Lasting Impressions. Extraordinary Living HISTORICAL CHARM. NATURAL BEAUTY. SUMMER, 2016

Lasting Impressions SUMMER, 2016 HISTORICAL CHARM. NATURAL BEAUTY. Extraordinary Living Lasting Impressions Editor’s Letter Spring into summer, ...
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Lasting Impressions SUMMER, 2016

HISTORICAL CHARM. NATURAL BEAUTY.

Extraordinary Living

Lasting Impressions

Editor’s Letter

Spring into summer, and spring into something fresh: the first edition of “Lasting Impressions”!

be focusing energy on some of the seemingly intangible aspects about this wonderful Dataw life.

Lasting Impressions celebrates what is wonderful about Dataw: Her historic charm, natural This expansion is reflected in the new name: beauty and -- my favorite – extraordinary living. Lasting Impressions. We all agree that first impressions are important (so many of our The magazine debuted as “First Impressions,” members say “You had me at the causeway!”); (thanks to Steve Schmidt for the name, Joan we aim to grow that vision of a strong first Gilchrist for the concept, and Becky Sprecher impression into creating an extraordinary for the editorial genius!) as a marketing initiative Lasting Impression. to help homeowners who may want to sell soon and inspire others to keep their house “up.” Read on if you are interested in reading about Since then, the emagazine has continued to some of the area’s best grow and evolve and now encompasses a Farmer’s Markets, choosing wide range of topics, some of which will help paint colors, and the most you with your Honey Do list, and others that traveled grapefruit on Dataw will have you laughing, reminiscing or planning Island! your next outing. Here’s to a happy Summer! Although you will still find home tips, the real estate sales report, and marketing update, the staff - yes, we have a staff now! – will also Laura Q. McCarthy

Laura Q. McCarthy

FEATURES

(NEW: Click a page number to “jump” to that story!)

4 Little Billy’s Summer Vacation A P , B F B 5 Weaber’s Garden Paradise B T B 9 Southern Living: Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food B B 13 Up the Wall with Cockeyed Colors? B T J W 16 Property Lines 17 Marketing Wrap: Digital Dynasty L M C 19 Summer Calendar of Events oem

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y ecky Sprecher

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ON THE COVER “Backyard Butterfly” by Denise Sullivan

COVER CONTEST

Announcement

Would you like YOUR artistic creation to be featured on the next edition of Lasting Impressions? Each quarter, we will announce a theme and accept submissions for member art to be featured on the front cover. Images will be selected based on how well they meet the theme that month, along with how well they capture the beauty, history, and charm of Dataw.

FALL’S THEME: Porches & Parties Please submit images at a minimum of 1 mb and a maximum of 10 mb to [email protected]. Include your name as you would want it credited, as well as the title of your art. Submitting a piece for inclusion implies consent for Dataw Marketing to use your image in our marketing materials. Please note that all submissions will be acknowledged by reply email as “received” within two business days. If you do not receive a return email confirming your submission, please call (843) 838-3838, Etx. 8. Interested in contributing to Lasting Impressions? Please contact Laura McCarthy at (843) 838-3838, Ext. 8 or at [email protected].

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Little Billy’s Summer Vacation Grandpa has headed out of here Yes, he’s left us well behind He always spends his summers in Maine We miss him, but we don’t really mind. I spend my summers at his house on Dataw Counting my parents we’re a family of three. They both teach school in Ohio And I too have the summers free. People say the humidity is awful And that sometimes it’s hotter than Hell I’m not supposed to use that word So please promise me you won’t tell. The weather always seems perfect to me And for some reason the bugs are few The breeze just flows off the marshes And the sky almost always is blue. So why does Grandpa leave for the summer? He apparently likes his house in Maine. But me, I’ll take the Dataw heat Anytime over the cold and rain. Strangely I love the summers here I could not ask for more Give me my summers on Dataw It’s way better than the Jersey Shore.

