Trustee Wes Carter named Lowcountry AFP’s ‘Individual of the Year’

Lowcountry Land Trust is celebrateing Board Trustee Wes Carter, President of Atlantic Packaging and Founder of A New Earth Project, who has been named the 2025 Individual of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) South Carolina Lowcountry Chapter. The organization presented Wes with the award on November 4 during its annual National Philanthropy Day celebration.

Each year, the AFP SC Lowcountry Chapter recognizes individuals and organizations whose generosity and vision strengthen the fabric of our community. This year’s recognition of Wes shines a light on his unique ability to bridge progress and preservation in the worlds of business, sustainability, and conservation, demonstrating how industry can influence environmental good.

Through Wes’s leadership at Atlantic Packaging and partnership with Lowcountry Land Trust, he has created and championed a new model of corporate responsibility known as voluntary mitigation, a proactive conservation initiative that invites businesses to balance their land use footprint by investing in the permanent protection and restoration of natural ecosystems. Atlantic Packaging recently supported the Land Trust’s efforts to protect the Barry Tract, a 67-acre property in the Ashley River Historic District once threatened by development that will now become a passive public park.

Wes’s vision exemplifies the values of Lowcountry Land Trust: that lasting conservation centers on collaboration, innovation, and a shared sense of stewardship for the landscapes and waterways that define us. We are honored to have Wes as a member of our Board of Trustees, proud of his well-deserved recognition by the AFP SC Lowcountry chapter, and grateful for his work to connect business, community, and conservation in meaningful ways.

Read more about Wes’s voluntary mitigation at the Barry Tract on The Ebb & Flow.