One of the things that makes Seabrook Island so special is the breadth of interests and talents shared by its residents. Fortunately, we have a wide variety of avenues to nurture those interests and talents. Depending on what is important to you and how you like to spend your time, you might want to check out these community organizations.
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
CERT is a volunteer, FEMA trained and certified, organization of residents who are there to provide first response to the community in the event of an emergency or disaster. For more information about Lowcountry CERT, click here.
Contact: Stephen Pollock, Team Leader for Seabrook Island CERT spollock455@gmail.com, 516-510-9029
Council of Villa Associations and Regimes (COVAR)
Established in 2001, COVAR stands for The Council of Villa Associations and Regimes. Its membership consists of 27 Associations and 14 Regimes, for a total of forty-one member communities. The original bylaws of COVAR state its mission statement:
“To provide a regular forum for Villa property owners to share and discuss common concerns, to collaborate with Seabrook Island Property Owners Association (SIPOA) in matters of mutual responsibility and interest, and to provide a single official voice for all Villa property owners.”
As a collective voice, the current Board of Directors for COVAR are Rev. John Reynolds, President; Dr. Sue Cameron, Vice-President; Marie Valle Wardell, Treasurer; Joanne Fagan, Secretary.
COVAR maintains a message chat board on Next Door, submits monthly articles of interest to The Seabrooker and periodic submissions and notifications to Tidelines Blog. E-mails can be sent to joanne.fagan@comcast.net
Contact: Joanne Fagan, joanne.fagan@comcast.net
The Exchange Club of Kiawah-Seabrook
The Exchange Club of Kiawah-Seabrook was founded in 1982 and is a member of the National Exchange Club, whose motto is “Unity for Service”. This embraces both the social aspect of the Club as well as our commitment to serve our community. The Club’s social purpose is reflected in two dinner meetings each month in which we invite guest speakers to address topics of interest to our members. We also have a charitable purpose where we support four key areas that include prevention of child abuse, community service, youth and education and Americanism on Johns and Wadmalaw islands. Through fundraising efforts and the support of our Exchange Club of Kiawah-Seabrook Foundation, the Club has been able to fund grants of more than $1,000,000 over the last ten years. We welcome anyone who is interested in meeting new people and helping their community.
Contact: Membership: Robert Cherry – rlcherry187@yahoo.com
Club President: Jack Wilson – jwilson@dunesproperties.com
Website: ks-exchangeclub.com
Seabrook Island Blood Drive
The Seabrook Island Blood Drive, in conjunction with the American Red Cross, has been in existence for many years here on Seabrook. There is always a need for blood and donation are easy and convenient to do here. Thanks to the Seabrook Island Property Owners Association, we have been able to offer “the Gift of Life” right here at The Lake House four times a year. Tidelines will provide information about the next scheduled drive.
Contact: Kathy Rigtrup, ktrup2@aol.com or 973-715-3005
–Tidelines Editors
(Image credits: charlestoncounty.org/departments/emergency-management/cert.php; COVAR; ks-exchangeclub.com; 123rf.com)