Poem by Frank Biermann

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Weabers’ Garden Paradise by Tom Bixby; Photography by Patti Bixby Wait! Don’t throw that grapefruit seed away. Take it from Island Circle West resident John Weaber. He saved a seed from a grapefruit he was eating while studying for his bar exam in 1972 in Philadelphia. He germinated it in a Dixie cup then nurtured the young tree in a ceramic pot that he moved seasonally inside and outside his Pennsylvania home for thirty-two years, finally planting it permanently as the first member of his citrus orchard here on Dataw. This season, John says proudly, the tree which first bore fruit when it became a full time Dataw resident, will likely produce over one thousand grapefruits. The citrus orchard, which faces south to take advantage of the

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full sun, also contains Meyer lemon, orange, Key lime and tangerine trees. It is just one of several clearly defined and varied garden areas which are all part of the botanical garden-like property of John and Mickey Weaber. Their beautifully landscaped and meticulously maintained home has been shown off twice on the Dataw Island Garden Club’s tours. The Weaber’s backyard faces the

eleventh green on the Morgan River Golf Course and contributes significantly to the views from both the green and the fairway. A succulents garden area includes several prickly pear cactus plants which bloom with yellow flowers and produce fruit from which a jam can be made. Two or three times a year, nearly a dozen blooming variegated aloe plants display bright coral flowers that resemble honeysuckle blossoms. The succulents area also features a century plant which will eventually shoot out a 25 to 30 foot stalk topped by a flower growth that John says looks like a cell phone tower array. Another nearby garden area is about thirty feet long and planted along one side with deer

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resistant perennials including Bush Daisies, Mexican Heather and Lantana. On the other side, showing their colors toward the Weabers’ back porch are combinations of annuals, showy leaf plants such as Coleus and Caladium, and Vermillionaire, a very striking orange flowering shrub sometimes known as a “Firecracker Bush.” The plantings on both sides surround one of the Weabers’ most prized items, an Australian Fern Tree. John and Mickey fell in love with the one they saw while visiting the Biltmore botanical gardens in Asheville and had to have one of their own. John has carefully nursed the Fern Tree through four Dataw winters by covering it with table cloths when the temperature drops, and warming it with drop lights positioned under the cloth.

The seven-foot tall fern tree’s soft and finely articulated leaves spread out from the trunk like palm fronds to about an eight-foot diameter. Although it is rare for an Australian Fern Tree to survive long enough in our Lowcountry climate, it can grow to be twenty-five to thirty feet in height. Even the grass stands out as particularly vibrant and healthy, and it is no surprise to learn that it, too, has received special care and attention. Although conventional wisdom suggests that St. Augustine or Centipede grass strains do best in our latitude, John found through trial and error that Empire Zoysia gave the best results. Unable to locate sufficient supplies locally, John has started his own mini sod farm on the side of the

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house, some of which he has harvested for use by friends and neighbors. The deer can be a challenge, John admits, but strategic planting of deer resistant strains and limited use of an environmentally friendly deer repellent which smells like garlic have helped him stay a few steps ahead of the deer and keeps the Weabers’ beautiful showcase gardens “in the pink…” and yellow, red and blue. The amazing and varied array of plants and flowers is impossible to describe fully. Mickey bought a package of seventy plant tags to identify one of each variation and… she ran out of tags before she even got to the Pink Muhly Grass or the five Booted Palmetto Palms that the Weabers planted to replace non-native Washingtonian Palms that had grown too tall too trim inexpensively. Take a walk past their home or look over from the green on Morgan River number eleven to get the full effect. The Weabers are more than happy to share their knowledge about what has worked for them here on Dataw. John says that the Silky Gold Butterfly Bushes have been particularly “bulletproof.” One caveat: if you want to know how to plant and how to keep things growing, ask John. If you want to know what something is, ask Mickey.

Things we L VE!

