14 minute read
WHAT’S HAPPENED
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Shallotte ABC Store Ribbon Cutting
Advertisement
Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new ABC store of Shallotte on March 10. The new location of the Shallotte ABC Store is 715 Main Street.
Dosher Memorial Hospital is the first hospital in the region to utilize robotic arm assisted surgery for total knee replacements. This advancement in joint replacement surgery transforms the way total knee replacements are performed. Total knee replacements in the United States are expected to increase 189% by 2030, yet studies have shown that approximately 20% of patients are dissatisfied after their conventional surgery. Through CT-based 3D modeling of bone anatomy, Dosher’s surgeon can now use the Mako SmartRobotics™ System to create a personalized surgical plan based on a patient’s unique anatomy and to virtually modify the surgical plan intraoperatively as needed. In clinical studies, Mako SmartRobotics™ Total Knee demonstrated the potential for patients to experience less pain, less need for opiate analgesics, less need for inpatient physical therapy, reduction in length of hospital stay, improved knee flexion and soft tissue protection in comparison to manual techniques.
Makai Brewing Holds Multi-Family Yard Sale
Habitat for Humanity Holds Wall Blessing
Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity held its first wall blessing of 2021 on March 4 at Beth Hewett’s home at 4473 Pinewood Village Drive. The wall blessing ceremony is an opportunity to write well wishes to the homeowner on the frame of the home before it was covered with drywall. The messages will forever surround Beth with support. Since then, Habitat has broken ground on the fourth home of the season.
Wine, Women & Chocolate is a Success
Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce’s Wine, Women & Chocolate event took place on March 8 at Silver Coast Winery in Ocean Isle Beach. The chamber sold a limited number of tickets to allow everyone space to spread out including on the outdoor patio with lighting provided by Prestige Outdoor Lighting and Audio. The event offered raffle baskets filled with wares from local shops including a staycation at the Sunset Inn, a healthy and clean basket, a yard work basket and more. Attendees were able to see the newest fashions from area boutiques, sip great wine and nibble appetizers and chocolate. Tickets were only $35. Look to support this event next year.
Brunsco Has It! Business Expo
Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce held its Brunsco Has It! Business Expo on April 10 at Silver Coast Wintery in Ocean Isle Beach. Local businesses provided information about goods and services all in one place. This event is always free to attend, and both vendors and attendees practiced COVID practices. On March 28 Makai Brewing Company hosted a Spring Cleaning Multi-Family Yard Sale. Nana’s Main Ingredient served up delicious grub that went great with cold beer from Makai Brewing. They hope to do it again soon.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Veteran’s Affairs Committee (VAC) of Calabash Elks Lodge 2679 recently donated $4,100 to Brunswick Family Assistance (BFA), to help fund assistance provided to Veterans in Brunswick County. VAC donations in the past four years to the BFA Veterans Fund now total more than $18,000. BFA will use the funds to help resident veterans needing assistance with rent, utilities, food supplies, home maintenance and similar emergency expenses.
Brunswick Family Assistance (BFA), headquartered in Shallotte with a new location in Leland, is dedicated to improving the lives of families, veterans and individuals in crisis in Brunswick County by providing emergency assistance and educational and skills
development programs. BFA continues to be a leader in partnering with other organizations to help solve community problems. To learn more about BFA or to find way in which you can help, visit their website at brunswickfamily.org or call them at (910) 754-4766.
The mission of the Veteran’s Affairs Committee of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Lodge 2679 is to provide occasional funding, fraternal activities and general support for local veterans, various veterans programs and military located throughout the southeastern North Carolina area as well as for retired and Wounded Warriors in the Fort Bragg area of Fayetteville and Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville. For more information about other ways our Elks Lodge supports veterans and the military community, visit calabashelks.org and click on the Veterans Affairs tab.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
For 40 years Margaret Rudd & Associates, Inc., Realtors® (MRA) has turned visitors into locals with its dedicated brand of exceptional, personalized service and strong professional ethics and integrity. What started as a small adventure for Margaret Rudd Bishop on Saint Patrick’s Day in 1981 grew gradually with the agency’s founder and president buying out her then partner just two short years later in 1983. S.R. “Buddy” Rudd, Jr. joined the company as vice president in 1986, and the rest is history. After all this time, the second-generation, family-owned and -operated business serves as the largest independent real estate agency in Brunswick County, employing a number of full-time and seasonal employees as well as a team of motivated sales agents. While sales can be found in all three of its current locations in Southport and Oak Island, the property management department handles its 250+ short-term, vacation rental and 65 plus long-term rental properties out of the Oak Island office.
