Action Heating & Air Conditioning in Kiawah Island, SC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – A Lowcountry chef was named one of South Carolina’s ‘Chef Ambassadors’ during a special ceremony at the Statehouse Wednesday morning.

Gov. Henry McMaster was joined by the Commissioner of Agriculture, Hugh Weathers, and South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Director Duane Parrish as they appointed three chefs to serve as South Carolina Chef Ambassadors for 2022.

These chefs prepare dishes using Certified South Carolina produce, meats and seafood, support local farmers and highlight the state’s rich food traditions.

“South Carolina Chef Ambassadors do South Carolina a great service by shining a light on our state’s destinations, signature dishes and locally grown foods, and their own incredible talents,” said Gov. McMaster. “We’re proud to have these three great chefs represent our state.”

Among them is Executive Chef John Ondo of The Atlantic Room on Kiawah Island.

Chef Ondo grew up playing in the tidal creeks of the Lowcountry, according to the governor’s office. It’s something he said left an indelible mark on him as he has spent his 20-plus-year culinary career drawing inspiration from the area’s fields and waterways.

It was here in Charleston where Chef Ondo developed long-lasting relationships with local farmers and fishermen. He often stops by to visit and discuss how crops are coming in and to pick up produce that will appear on plates that same night at The Atlantic Room.

“With his wry sense of humor and affable nature, Chef Ondo is a recognizable spokesperson for Lowcountry foodways,” said Gov. McMaster’s office.

Ondo accepted the honor along with fellow Chef Ambassadors, Chris Williams of Roy’s Grille in Lexington, and Haydn Shaak of Restaurant 17 at Hotel Domestique in Travelers Rest.

“Man, had y’all told me all these cameras were gonna be here today I would have brushed my hair,” Ondo joked as he stepped before the podium, just seconds before First Lady Peggy McMaster reached up to brush his hair with her hand.

“This is a huge honor to be able to represent my home state and the hard-working farmers and fishermen and shrimpers, just producers of Carolina products,” he said. “This is a huge honor and I’m happy to be here.”

The governor’s office said the Chef Ambassadors, a program now in its eighth year, will represent South Carolina at food festivals, media events and other forums.

The program was created in 2014 to highlight the state as a top culinary destination. It unites agribusiness and tourism, two of the state’s largest industries, which together contribute tens of billions of dollars to the state’s economy each year and account for hundreds of thousands of jobs statewide, according to Gov. McMaster’s office.

“These three talented Chef Ambassadors honor South Carolina’s diverse culinary heritage and local ingredients,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers. “Chefs connect with and promote our state’s farmers and help teach us all how to eat fresh, local food in season.”

“Our hospitality industry has been on a rollercoaster ride since March 2020,” said Duane Parrish, Director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism. “From shifting to a to-go model almost overnight, to navigating workforce challenges, to welcoming an influx of visitors as tourism began to rebound – they’ve really seen it all in a very short timeframe. The Chef Ambassador program highlights and celebrates some of the very best of what this resilient and tenacious industry has to offer, and helps showcase just how significant and extraordinary our culinary scene is in the Palmetto State.”

To learn more about the program and past Chef Ambassadors, visit discoversouthcarolina.com/chef-ambassadors.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- Two North Atlantic right whales were spotted recently off of Kiawah Island, brining the number of sightings of the endangered animal in Lowcountry waters over the past year to 19.

JR McCroskey and his group of recreational fisherman saw the whales about 15 miles off of Kiawah Island on Christmas Eve.

The sighting was confirmed to News 2 by The Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network (LMMN).

The group first saw the baby come up for air, and couldn’t quite make out what it was.

“I see what I thought was a piece of debris. As we got closer, I noticed some blowing going on kind of like dolphins do. I thought it might be a manatee,” said McCroskey.

When the mother whale surfaced, they realized what they were seeing.

“When a whale comes up that’s twice the size of the boat you’re in then you know exactly what you’re dealing with,” said McCroskey.

According to the LMMN, right whales are critically endangered, with less than 400 reported worldwide.

The most common dangers to right whales are boat propellers and fishing nets. Laws state that vessels must remain 500 yards away from them for protection.

“As soon as we got a picture of (the mother) and a video of her we pulled back and gave them the space they needed,” said McCroskey.

There are multiple documented incidents of whales being seriously injured after collisions with boats.

Given the dangers posed by humans, right whales tend to stay further offshore.

“While it’s not uncommon for right whales to be offshore this time of the year, it’s extremely rare to spot them because there are about 100 breeding females and they typically stay offshore,” said Lauren Rust, the founder of the LMMN. “Your chances of seeing them are greater offshore on a boat, but unlikely from shore.”

