Beauty is more than skin deep

04 Apr Beauty is more than skin deep

We are always excited to hear good things about our home town. Magazines, daily newspapers and travel writers frequently give Beaufort a “best” rating.  And that is a good thing.  They recognize our physical charm and beauty which I am sure attracts many visitors and new residents.

But when I read one of the stories I wonder if the writers, and therefore the readers, understand how special we are below the skin.  How strong our core is? How the community celebrates diversity of the past and present? How deep and broad our roots of history are spread? And how we often come together to support one another.

This past weekend, I had two reminders of some of what is special about Beaufort.

While there are fundraises for good causes each week and I hope we are all as generous as we can be.  At the same time there is even more as reflected in two of my stops over the past weekend.

The first was the 90+ students from the Duke University Symphony who rode a bus six or so hours each way to perform to raise funds for the Cancer Center at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Each of the students and the conductor was put up by a local family Friday and Saturday nights.   When not rehearsing, host families gave their weekend to show the students around, feed them as if they were home for vacation and learn a little about this special place we call home.  I was fortunate to host three of the young musicians at my home and it was a treat to share with and get to know them. Two returned from last year and I hope to see them again next year.

The second notable event was the retirement and birthday party for Beaufort’s very special Scott Gibbs who retired from his work at the SC Department of Social Services after 33 active years helping people in our community. Friends and family gathered for entertainment, roasts of Scott and a great dinner.  It was an incredibly well deserved event as Scott is a rock in his community volunteering regularly to share melodies from his sweet voice and the organizer of the Beaufort Gospel Choir.  The good new is that I hope we will be able to get Scott to stay involved in our community.