You have to start somewhere
March 9, 2022
By Jeff Becraft I am deeply grieved on what we are seeing on the world stage. I don’t watch the news on a regular basis but lately, every night we…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Soiree on State returns to Cayce’s River Arts District
March 8, 2022The City of Cayce is thrilled to announce the return of the Soiree on State, to be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022. The City has partnered with the Avenues…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: entertainment, hospitality, life, music, on-the-move
Lecture to cover Westmoreland role in Vietnam, Civil Rights, and the Great Society
March 8, 2022
The 1960s was a time of tremendous economic expansion. It was also a time of ambitious social change, from the Civil Rights Movement to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, on-the-move
Putting courage in someone
March 3, 2022
By Jeff Becraft Leadership really it is not about me… it has to do with lifting up others around me. As I learned from a friend named Jermaine, if you…
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Winter In Wambaw Bay
March 3, 2022
By Tom Poland The orchestra is quiet, as winter holds the conductor’s baton. Still, a song comes to mind. “California Dreamin” where much is brown and gray—every shade of…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Nickelodeon suspends screenings
February 28, 2022
In an effort to fulfill its long-term mission more effectively, the Nickelodeon will be temporarily suspending public screenings as of March 1, 2022. Theatre operations will resume as soon as…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
The Art of Communication
February 23, 2022
By Jeff Becraft This week I had to go to the doctor to get my left ear checked out. After I had signed in, the nurse walks me to…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
The Emperor’s Hem
February 23, 2022
By Tom Poland In the late 1990s, a time that seems ancient, I touched the emperor’s hem. That is I corresponded with a writer whose words revealed a style…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Noble Ruin of the South
February 17, 2022
By Tom Poland When man abandoned it, the traffic diverted west, and the forest began to claim it. Today, sycamores, cedars, and oaks console it, and wind and water…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Living out of who we are
February 16, 2022
By Jeff Becraft I am a professional athlete who has yet to be discovered. And I have enjoyed catching the winter Olympics at 8:00 p.m. each evening with my…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
‘Rosie the Riveter’ had a lot to say in her letters to a boy in uniform
February 14, 2022
Catherine Ladnier says her mother never threw anything away. So when she died on Mother’s Day, 2001, there were a lot of things to go through in her house in…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Miss Lucy, Childhood Legend
February 10, 2022
By Tom Poland “Perhaps you recall a person from childhood whom everyone kept their distance from. Enjoy this glimpse of small-town life in the 1960s.” Small towns have that one…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
When you can’t find all the pieces
February 10, 2022
By Jeff Becraft Back in late November, my wife and I had swung by Charlotte to see our daughter, Hannah, for her birthday. We went out to one of…
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Bitters, A History In Life And Literature
February 2, 2022
By Tom Poland Among the dusty bottles and vase stand three alcoholic potions. I bought the matador-like bottle in Madrid when I traveled by train through hard, brown Spain. Next…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Many runners but one team
February 1, 2022
By Jeff Becraft About 5 years ago, I stopped riding the bus down for our Leadership Weekend. One of our top alumni, Daisy, even said to me, “Becraft not…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
With weapons drawn, SwordFest makes its dramatic return to the Relic Room
January 31, 2022
What’s all that clanging? Why do you hear the sound of deadly steel slicing through the winter air? Are you dreaming? Have you been transported back into the middle of…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Go with what the defense gives you
January 27, 2022
By Jeff Becraft I learned a valuable lesson last Saturday. In football terminology, you have to go with what the defense gives you. I was just coming off an illness…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Crow Tastes Pretty Good In Snow
January 27, 2022
By Tom Poland My last column criticized I-20 as a barrier to snow in the classic South. “Winter after winter, radar reveals blue, pink, and white blotches rolling north…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
St. Pat’s in Five Points announces artist line up
January 26, 2022
Five Points Association Announces the Music for Columbia’s Favorite Irish Event! The Five Points Association (FPA) announces the 2022 artist line up for the 40th Annual St. Pat’s in Five…
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The Great Dividing Line
January 21, 2022
By Tom Poland Yet another dud weather storm forecast teaches me something. When the next Ice Age arrives, its frozen sheet will grind to a halt where I-20 crosses…
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Remembering Smokehouses
January 20, 2022
By Tom Poland I wrote about old hand-dug wells not long ago. Many old wells had a companion nearby, smokehouses. I’ve written about these farm icons before, but a…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Take the next step
January 19, 2022
By Jeff Becraft Someone once asked Ben Hogan what the most important shot in golf was. He responded, “The next one.” It is true for any step in life. We…
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The Richland County Recreation Commission (RCRC) and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announce the Gang Awareness Hoop Fest
January 19, 2022
The Richland County Recreation Commission (RCRC) and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department announce the Gang Awareness Hoop Fest starting January 22 at 4 pm at Eastover Park. This free event,…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: conversations, education, entertainment, fitness-centers, government, hospitality, life, on-the-move
More SC families say “YES” to organ donation in 2021 than any previous year
January 19, 2022
479 lives saved, 45,000 lives healed by SC donors During unprecedented times, South Carolinians find the courage to give. On their darkest day after learning of the loss of a…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: health-care, life, on-the-move
How to Buy a Car in 2022: Navigating The Automobile Shortage
January 14, 2022
By Mike DuBose The COVID-19 pandemic has had dramatic and wide-ranging impacts on the United States and the world as a whole. Most people are traveling, going to events, and…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: advice, banking-and-finance, life, on-the-move, transportation
Honoring the unsung heroes in our lives
January 13, 2022
By Jeff Becraft A lot of people think that I am the founder of Youth Corps but that is not true. A guy by the name of Grayson Hartgrove…