Better Homes & Gardens “Plan a Garden” (http://www.bhg.com/plan-a-garden) Choose a home style and click and drag plants onto your very own landscape! Move them, grow them, choose by shade vs sun - you will have fun playing, guaranteed! This site does require sign up, but you can “uncheck” all the boxes for their email lists. Also, for a $10 upgrade you can upload a photo of your own home and further customize your landscape. Garden Compass App (see iTunes or Play Store) This app is a gardener’s best friend. You can get help identifying plants, troubleshooting diseases, and even get help with your “garden planner” to schedule tasks. The best part is, you are not relying on digital ID but are working with real people. Afer your first two freebies you can opt to “pay as you go” or upgrade to an unlimited plan for $36/year, which allows you to save all of your plants and provides a month by month schedule, as well as ongoing personal support.

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Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food by Becky Sprecher Summer in the South is the perfect time to enjoy the freshest of fresh produce. Visitors are often in awe of our veritable year-round growing season, and they always enjoy a great farm-to-table meal. Whether you have a green thumb and tend your own plot in Dataw’s Community Garden or you prefer to pick your greens from a farmer’s stand, our area is ripe with options.

Lasting Impressions visits the Port Royal Farmer’s Market, Dempsey’s, Barefoot Farm and Henry’s Farm... and you’ll want to, too!

Lasting Impressions took a tour of some of the area’s fun shopping options. Our first stop was the Farmer’s Market held in Port Royal, and everywhere we looked we saw how much people value farmers who are growing crops without chemicals and raising animals in a humane fashion. From non-GMO designer tortillas to delicate greens,

vegetables and fresh guinea eggs, our area is responding to the demand for healthy, fresh food. If you go on the Keegan-Filion Farms website (www. keeganfilionfarm.com) before Thursday, you can pre-order their pork or delicious chicken for pick-up on Saturday. If you call Michael and Gracie Hiers of G and M Farms at (803) 267-2025, you can order pasture raised lamb for pick up as well. For a full list of vendors at Port Royal Farmer’s Market, you can visit them at www.portroyalfarmersmarket.com

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Wandering amidst the cheese, pasta, bread and cookie makers caused us to work up an appetite, so we stopped by Bhanjee on the Beach’s booth for some of Kishan Shah’s gourmet Indian cuisine, taking home a curry lunch of eggplant and lentils over rice, a salad of fresh spinach leaves napped with a yogurt raita

dressing, and hot grilled naan bread. Lucky for us Datawites, the Port Royal market is just one of many options for acquiring farm-to-table foods. There are wonderful places right out our door that are doing the same thing. How can anybody resist heading out to Dempsey’s to pick strawberries, or visiting Henry Farms for their greens and vegetables? Barefoot Farms is nearby and carries seasonal produce as well. And if you really go crazy, you can “grow your own” right here on Dataw in our Community Garden. What makes farm-to-table eating so worthwhile? The egg lady put it best: “When you crack a really fresh egg into the skillet, the white doesn’t run off from you, it stays in a little puddle like it’s supposed to. The yoke sits up all full and ripe. And it tastes better than eggs from the grocery store. It’s just…fresher.” After you’ve finished your shopping, come back to the house with

your goodies and cook supper. Then take your glass of wine and go outside and look up at the sky and the stars—stars you can actually see because Dataw is a “dark sky” community. Life in the Lowcountry isn’t just lived—it’s savored. Share this experience with your friends next time they visit! It’s just another reason why Dataw is one of the premier gated communities in the South.

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Up the Wall d e Y with Cocke Colors? by Terea Jennings Wainwright

Cat’s Paw. Mouse’s Back. Racoon Fur. Arsenic. Pigeon. Pelt. Dead Salmon. Mole’s Breath. What’s this? A banquet for gorehounds? No… these are paint colors. PAINT COLORS! But, paint selection doesn’t have to be a hellish nightmare.

