going and to shed a few pounds. The Go Red fashion show was a crowd-pleaser with beautiful MUSC Heart and Vascular Center staff and patients in red fashions provided by area merchants.

Fighting heart disease and having fun at the same time was the motto of the day.

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The City Gallery at Waterfront Park was the place to be last Thursday evening for the Center for Women’s seventh annual “It’s in the Bag” purse auction and reception. The gallery space was packed with guests perusing the handbags which were aligned against the wall like works of art on display for bidding and viewing pleasure. They even had volunteer security guards watching over these precious gems. This was serious business. Bids started at $75 with a few selling for more than $300.
 

This year’s designers were truly a talented bunch. Bag styles ranged from flirty to sophisticated and everything in between. Some of the standouts of the night were Charleston style editor Ayoka Lucas and Charleston Fashion Week emerging designer Foster Fox’s “Charleston Fashion Week Day Clutch”, Rick Jerue’s “America 2009″, and Candace Romeo’s “Little Miss Fabulous” which by the way, I walked away with.  I love my new bag!

As I am a huge tennis fan, a couple of my personal favorites were the two Family Circle Cup purses signed by Maria Sharapova and Venus and Serena Williams. The most talked about design of the night was Karen & Bob Siegel’s “The War As We Saw It.” This mini briefcase with a large image of George W. Bush and covered with the faces of fallen soldiers went for $300.

There were quite a few bidding wars, but overall it was a fun, fabulous, and feminine fundraiser which will support the center’s core services, which include counseling, support groups, and educational and informational programs.

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