Action Heating & Air Conditioning in Daniel Island, SC

Bishop England girls’ basketball coach Paul Runey was expected to reach another coaching milestone on Tuesday, Jan. 18, when the Bishops played North Charleston. The veteran coach was aiming for his 750th career victory on Tuesday evening, after the paper went to print.

One thing was just as impressive: Runey’s team was gunning for its 114th consecutive region victory when the Bishops hosted the Cougars at Father O’Brien Gymnasium in a Region 8-AAA contest.

Ironically, North Charleston, which entered the game with a 2-8 record, was the last team to defeat the Bishops in region play. On Jan. 4, 2011, North Charleston posted a 67-54 victory over the Bishops when the schools competed in Region 6-AA.

Since then, the Bishops have averaged 66.4 points per game in region play while allowing only 29.7 points per game.

Runey, meanwhile, began the 2021-22 season as the state’s sixth winningest girls’ high school basketball coach, according to Palmetto’s Finest, the official publication of The South Carolina High School League.

Runey has moved up to No. 3 on the list as the Bishops posted nine victories in their first 15 games. Only Anne Long and Fred Senter have more career victories as girls’ high school basketball coaches in the Palmetto State.

Long coached at Dutch Fork and Spring Valley from 1974-2015 and logged 824 career victories. Senter coached at Mullins from 1961-2006 and posted 792 career wins.

Runey was at the helm of the program when the Bishops won their first state title during the 2011-12 season. The Bishops posted a 236-21 record from 2011-12 to 2020-21 and won six state titles to become the gold standard for girls basketball in South Carolina.

BE alum wins D3 football title

Remember Bishop England standout football lineman Adam Dobbins?

The Hanahan resident played on two state championship teams for coach John Cantey as the Bishops won back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012.

Well, he’s still winning championships as a football player. The 6-foot-1, 295-pounder was a member of the Mary Hardin-Baylor football team that recently won the NCAA Division III title.

In mid-December, Mary Hardin-Baylor posted a 57-24 victory over North Central (Illinois) in the NCAA Division III national championship game, which was contested in Canton, Ohio.

Mary Hardin-Baylor, located in Belton, Texas, finished with a 15-0 record. The Crusaders “claimed” a 20-0 record during the 2021 calendar year because the American Southwest Conference played a five-game spring schedule to compensate for not playing in the fall of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dobbins began his college career playing for Wheaton College, located in Chicago.

He is working on his MBA at Mary Hardin-Baylor, a private Christian university that was chartered by the Republic of Texas in 1845. It has nearly 4,000 students and awards degrees at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Dobbins was a three-year starter and two-time all-state selection on the gridiron at BE. He also lettered in track.

Carolina One Real Estate recently welcomed Katie Cummins, Alycia Pontrelli and Gina Sbertoli to the agency’s Daniel Island office located at 1101 St. Thomas Island Drive.

Katie Cummins is a native of Fairfax, VA and a graduate of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, VA with a degree in business management and a minor in entrepreneurship.

Prior to joining Carolina One on Daniel Island, Cummins worked as a freelance production coordinator in Los Angeles and was most recently an assistant property manager at a West Ashley apartment community.

Cummins is an avid reader and enjoys cooking, exercising, hiking and backpacking. Email her at katie.cummins@carolinaone.com or call her at (540) 424-3435.

Before selecting a career in real estate, Alycia Pontrelli was a Whole Foods Market manager for six years in both New Jersey and in Charleston.

A graduate of Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI, Pontrelli received a food science degree in baking and pastry arts.

Born in Denville, NJ, Pontrelli has lived in the Lowcountry for nearly two years and resides on Daniel Island.

In her free time she enjoys Charleston’s beaches and spending time with friends experiencing Charleston’s restaurants. Call her at (843) 901-6999 or email her at Alycia.pontrelli@carolinaone.com .

A newcomer to Charleston and Carolina One’s Daniel Island office, Gina Sbertoli was born in Wood Dale, IL and graduated from Illinois State University in Normal, IL with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Licensed in real estate since 2020, Sbertoli has already earned the following real estate designations: At Home with Diversity (AHWD), Second Home Property Specialist (RSPS) and GREEN, which relates to issues of energy efficiency and sustainability.