Rust says that the population is declining because there are very few breeding females and they can only reproduce once every three to four years.

“With approximately 100 breeding females, reproducing on different years, we see between zero and 25 new calves a year. But sadly, most years, more adults die than new calves are reproduced putting them in a negative decline,” said Rust. “I suspect we will see their extinction in our lifetime.”

McCroskey says that he wants to make sure people realize that right whales are living and calving in the waters from South Carolina to Florida until April.

“Just spreading the word out to the recreational fisherman that these whales are out there and you need to be conscientious because they can wreck a boat,” said McCroskey.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Jan. 13, 2022) –The Medical University of South Carolina Foundation has received a commitment of $1 million from the Town of Kiawah Island in support of MUSC Health’s Sea Islands Medical Pavilion.

“We are grateful to the Town of Kiawah for its major investment in our mission and their ongoing partnership to help us enable the right care, in the right place and at the right time,” said David J. Cole, M.D., FACS, MUSC president. “This donation will make a significant difference as we seek to improve the well-being of the Sea Islands community, expand access to appropriate care, and bolster connectivity to the state’s only comprehensive academic health system when patients require the most complex care.”

The donation has been designated for a healing, restful green space and garden immediately adjacent to the new facility. Construction on the Sea Islands project is expected to begin in early 2022 and conclude in fall 2023.

“The Town is proud to invest in MUSC's Sea Islands Medical Pavilion and excited about the emergent care services it will provide to Kiawah, Seabrook, Johns and Wadmalaw Islands, and the broader community,” said Town of Kiawah Mayor John D. Labriola. “Our geography has always been a challenge and concern. This new facility will make a crucial difference in life-threatening emergencies and provide the Sea Island communities with greater ease of mind. We are grateful to MUSC for their pursuit of this project, to Kiawah Partners for donating the land, and to the other community partners who have made this possible.”

During the next five years, double digit population growth is anticipated in the Sea Islands community. This growth, along with the islands' geographic isolation, demographics, and community health profiles, has created an urgent need for additional health care services in this part of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

The area also accommodates a large seasonal population of tourists, many of whom have trouble navigating local health care services.

To meet this growing need, MUSC Health is building a new medical facility on Johns Island in the immediate vicinity of Kiawah and Seabrook islands. The facility will provide residents and visitors alike with convenient and rapid access to MUSC Health’s emergency care services, select outpatient services, and some of the nation’s top providers in primary and specialty care.

“People living in this area have to travel 30 or 45 minutes to reach the nearest hospital, sometimes more depending on traffic. That’s a big problem for someone having a stroke or cardiac event,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., MUSC Health CEO and vice president for Health Affairs, University. “This new facility brings that care directly into the community. We’re extremely grateful to the Town of Kiawah and Kiawah Partners for helping to make that possible.”

The project was made possible in part by Kiawah Partners, which donated six acres of land to the Medical University Hospital Authority (MUSC Health), valued at $4.85 million. The project is estimated to cost $24 million. Of that amount, MUSC is working to raise $15 million in private support.

The 22,740-square-foot facility will be located at 1884 Seabrook Island Road, near Bohicket Marina. The ED will include four exam rooms, two trauma rooms, imaging and lab services and a helicopter pad. The medical office will offer primary and specialty care. A telemedicine network will connect the entire facility to MUSC Health providers in downtown Charleston for additional care and consultation, if needed.

In mid-June 2021, McMillan Pazdan Smith (MPS) was chosen to design the project. MPS is also one of two architectural firms working on designs for a new MUSC Health hospital in rural Williamsburg County.

Renderings of the Sea Islands medical pavilion are available upon request.

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About the MUSC Foundation

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Foundation was chartered in 1966 as a charitable educational foundation to support the education, research, patient care and other programs at the Medical University. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, contributions to which are tax-deductible.

Since its beginning, the MUSC Foundation has encouraged such worthwhile academic enterprises as endowed professorships; scholarships; the acquisition and development of campus facilities to serve student, teaching, research or clinical needs; and awards in honor of academic excellence. In addition, it has encouraged achievements in biomedical research.

The Foundation is governed by a 31-member board of directors. The president of the Medical University is an ex-officio, non-voting member of the board. Three members of the MUSC Board of Trustees also serve on the board. The remaining 27 at-large directors are not directly affiliated with the university. Five are alumni of MUSC. The foundation’s funds are invested and managed by professional money managers selected by the foundation’s Investment Committee. This committee uses a professional investment advisor to assist in evaluating its managers.

