Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Hello and welcome to First Friday with Georgetown County. I'm Jackie Broach, Public Information Officer and our first guest today is Paige Sawyer. He is sort of new to us. He's our new Veterans Veteran Services Manager.
[00:00:22] Speaker C: Is that your official title, Veteran Service Officer.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: But if you have been in Georgetown for any length of time, you've probably seen page around or heard his name. He is.
I'd say you're pretty well known in our community as far as being active in veterans, veterans issues and things.
[00:00:40] Speaker C: Yes, ma'.
[00:00:41] Speaker A: Am.
[00:00:42] Speaker C: I moved to Georgetown in 1972 just after I'd gotten out of the army.
And I've been involved with Veterans affairs with the vfw, with the American Legion, the Veterans Day Parade, anything that has to do with veterans, I wanted to be there front and foremost and, you know, promote our veterans to our citizens.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: Well, it sounds like this is the perfect job for you then.
[00:01:05] Speaker C: Yes, ma'.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Am.
[00:01:06] Speaker C: It sort of fell into my lap and I'm honored to be the Veterans Service Affairs Officer for Georgetown County. It's, it's an honor.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: Well, tell me a little bit. Well, you started what, late last year
[00:01:20] Speaker C: in August of 2025? Yes, ma'.
[00:01:22] Speaker A: Am.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: OK. Last summer. And tell me a little bit about what you've been up to since then. I know that you have made the office look a little more welcoming.
[00:01:30] Speaker C: Yes, ma'. Am. The office had gone down in respect to the appearance that it should offer to the veterans and the public.
And we have been successful in making it more veteran friendly and friendly to the public, the family and friends of veterans who come. And I think if anybody comes and stops in to see us, they will see a big change not only with the appearance of the office, but also the office personnel and our response to their needs.
[00:01:59] Speaker B: Well, it certainly looks nice in there.
I can tell that you've done some, some, some work in there. But I bet that there's a lot of stuff that, you know, I'm not a veteran. People who are not veterans would not realize that you had been up to. So tell us a little about, about the things that, you know, not everybody has seen.
[00:02:19] Speaker C: Yeah, a veteran, you know, the Veterans affairs office not only serves veterans, but they serve the veterans family and their friends also.
And not only do we supply the wants and needs for the veterans, but a lot of times the veteran is in the hospital, the veteran may pass on and we need to serve the needs of the family and the friends.
And the VA has a real good history of serving family and friends of veterans in the last several years. Not only here in Georgetown, but throughout the state and the nation, the Veterans affairs office has become more responsible and responsive to the needs of the veterans. And I thank the state and federal government for doing that. And like I say, I'm honored to be in that position here in Georgetown County.
Georgetown county probably has just under 5,000 veterans.
So we see their needs once every day, every week, every month. And it's amazing what all the Veterans affairs office offers to the veterans and their families.
[00:03:27] Speaker B: Well, tell me a little about that.
[00:03:30] Speaker C: Well, the veterans, they will come in.
[00:03:32] Speaker B: We.
[00:03:32] Speaker C: I just left and there was a veteran there. He is appealing his decision. That was made by the Veterans affairs office, not our office, but the Veterans affairs, and we are helping him with that process.
We have a lady coming in this afternoon. Her husband died several weeks ago. We're going to assist her with the burial expenses. With the tombstone. The Veterans affairs offers a free.
No, no paid tombstone for the veteran and the veterans family. They get to choose an upright tombstone or one that is flat on the. On the cemetery.
[00:04:09] Speaker B: I had no idea. What a wonderful service.
[00:04:11] Speaker C: And the.
It's just I'm. I learned something new every day about what all is offered to the veterans and the veterans. We appreciate the veterans. Only 1% of the entire population of our country are veterans.
So it's a small percentage. But the Veterans affairs office in Washington is the second largest department in the government.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: Oh, really?
[00:04:38] Speaker C: Yes, ma'.
[00:04:39] Speaker A: Am.
[00:04:39] Speaker C: Wow. Right. Under the Department of Defense.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: Wow. Well, if it's 1%, like overall for the nation, 5,000 people out of about 60,000 residents or so, we have a pretty good population.
[00:04:52] Speaker C: The Veterans affairs office is.
And I don't mean to compare it to an industry, but in a way it is like an industry because it provides disability compensation, it provides compensation, hospitalization for veterans, and it produces a financial income to the veterans who contribute to Georgetown County. So it is like a small industry.
[00:05:19] Speaker B: Okay.
Well, I am so glad that we have you here at the helm and that you are keeping things running. Is there anything coming up that you would like for veterans to know about?