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Settle back, enjoy a whipped mocha (lovely shade) and mull over these practical suggestions. According to a Dataw Island Interior Designer, Shayne Gelbard, “Keep in mind that walls are the background for whatever you put in the space. If you are wavering, the best place to start is with neutral and near-neutral colors. This will help narrow your options, but give you a large variety of up-todate tonal choices. “Plus, adding a touch of gray to a color selection will ‘up’ the sophistication level, if you want a more formal space,” Shayne added.

But what about brighter colors that have been trending lately, you may wonder? More adventurous people are reaching beyond 50 shades of gray. Bright hues against a neutral background is a smart way to go. For those on the cutting edge, a citrusy chartruse wall color combined with plum or mauve, even gray or taupe can work. On the flip side, there is the concept of layering neutral-color décor with walls painted in intense, saturated colors like tansy green or crabby apple. Some experts say that paint colors in 2016 are trending in a pale pastel color palette, with hints

PHOTO: Accent walls are a great way to add contrast and dabble in smaller doses of brighter, bolder colors. If you want to define a living space, spotlight a treasured piece of artwork or focus on an architectural feature, an accent wall can add a striking, design element.

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of green, blue, purple and yellow. And, of course, there is the ever popular white – simply white, new white, elmira white, grand teton white, antique white, shaded white, james white and several hundred more.

of

Whites are graceful colors…and you do have a lot of choices. Got white? Here is another idea from Shayne: try interjecting an accent wall. Actually, your walls can be most any color for harmonious use of a wall in a contrasting color. It’s inspired. So, where do you go from here? The good news is that there are many resources available to you. Beaufort County is brimming with retail paint locations and friendly employees who want to help you. Plus, there is always the Internet. For fun, try the ColorSnap button. No matter where you find captivating colors – a gorgeous landscape, a shot of a stunning room, even a picture of a stuffed animal – ColorSnap will identify the shades you love and save them for later. Link: http:// snapyourcolors.com Also, you might want to consult this chart that matches Benjamin Moore Paint Colors to Farrow and Ball’s, for those of you not quite ready for F&B prices. Link: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/272256739951997524/ Hope floats in a colorful muddle. So relax and enjoy every splash of color, especially when someone else is doing the painting.

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Marketing Message

Property Lines Home sales continue to be strong, with median and average values increasing year over year. In May 2016, Dataw had 8 closings, 5 of which were homes. In May 2015, Dataw had 10 closings, 7 of which were homes. Year to date there have been 37 closings, compared to 27 as of this time last year.

We executed 7 Experience Dataw packages in May 2016 for a total of 46 year to date, compared to May 2015, when we had 13 and a year to date total of 62.

All in 2016, Logan Homes has completed 6 homes on Dataw so far, 2 of which have sold and closed. Two more spec homes are being built, and another is being built for a client.

The home sale price in May averaged $401,468, with the median price being $425,000. In May 2015, the home sale price average was $367,571 $500,000 and the median was $225,000. $450,000

Year Over Year Existing Home Sales: Average and Median Prices

$400,000 Year to date, the median home sale price for homes has been $425,000 in 2016 vs $350,000 $225,000 in 2015. $300,000

There are currently 85 homes $250,000 on the market and 59 lots, compared to 90 homes last $200,000 month. Ten existing homes $150,000 are under contract. $100,000

Dataw Island Marketing $50,000 is coordinating with local Realtors on an Open House $0 event for the summer. Homes and Club facilities will be available for tours; a date has not yet been confirmed.

2008

2009

2010

2011

Average Home Price

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016 YTD

Median Home Price

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Marketing Message In the “old ages” of advertising, targeting your audience meant broadcasting an ad during “Dynasty” to get your product in front of housewives and placing an ad in Popular Mechanics to reach their counterparts. While data regarding media consumption and reach has become much more sophisticated through services like Nielsen, it is still a bit like castnetting and hoping you come up with shrimp (or was it minnows you wanted? Gotta pick through the shrimp and the whatever-those-other-weird-things-are!)