About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is home to the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state’s only integrated academic health sciences center, with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. MUSC brought in more than $327.6 million in biomedical research funds in fiscal year 2021, continuing to lead the state in obtaining federal and National Institutes of Health funding, with more than $220 million. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safe patient care while training generations of compassionate, competent health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Patient care is provided at 14 hospitals with approximately 2,500 beds and five additional hospital locations in development, more than 300 telehealth sites and nearly 750 care locations situated in the Lowcountry, Midlands, Pee Dee and Upstate regions of South Carolina. In 2021, for the seventh consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $4.4 billion. The nearly 24,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.

The ocean-hugging upscale resort of Kiawah Island reached a new milestone in 2021 with more than $1 billion in property sales.

Kiawah Island Real Estate, which handles the majority of sales in the gated community, ended the year with $795.7 million in sales plus others that will close in the new year for a total of $1 billion in sales, a 40 percent increase from 2020.

When sales by other agencies are factored in, the total climbs to $1.05 billion, up 30 percent overall from the roughly $808 million recorded the previous year, according to Kiawah Island Real Estate.

Last year, the agency saw 493 closings, a 21 percent increase from 2020 and a 165 percent jump from 2019.

The island as a whole reported 734 closings, up 12 percent and 130 percent from the prior two years, respectively.

The record-breaking year included the most expensive residential property to change hands in the Charleston area to date. The Vanderhorst Mansion, set on 16.5 acres on the edge of the Kiawah River and dating to the early 1800s, sold June 24 for $20.5 million.

Kiawah Island Real Estate also is handling sales and reservations for two other developments set to hit the market this year.

The Burn at Cassique will offer seven homesites along the Tom Watson-designed golf course at the private Cassique Golf Club. Pricing will be available in late January.

On the inland side of town, the agency is handling reservations for Seafields at Kiawah Island, a luxury community for the 62-plus group.

The $180 million development, which broke ground last September, will feature 90 luxury one-, two- and three-bedroom residences, as well as 16 assisted-living units and continuing care services. It also will include a first-of-its-kind, in-house medical clinic operated by the Medical University of South Carolina.

The development is being built off of Seabrook Island Road near Freshfields Village Shopping Center. Construction is scheduled for completion by the fall of 2024.

As of early January 2022, 43 percent of the independent living units had been reserved.

NC deal

A Charleston-based real estate company will develop an $80 million grocery-anchored project in North Carolina.

Adams Property Group will build a 48,387-square-foot Publix, 19,800 square feet of retail space and a 290-unit apartment complex in West Edge in Winston-Salem.

Construction is expected to start in a couple of months. Adams is handling the leasing.

As he jetted home that night from Kiawah Island, Phil Mickelson popped the cork on a favorite vintage and tapped out a message on his phone.

“Life is good,” Mickelson wrote, and it was so.

Mickelson wrote the golf story of 2021 — and one of the best golf stories of all time — on the wind-swept Ocean Course on Kiawah Island in May. The 50-year-old, who was eight years removed from his last major title, became the oldest major champion in the sport’s history by winning the 103rd PGA Championship on Pete Dye’s punishing 7,800-yard layout.

The six-time major champion played it cool all week, moving at a deliberate pace with his brother Tim on the bag, and hiding his emotions behind a pair of ever-present shades.

But there was no playing it cool for the thousands of spectators at Kiawah. After a year in which PGA Tour events were sparsely attended due to COVID-19, the floodgates seemed to open at Kiawah, especially when Mickelson emerged as a contender against a field stuffed with younger stars.

Mickelson fans shouted their support during the week, climbing into trees to get a glimpse of their hero and following him in droves.

On championship Sunday, the dam broke as Mickelson marched up the 18th hole toward victory. He and playing partner Brooks Koepka were swallowed up by thousands of delirious fans who flooded the 18th fairway in a memorable scene.

“Certainly one of the moments I’ll cherish my entire life,” he said after the triumph. “I don’t know how to describe the feeling of excitement and fulfillment and accomplishment to do something of this magnitude, when very few people thought that I could.”

Mickelson’s unexpected victory thrilled his competitors, as well.

“It was like the Phil that I remember watching just when I turned pro and it was great to see,” said South African Louis Oosthuizen, who tied for second with Koepka. “I mean, what an achievement to win a major at 50 years old, and he deserves all of that today.”

Phil’s highest finish on the PGA Tour for the rest of 2021 was a tie for 17th, though he won three times on the Champions Tour. The week after the PGA Championship, he missed the cut.

“But, I won the PGA,” he said with a grin. “So …”