[00:05:30] Speaker C: Yes, ma', am. We've got something. This weekend.
Saturday, March 7, is the day of the Fox. Francis Marion, Living History Day. And Francis Marion, he was one of our earliest veterans. And we're going to honor and pay respect to him and our patriots who helped us defend our country and make us an independent nation. From Great Britain. So it will be at Francis Marion park on Saturday from 10 until 4. We invite our listening audience to come and participate. Bring your children there will be activities for children. And it's going to be a fun day and a learning day also.
[00:06:06] Speaker B: Well, that is wonderful. And that is part of the SC250 initiative?
[00:06:11] Speaker C: Yes, ma'.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: Am.
[00:06:11] Speaker C: Part of the Georgetown County State, South Carolina 2 50th.
I can't remember the. It's a 250th anniversary. It's a different name, Sester Centennial or something like that, but it's the 250th. I can remember numbers more so than I can words.
[00:06:30] Speaker B: Yeah. So we'll be having a lot of stuff like that leading up until July 4th.
[00:06:33] Speaker C: Yes, ma'. Am. Oh, yeah, July 4th. We're going to have Carolina Week. It will start June 28th and run through July 4th. So there will be activities throughout that entire week when we celebrate Carolina Days
[00:06:46] Speaker B: and check our website and find more information about upcoming events as part of SC250.
Paige, is there anything else you'd like to tell us?
[00:06:54] Speaker C: No, ma'.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: Am.
[00:06:55] Speaker C: I appreciate you having me this morning, and hopefully the word is getting out about the Veterans affairs Office and the 250th coming up.
[00:07:01] Speaker B: I certainly hope so. Thank you so much for being here.
[00:07:04] Speaker C: Thank you, ma'.
[00:07:05] Speaker A: Am.
[00:07:07] Speaker B: Next up, I am happy to welcome again Beth Goodall, our director of Parks and Recreation. Beth, you guys always have so much going on, but today we're talking about a new initiative. And I think you just said that you're. We're the only ones in the state doing it right now, right?
[00:07:23] Speaker A: I think so. We got this initiative or the idea for this initiative called GCCOM, when the SC7, that group met with us or came through last year on their South Carolina expedition.
And at that time, Yuka Greer was with the South Carolina Heritage Corridor Group.
She was planning, or they were planning to do calming spots across the state. And so we said, sure, we want to be part of that.
And so you can actually lead a forest bathing session in downtown Georgetown as forest bathing.
[00:08:04] Speaker B: Now, does that mean that I hop into a creek and.
[00:08:09] Speaker A: Absolutely not. So forest bathing, it actually began in the 1980s. It's a Japanese practice.
It is actually just about being intentional in nature, being outside.
It's about unplugging from the devices, stress relief, all of those things, things that you find being outdoors, you don't even have to be in a forest. And the session we did was actually in downtown Georgetown. So just find a spot, be still, be calm, be peaceful, unplug from the device, and just enjoy a few minutes of peace.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: So I'm bathing myself in Calm and sunshine and bird song and good vibes.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:08:57] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:08:58] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:08:59] Speaker B: I can see how that would be calming.
[00:09:01] Speaker A: Absolutely. And you can do it anywhere. And that was the beauty when the whole initiative.
[00:09:06] Speaker B: I have a three year old at home. You might be able to do it anywhere.
[00:09:09] Speaker A: You can do it and you can. That's actually the beauty of this whole initiative. You can actually teach her from a young age to go outside and to listen to the bird sound, to observe. You don't even have to close your eyes. You can watch, watch. Also you can visually observe, see what she see what she sees as part of the initiative too. So you can introduce her how. On how to be intentional in nature. Okay.
[00:09:37] Speaker B: So G.C. calm. And we, of course have lots of wonderful spots where you can go and just sit and absorb nature.
So tell me a little about how we're, I guess, rolling out this initiative.
[00:09:49] Speaker A: We absolutely do. So Parks and Recreation has been over the past several years really intentional on developing outdoor recreation. We are so blessed in Georgetown county and in South Carolina with so many beautiful natural resources. And so we've really been intentional on trying to get people outdoors, get people to appreciate where we live, the beautiful natural resources we have, whether that's paddling, just being outside, hiking, camping, all of those wonderful things that are right here in our own backyard. So we took a look at. Well, in preparation for the SC7 visit and for the the whole South Carolina initiative, we took a look at some of our most special resources. And we identified five beautiful calming spots within county areas.
So they've been designated GC Calm spots. And they're all across the county, starting in Murrell's Inlet. One is at Morse park overlooking the water, very peaceful there. One is at Stables park overlooking our beautiful Carolina Bay, which is a 36 acre Carolina Bay and the only one that we know about in Georgetown County.