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The Old Hand-Dug Well
January 12, 2022
By Tom Poland Driving a country road, I passed an old well house. It didn’t look like a wishing well. It looked rustic, more like a shed, a practical…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
The Allure of Barbed Wire & Cedar
January 6, 2022
By Tom Poland Out in the country skinny metal fence posts rule pasturelands nowadays. I seldom see old cedar-barbed wire fences, but when I do they unleash a flood…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Stooping down to make someone else great
January 6, 2022
By Jeff Becraft Being that this is New Year’s Eve, not even sure if anyone will even see this one. There was no Friday email last week on Christmas Eve…
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Joy in the lack of holiday perfection this year
December 23, 2021
By Reba Hull Campbell I hate to think how many gatherings I didn’t host over the years because I worried that my house wasn’t _______ enough. Fill in the blank…
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Moore Bradley Myers announces Christmas Bike Giveaway in Swansea and Saluda
December 20, 2021Moore Bradley Myers Law Firm (MBM) is excited to announce their Christmas Bike Bonanza 2021 in both Swansea and Saluda. Traditionally held in Swansea, the hometown of MBM Partner Stanley…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: law, life, on-the-move
No Gas, No Batteries, No Electricity Required
December 16, 2021
By Tom Poland All it requires is a steady hand. It doesn’t disturb the peace on Saturday mornings. So quiet is it, I doubt it’d suffer banning in ever-vigilant…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Richland County Recreation Commission holds press event to announce updates and court dedications for the Richland County Tennis Center
December 8, 2021
The Richland County Recreation Commission (RCRC) will hold a press conference to provide a project update and special dedications for the Richland County Tennis Center on December 14, 2021, at 11:00 AM. The…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: education, fitness-centers, government, hospitality, life, local-industry, on-the-move, sports
A Vanishing Coastal Icon
December 8, 2021
By Tom Poland Photographers love to shoot them at sunrise. Riding a glittering golden sea, shrimp boats strike a classic silhouette with that orb of fire rising behind them.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Honor takes time
December 8, 2021
By Jeff Becraft As I was driving to the post office this morning on Broad River Road, there was an ambulance coming the opposite direction. I had to make…
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Speaker to tell the story of the western Civil War through one soldier’s experiences
December 2, 2021
Mike Rucker is a Virginian, and while in high school in Fredericksburg, he and his brother operated a business guiding tours of the surrounding historic sites. The area offered a…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
Grace that covers our mistakes
December 1, 2021
By Jeff Becraft A couple of weeks ago, I was backing out of my driveway. Across the street, there was a car parked out on the road. Every once…
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That Legendary Everlasting Plant, Rabbit Tobacco
November 30, 2021
By Tom Poland She smoked it as a kid. Said she smoked grapevines too but it was Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium, one of the everlastings, she talked about most. She and…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, the-arts
Relic Room to commemorate 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor attack
November 29, 2021
This year, we will “Remember Pearl Harbor” three days earlier than usual. On Saturday, Dec. 4, the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum will mark the 80th anniversary…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, military, non-profit, on-the-move
Simple, everyday influence
November 17, 2021
By Jeff Becraft Apparently I use the phrase, “That’s what you got,” on a regular basis. In fact, someone was talking with me this week about doing some podcasts…
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Grandmom’s Fabulous Fried Pies
November 17, 2021
By Tom Poland She dried sliced apple, peaches, and pears on a slanted wooden table facing the sun. Nails prevented the fruit from sliding to the ground. Once it…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Put someone else first
November 10, 2021
By Jeff Becraft As my folks live in Maryland, whenever I go up there, I-95 is still the fastest way to go… but you have to leave at the…
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Above, Not Below, The Jailhouse
November 10, 2021
By Tom Poland Standing in a courtroom, a malefactor dreads a dire warning. “If you don’t straighten up, I’ll put you under the jailhouse.” Uttered by many a judge,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move
Flock and Rally promotes Mary Kate Korpita to Director of Brand Strategy
November 8, 2021
Flock and Rally, a full-service, women-owned communications and marketing agency based in Columbia, S.C., has announced the promotion of Mary Kate Korpita to director of brand strategy. Korpita, who transitioned…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: conversations, employment, life, media, on-the-move
Elusive Butterfly Of Fall
November 4, 2021
By Tom Poland December 1965, that’s when a catchy tune debuted. Bob Lind’s “Elusive Butterfly” used a butterfly as a metaphor for love. Some of you survivors of these…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: life, on-the-move, the-arts
Getting back up
November 4, 2021
By Jeff Becraft One of the most significant quotes I have ever heard comes from the former heavyweight boxing champion, Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan until they get…
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What did soldiers drink during the Civil War? Mainly, a lot of whiskey
November 1, 2021
On Nov. 5, history author Tom Elmore will offer a lecture titled “A ‘Spiritual’ Guide to the Civil War.” But you won’t need to bring your Bible or prayer book.…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: life, on-the-move
First Reliance Bank and community partners made dreams come true for a Lexington School District Four student
November 1, 2021
First Reliance Bank is a community bank in all aspects of the term. The longtime Florence, S.C. headquartered bank serves communities all over South and North Carolina by providing expert…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: banking-and-finance, business-services, education, life, on-the-move, philanthropy, social-scene
The 2021 Annual Hood Construction Oyster Roast
October 28, 2021
On Wednesday October 27, Hood Construction hosted its annual Oyster Roast at its new office at 1215 Shop Road. The event featured a Lowcountry Boil and, of course, oysters! The…
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Lessons from a fun day playing paintball
October 27, 2021
By Jeff Becraft The third year we did our Leadership Weekend, Camp Cooper had the equipment to do paintball. I told them, “Absolutely we are doing paintball.” To be…
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