While we do continue with targeted print campaigns in niche magazines/markets, today I want to talk a little about how digital media allows advertisers to “narrowcast” rather than broadcast. After carefully selecting your desired audience, media buys can be custom designed to specifically reach a qualified audience, and even eliminate other audiences (specifically, existing members) so as not to waste precious advertising dollars. Different media services accomplish this in different

DIGITALDynasty by Laura McCarthy

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Marketing Message

ways. Here I am going to touch on just a few that Dataw is currently using.

other ad buys and ideal-LIVING shows to help saturate markets that we are focusing on.

The first is Google AdWords. Google product called “AdWords” are how you buy pay-to-play search terms. Advertisers first determine their target audience and then research the frequency and cost of certain terms, which vary from five cents to as much as $50 per click paid by the advertiser.

Google also offers ad retargeting, which means we can pay for people who clicked through our ads to be “served” our display ads as they visit other websites.

Because the cost can be very high, it is important for advertisers to be diligent in ad targeting. For example, we may want to be found under a search for “golf” but it would be very costly; instead, it is smart to add additional keywords, known as “long tail” keywords. For example, rather than competing with Callaway, Ping and PGA for “golf,” we may choose the term “golf communities in Beaufort, SC.” This longer phrase is more specific, so not only will it cost less to purchase, but it will also deliver more targeted results (after all, we are not selling drivers to customers in the UK.) Which brings us to the second major targeting differentiator; Google also allows advertisers to target geographically the area from which users are searching. We use this in conjunction with

“Dark posts” are an excellent digital advertising platform available through Facebook. A dark post means that it does not appear on our main Facebook page, but is generated and served directly to people who fit our target criteria (demographics, geography, psychographics - market research based on attitudes, lifestyle, and aspirations). Through these selection criteria, we narrow the audience to people likely to be interested in us and we only pay to advertise to these individuals. Facebook also allows for “mirror campaigns,” meaning we can say “go find more people that are like ‘x’ group of people,” which it does through complex algorithms.

The last technique I’d like to touch on is “geofencing.” Geofencing allows advertisers to draw an invisible fence around a very specific area to target ads to cell phone users who pass through that “fence” while running an app. Once they are “captured,” ads will continue to be served through a wide ad network across many apps. Dataw recently used geofencing to target attendees of the RBC Heritage tournament in Hilton Head, for example, and we continued to serve those folks ads during their stay and up to about two weeks later. These are just a few innovative digital tools available to help us narrowcast our marketing efforts. We continue to test different messages and platforms, measuring as we go to hone in on the best performers and maximize our return. In an age of rapid change in the field of marketing, one thing is certain: the age of the digital dynasty is here to stay.



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Summer Fun ~ Calendar of Events

Having friends or family visit this summer? Here are some great events that they may enjoy! South Carolina Humanities Festival

June 9 - June 11

Inspire. Enrich. Engage. These are the stirring words summoning the promise of entertainment, learning and community interaction at the South Carolina Humanities Festival, due to unfold at many locations throughout Beaufort County June 9 – 11. Arts, cultural and educational organizations from Beaufort to Bluffton and Hilton Head will participate, presenting a wide variety of special events including lectures, films, tours, art shows, exhibits, performances and much more, around the theme of community collaboration, to demonstrate a sense of place. www.beauforthumanitiesfestival.com

Southeastern Piano Festival June 12 - 19

Each summer the Southeastern Piano Festival transforms the University of South Carolina School of Music in Columbia into a major cultural destination that draws in audiences and young piano talent from across the United States. For music lovers, the Festival offers nightly concerts by a rich lineup of world-class pianists. Twenty of some of the best precollege pianists on the piano scene today take part in a rigorous program that includes daily lessons with USC piano faculty, master classes with renowned guest artists and up to five hours of practice daily. The week’s events culminate with the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, adjudicated by a distinguished panel of judges. Winners of the competition receive cash awards and the opportunity to perform with the South Carolina Philharmonic. sepf.music.sc.edu