The sales arm of the business recently announced its nominations for the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (“LeadingRE”) 2020 Award of Excellence in both the outgoing sales production and referral categories, while the property management department was named Best Rental Agency for the third year in a row for the 2021 Southport Magazine Maggie Awards. The recognition doesn’t end there. Over its 40 years in business, MRA has been a trendsetter. Along with blazing a few trails, the agency has seen many notable accolades highlighting its unparalleled service and standards of performance. Among its leadership and staff, you’ll find past and current presidents, directors, committee members and board members of the Brunswick County Association of Realtors, the North Carolina Association of Realtors, the Brunswick County Tourism Development Authority, the Vacation Rental Management Association, the N.C. Vacation Rental Managers Association and the Southport Oak Island Area Chamber of Commerce.
The firm went from humble beginnings to great success but it does not plan on stopping there. No matter what the next 40 years look like, Margaret Rudd and all of her “associates” are taking this year’s anniversary as a reason to be truly excited about what the future holds.
Dosher Wound Care Center Recognized for Clinical Excellence
For the fifth year in a row, the Wound Care Center at Dosher Memorial Hospital has been recognized as a Center of Distinction. The criteria for this recognition require achieving or exceeding outstanding clinical and operational results, including patient satisfaction rates higher than 92 percent and a heal rate of 92 percent in less than 28 median days to heal. The doctors, nurses and technicians on the Wound Care team are all specially trained in wound management and are invested in the most successful outcomes available for our patients. Dosher’s Wound Center is a member of the Healogics network of over 600 Wound Care Centers and offers highly specialized wound care to patients suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections and other chronic wounds that have not healed in a reasonable amount of time. Treatments at the center include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which works by surrounding the patient with 100 percent oxygen under pressure to help progress the healing of the wound.
Brunswick Legionnaires Help a Veteran in Need
Recently a veteran in dire need of assistance contacted the chairman of the Brunswick County Veterans Coalition. The veteran had moved from Pennsylvania in December and with a limited amount of funds. Unfortunately, as time moved on his funds were depleted and he found himself in a situation where he had no money and was about to be evicted from his current residence. Desperate for help,
he reached out to the chairman of the Coalition. That phone call triggered an immediate call for members of the Coalition to provide the needed assistance to get this veteran into suitable housing and fast. Food was another essential which was needed.
American Legion Post 543 (St. James) took the lead supported by Posts 550 (Shallotte) and 68 (Leland). The Commander of Post 550 in Shallotte identified a possible apartment complex where the veteran could stay, and the commander from a veteran organization known as the 40 & 8 provided the cash needed to sustain the veteran. Armed with that information about housing, Post 543 took the veteran to Artesa Village Apartments in Sunset Beach to see if he would qualify. It did not take long to get the answer. Artesa Village’s property manager worked very closely with the veteran and the representative from Post 543 to secure the requisite documentation. The word came back that the veteran was indeed qualified. There was tremendous relief by all parties concerned that their efforts had thwarted the possibility of another vet being homeless. But the story does not end there. Although the veteran had secured the apartment and food, electricity needed to be turned on. Post 543 took on this task and within hours they had secured the funds needed to turn on the electricity. Now that the vet had an apartment and he had the electricity turned on, he needed furniture. Again Post 543 took the lead. Some furniture was identified by the Post, but more was needed. That is when Post 68 raised its hand and indicated they could assist in providing additional financial support as well as provide transportation to get the furniture from Post 543 to the new domicile. Further, Post 68 indicated they could assist in getting the vet needed kitchen supplies. In less than two weeks the veteran went from despair to total relief because the American Legion posts in Brunswick County pooled their resources and collectively answered the needs of this veteran.
To say the vet was overwhelmed by the support rendered by American Legion Posts 543, 68 and 550 as well as the 40 and 8 would be an understatement. They will continue to make “buddy checks” to ensure this veteran moves in a positive direction and never has to worry about his future. The American Legion’s credo, no veteran will be left behind, was certainly exemplified in this case.