Prior to, choosing a career in real estate, Sbertoli worked in retail management where she led logistics and customer engagement teams.

Sbertoli has also had experience in hospital mentoring of children and with an EF4 tornado cleanup operation.

In her leisure hours she and her fiancé walk their dog on the beach and enjoy exploring Charleston.

Call her at (843) 822-6275 or email her at gina.sbertoli@carolinaone.com .

Founded in 1964, Carolina One Real Estate is a 13-office full-service company

For additional information, visit their website at www.carolinaone.com.

Nate Gowan didn’t have much time to celebrate when he was named the first coach of the Philip Simmons High School boys’ lacrosse team last winter.

The Iron Horses were fielding a team for the first time in the school’s brief history, and Gowan was selected to guide the program. He was named head coach on Jan. 20, 2021, and the first practice was held 12 days later.

But he had time to savor the success. The school fielded only a junior varsity team last spring, and the Iron Horses posted a 4-2 record in a season that was shortened by COVID-19.

“They were in the beginning stages down here,” said Gowan, a native of Buffalo, New York, who played lacrosse for Rutgers. “That’s why I came down here. I wanted to create something special, and something that lasts. I received good coaching when I was a player, and good coaching breeds good coaching.”

This spring, the Iron Horses will field their first varsity team and Gowan has much more time to prepare. Although the team is young and isn’t abundantly experienced, Gowan is ready for the challenge and to continue to grow the program.

“It helps to have last year to build off,” Gowan said. “Last year, we built the foundation. We just don’t want to be a varsity team. We want to be a program – and that includes both varsity and junior varsity.”

About 30-40 student-athletes have been working to prepare for the season, and Gowan expects the number to increase once the players who play winter sports join the team.

“A lot of the players who were on the junior varsity team will play on the varsity this year,” said Gowan, who anticipates fielding both JV and varsity squads. “I’m excited about the season, and having the opportunity to turn some heads. People really don’t know much about the team, who we are or what we’re about. We can turn some heads by winning some games.”

While the Philip Simmons program is new, some of the potential stars already have lacrosse experience at the club level. That includes Lucas Mullaney, Jacob Morris and Andrew McQuade, who also shone on the junior varsity team.

Mullaney is a goalkeeper who plays at a high level, and showed improvement every week last year. This spring, he could be one of the top keepers in the Lowcountry.

Gowan describes attacker Morris as the “quarterback” of the team who combines strength and athleticism and converts it into good shots and goals.

McQuade should split time between attack and midfield, a transfer from Bishop England.

The team will open its season Feb. 22 with a home game against Carolina Forest.

“We are excited to start the season,” Gowan said. “We are ready to win some games and turn some heads.

Berkeley County block grant program open

Berkeley County has announced applications for the 2022 Community Development Block Grant Program are now available throughout the month and must be completed by the end of January.

This year, funds will cover projects that improve access to public facilities and reduce slum and blight in residential areas. Berkeley County receives grant funds annually from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund activities that primarily benefit low- and moderate-income residents of Berkeley County. These funds are based on a formula for entitled cities and counties. Requests involving federal funds must serve low- and moderate-income areas or persons in unincorporated areas of Berkeley County.

For questions regarding grant funding, please contact Cecilia Anthony, grants specialist, at 843-719-4766 or cecilia.anthony@berkeleycountysc.gov.

All applications for grant funding must be submitted to and received by the Berkeley County Finance Department by 4 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 31. Applications can be found on the Berkeley County website at berkeleycountysc.gov.

Todd Buddin to serve as Berkeley Chamber of Commerce 2022 president

The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce announced the 2022 board of directors on Jan. 5. Todd Buddin, president and CEO of First National Bank of South Carolina, will serve as 2022 chamber president. “Serving as the president of the Berkeley Chamber’s Board of Directors is an honor,” Buddin said.

“In 2022, the chamber will be focused on growing and strengthening our businesses and building synergy throughout the business community. Our board of directors focus will be on developing and expanding programs and opportunities for our businesses, along with addressing and advocating the key issues that affect our members: workforce, infrastructure, education, training, and planned growth of our region,” he stated.