2016 Dataw Splash Tennis Tournament June 17 - June 19

Tennis is by far one of the most exciting spectator sports and the Dataw Splash will be no exception! It is one of the few summer coastal tennis events, is a USTA Sanctioned Tournament and promises to be the summer Splash of the season. If you enjoy spectating, we welcome you to join us in watching these excellent athletes play the game. To top it all off – admission is free. The Dataw Splash will take place Friday, June 17th through Sunday June 19th the action begins at 10:00am each day. Proceeds from this tournament will benefit Special Olympics through SOAR Special Recreation.

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Summer Fun ~ Calendar Annual Hunting Island Beach Sand Sculpting Contest June 18

Friends of Hunting Island is hosting its Annual Sand Sculpture Contest on the North Beach near the lighthouse. Free registration starts at 10 AM and prizes will be awarded at 2 PM. This year a new award category has been included—the “People’s Choice Award.” Everyone can vote for their favorite sculpture—$1/vote. A silent art auction will be held that includes original works of art, including paintings, prints, photographs, wreaths, and many other donated collectibles. Children will enjoy the face painting and tie dying provided by the park. Everyone will enjoy the steel band playing lively beach music. Lunch will be available. www.friendsofhuntingisland.org

See Elvis, Cash, Perkins and Lewis in ‘Million Dollar Quartet’

June 21 – July 30

A once-in-a-lifetime night in rock ‘n’ roll history happened on Dec. 4, 1956, when Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins came together in what would be one of the greatest impromptu jam sessions ever. “Million Dollar Quartet” is the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical inspired by the true story of this famed recording session, held at the now-iconic Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. The musical brings to light the extraordinary story of broken promises, secrets and the celebration of four friends — and it is both poignant and heartwarming. The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina is located at 14 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head Island, adjacent to the entrance to Shelter Cove Harbour.

Big River Film Festival

July 7 – 9

The Big River Film Festival is an International Film Festival for competing and new filmmakers that will be hosted at the Savannah Civic Center. Events include live screenings, live bands, networking sessions, cocktail hours, Master Classes, an Exhibit Hall and more. www.bigriverfilmfestival.com

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Summer Fun ~ Calendar of Events May River Shrimp Festival

July 14 - 15

Feast on local shrimp and other seafood during the annual May River Shrimp Festival in Bluffton. The event will feature local shrimp, food from many area food trucks & restaurants, live music, a craft beer garden, an arts & craft village, shrimp boat tours, a shrimp heading contest and more. www.blufftonsunsetparty.com

Beaufort Water Festival July 15 – 24

Since 1956, The Beaufort Water Festival has brought residents and visitors from Beaufort, Charleston, Savannah, Hilton Head Island and parts beyond together in a two-week long celebration of the coastal Lowcountry. The Beaufort Water Festival is comprised of more than two dozen individual events including sporting events, aquatic events, arts & crafts, music and of course, the best of Lowcountry cuisine. If you have had the opportunity to experience the Beaufort Water Festival, chances are that you have a pretty good story to go along with it. If you have been going every year since you were a child or going for the first time, your Water Festival memories will last a lifetime. www.bftwaterfestival.com

Savannah Bacon Fest

Sept. 2 – 3

It’s the 3rd Annual Savannah Bacon Fest, need we say more? Get ready bacon lovers because there will be select local restaurants serving up some mouthwatering bacon creations at Savannah’s Rousakis Riverfront Plaza. www.riverstreetsavannah.com

9 to 5 – The Musical!

Sept. 10, 11, 16, 17, 18

USCB Center for the Arts brings this Dolly Parton adaptation to life in what’s sure to be an energizing, foot-tapping throw-your-head-back and laugh performance. (Tickets not yet on sale.) www.uscbcenterforthearts.com

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