ATMC Awarded Best in Customer Service
ATMC recently was recognized as Best in Customer Service in the Brunswick Beacon’s 2021 Best of Brunswick Awards, in which readers cast their votes for their favorites in a variety of categories. This is the 13th consecutive year that ATMC has received this recognition. Over the past year, ATMC was committed to helping their customers through the challenges of COVID-19. Last spring, ATMC provided free internet to homes of students without service for 60 days and continued providing service at a discounted rate through October. The cooperative also worked with residential and business customers to keep them connected through financial hardships brought on by the pandemic. In addition, ATMC completed several network upgrades and expansion efforts aimed at bringing better service to existing customers and new customers. This includes ATMC’s work to bring fiber optics to more than 3,000 homes and businesses in Boiling Spring Lakes. Over the past year, ATMC increased broadband speeds for thousands of members at no additional charge to the customer. Additionally, the cooperative was awarded a grant from the NC GREAT program, which will allow the cooperative to bring high-speed internet to unserved homes near the Northwest and Sandy Creek communities of Brunswick County.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Knights of Columbus, Sacred Heart Council #12537 of Southport, gifted $41,000 to 16 Brunswick County charities including 11 South Brunswick High academic scholarships in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The donations were gifted during the Knights monthly business meeting in April 2021 with the scholarships being awarded later in May 2021. With the charities’ urgent need for funding, the Knights decided to expedite the issue and distribute the needed dollars early in April.
The gifting was made possible through the Knights Annual Charity Golf Tournament and monthly Takeout Italian and German Dinners. Due to COVID-19 limitations, Operation LAMB Foundation (Least Among My Brothers), recognized as the Tootsie Roll Campaign, a strategic fundraiser for the Knights, was inactive. None of this would have been possible if not for overwhelming effort through the merchants, agencies, companies and people of Brunswick County.
Over a 21-year period, Sacred Heart Knights have gifted in excess of $504,000 to Brunswick County charities and SBH academic scholarships.
McLeod Seacoast Nurse Receives DAISY Award
McLeod Seacoast recently awarded a Daisy Award for outstanding service and care. Kristy Globe, RN in McLeod Health Seacoast Observation was announced as the DAISY Award Recipient for the second quarter of 2021. She was nominated by a patient for her extraordinary care and compassion. To recognize those nurses at McLeod Health who are true examples of nursing excellence, patients, family members and co-workers may nominate nurses for the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s program to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day.
On April 12 members of the Oak Island Moose Lodge #2059 requested Brunswick Community College (BCC) President Gene Smith and BCC Foundation Executive Director Elizabeth Wassum to visit the Lodge. Upon arrival, they were met by four Moose members holding a big check. It was a grand celebration for all as the check was in the amount of $45,000. This donation will provide full scholarship support to Brunswick Community College (BCC) students beginning fall 2021.
Oak Island Moose Lodge members Bruce Leeming, George Cook and Bob Ross presented the check and shared their excitement to be a part of assisting Brunswick County students with tuition, books and fees to pursue a degree at Brunswick Community College. Moose International is an organization of men and women dedicated to caring for the young and old, bringing communities closer together and celebrating life. With a combined membership of more than 1,000,000 members globally in the Loyal Order of Moose and Women of the Moose, their presence is felt in more than 1,500 communities across all 50 states and four Canadian provinces, plus Great Britain. The Moose organization contributes between $75 to $100 million worth of community services (counting monetary donations, volunteer hours worked and miles driven) annually. To learn more about the Moose Lodge #2059, call (910) 457-5947 or stop by during operational times. Brunswick Community College Foundation, organized in 1982, is a charitable organization 501(c)(3) instituted to enhance the mission of Brunswick Community College to a level of excellence and purpose for students and the community.
TAILGATE SPECIAL $31.99$32.99
INCLUDES: Arbor Landing Celebrates a Resident’s Centennial Birthday
8 – Piece Chicken, 2 – Dozen Hushpuppies, 1 – Pt. Bar-B-Q, 1 – Pt. Potato Salad 1 – Pt. Coleslaw, 1 – Gallon Tea
ASK ABOUT OUR BAR-B-Q CHICKEN
Daily Specials
2 Pints of Brunswick Stew only $8.99
2 Thighs & Fry only $4.99
Leland
910.371.6900
Shallotte
910.754.5522 Gunther Tschorn, a long-time resident of Arbor Landing at Ocean Isle, turned 100 years old on June 18, 2021. Arbor Landing at Ocean Isle was honored to celebrate the monumental occasion with him. On June 18 team members, residents and a few family members gathered in the dining room to sing, eat cake and make memories with the guest of honor. Since 2017 Gunther has been happy to call the senior living community his home. He resides in the Independent Living section of the community, only receiving help with meals and housekeeping. He walks well, reads the newspaper most every morning and delights others with his bright smile. He is a genuinely kind man, preferring to shine his light onto others instead of stepping into the limelight. Amy Causey, executive director at Arbor Landing Ocean Isle, posted a request for 100 birthday cards on her Facebook page.