Also joining the board are Derek Harris, senior project manager/land and housing development at Brookfield Properties; Rod Whiting, vice president, public relations and communications at Trident Health; Marc Moore, hot mill manager at Nucor; Pete L. Bailey, president of C.R. Hipp Construction, Inc.; Jennifer Myers, southern division operations manager for Dominion Energy South Carolina; and A.J. Geffert, dealer group GM at Mercedes-Benz Van Centet-Baker.

They join sitting members Chris Stow, past president, maintenance and engineering manager at Nucor; Patrick Bosse, chief administrative officer at Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital; Kent Fonvielle, president of Cooper River Partners, LLC; Katya Gill, senior legal counsel at Volvo Car USA LLC; Steve Lattuca, CFO, REV at Federal Credit Union; Gary Plyler, regional business development manager at MAU Workforce Solutions; Ron Scherba, site operations manager at Google Data Centers; Denny Thompson, director of external affairs at Home Telecom; Talon M. Wagenknecht, construction manager/community development at Stantec; and liaison members: Rob Smith, attorney, Moore & Van Allen; and Ron Mitchum, executive director for BCD Council of Governments.

Berkeley County seeking feedback on redistricting

Berkeley County is seeking public input on its proposed redistricting plan by encouraging citizens to submit comments and/or questions online now through Thursday, Jan. 20.

Later this month, Berkeley County is scheduled to hold a second and final public hearing regarding redistricting and reapportionment of county council districts. The public hearing will take place during the regularly scheduled county council meeting starting at 6 p.m. on

Monday, Jan. 24, in the assembly room of the County Administration Building, located at 1003 Highway 52 in Moncks Corner.

During the public hearing, members of the public are invited to comment on the updated map, still in the preliminary stage.

Redistricting takes place every 10 years following the release of new data from the U.S. Census. District boundaries for federal, state and local elected offices are also redrawn to reflect shifting populations and other updated data from the census.

To view the online submission form or to download and view the redistricting map proposal, visit berkeleycountysc.gov.

Sydney Severance on a mission to bring an upright MRI to University Hospital

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Jan. 18, 2022) – A generous donor will match up to $600,000 in donations to Operation Upright, a fundraiser started by a Daniel Island teen to bring an upright MRI machine to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC Health) in Charleston, South Carolina.

In 2020, Sydney Severance went from being an active teenager and competitive tennis player to wheelchair bound. After months of debilitating pain and no answers, Sydney and her family found hope at MUSC Health in Charleston. Sunil Patel, M.D., chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, suspected that Sydney had Ehlers Danlos Syndrome with craniocervical instability (EDS/CCI). Patel explained that the condition is like trying to keep your skull attached to your spine with rubber bands.

Patel recommended Sydney get an upright MRI because traditional MRI studies don’t detect craniocervical instability. There isn’t an upright MRI available in the Charleston area, so the Severance family had to take on the added stress and cost of traveling, which can be extremely painful and beyond reach for many patients.

It often takes years, even decades, before patients receive a diagnosis of EDS/CCI. That’s why it’s so important to Sydney, who’s now in recovery, to bring this advanced diagnostic tool to MUSC in Charleston. “No one should have to settle for just barely surviving,” Sydney said. “Everyone should get a chance to live their life to the fullest.”

Her fundraiser, Operation Upright, has a goal of raising $1.2 million, the estimated cost to buy an upright MRI machine.

“A standup or upright MRI can scan patients in any position, allowing it to detect problems that can’t be seen when a patient is lying down. It’s also significantly more comfortable for patients who may be claustrophobic or overweight,” said Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., MUSC Health CEO and vice president for Health Affairs, University. “Making this advanced technology accessible to our patients is a top priority. We’re grateful to Sydney and the Severance family for helping to make that possible.”

A generous donor has committed to donating $600,000 if Sydney can raise the other half. So far, family and friends have given $187,480 through her fundraising page. To support Sydney and Operation Upright, visit fundraise.musc.edu/operationupright.

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 25,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, students and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.