[00:11:03] Speaker B: Wow. Yeah.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: Beautiful area. If you haven't seen that, then you can move on down to Georgetown. There will be one at Eight Oaks park, there's one at Rocky Point, and then there'll be one at Pea House Landing out off of 41.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: Okay, great.
[00:11:18] Speaker A: Yeah. Spread across the county.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: But again, I can do it anywhere.
[00:11:22] Speaker A: You can absolutely do it anywhere. Beautiful spots in downtown Georgetown. You can do it in your own backyard.
You really don't need anything other than to go outside.
Just connect with nature wherever you are. You don't have to have a lot of time. You don't have to have any equipment other than disconnect from the device, which is hard sometimes. It's very Hard Take five minutes. Just disconnect from that device. Just be intentional about what you see, what you hear, and just enjoy that moment of peace and calm.
[00:11:58] Speaker B: You brought in a sign with you. Is that handy?
[00:12:02] Speaker A: I did, I did bring in a sign. We also have a small mock up of the sign if that's a little easier.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: So, yeah, and it's, it guides people through. It's got this adorable little green calm squirrel.
[00:12:12] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
So forest the squirrel is actually our mascot. So of course we have to bring a squirrel into the equation. So we designed a calmer squirrel. So we haven't really named this squirrel
[00:12:30] Speaker B: yet, but we, I mean, it can be forest. It's just a calm of forest.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: So anyway, of course we have to have a squirrel. But the signs will be at the calm spots and they'll just give you a little bit of information on how to forest bathe or how to enjoy a calm spot.
Just how to be mindful, how to breathe, engaging your senses. Just little reminders of how to reduce stress. And that's what the whole practice was developed for, for in the first place.
There are studies out that, that have demonstrated and measurable outcomes of just being intentional. And being outside does reduce blood pressure, it does reduce stress. I mean, there's, there's so many studies out that show these things. Those of us who love being outside, we know that and we really want to get people just to realize that all you gotta do is go outside. Yeah.
[00:13:31] Speaker B: Because of course there's major health benefits of all those things you mentioned.
[00:13:34] Speaker A: Absolutely. And once you've spent a little time outside, maybe then you'll move to the next step and join us on a hike or a paddle or just a walk in the woods.
[00:13:44] Speaker B: Because you do still have your goat program. Georgetown Outdoor Adventure Trails. And I have the app on my phone. I've been, I'm on a day 35 streak, 35 day walking streak. So I'm happy with that. But I can see everybody else's activity. And you guys have a lot of people who are really involved and engaged.
[00:14:04] Speaker A: We have a whole lot of people. It's absolutely free. The goat program, Fit goat and then iron goat. You can earn different levels depending on how far you walk, paddle or bike. It is completely self reporting. You just sign up. We send you the link to the.
The adventure hound program where you track it and you can see all the other challenge hound. Yes, send. You can see all the other participants, which is kind of a little extra momentum sometimes to get above that next person.
If you're competitive at all. And you earn some great prizes. We have shirts for different. For each of the levels. Fit goat shirts are coming out. Then iron goat shirts, if you've earned that level.
So it's a. It's a whole lot of fun. Last year we had 92 participants. They did 47, 000 miles.
[00:14:54] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:14:54] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: So that's practically a mile for every single person in Georgetown County.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Yes. Really incredible. And that. That is the goal. Just get people outside, get people moving, and just have a good time outside in Georgetown county and beyond.
[00:15:09] Speaker B: My favorite part of the app is that when you do a walk, you know, sometimes you're walking around your yard, whatever it takes to get the walk in. But a lot of people will go walk the trails and stuff. And you can post pictures of your walk. And that's my favorite part. I love to look at the pictures of the different places where people have been walking and exploring.
[00:15:26] Speaker A: Absolutely. And then we introduced our little mini forests. We have a few of them here.
Teeny, tiny little forest. Yes, we have tiny little forests. Those are a little added surprise sometimes that you might find out and about in the trail, on the trails, and maybe just out and about wherever you might be in Georgetown County. But they're hidden around the county and there may be some contests going on for where you take a picture with the mini forest and you're welcome to keep the baby forests or just take pictures with the baby forest. So we're going to have a little bit of fun with those over the next year.
[00:16:05] Speaker B: Well, that's really exciting. I. I love goat. I love all the cool things that you guys are up to lately.
That's not all you're doing, though. You've also still got the regular sports and things. I think we're signing up right now for youth track.
[00:16:18] Speaker A: Youth track is signing up. Baseball, softball, just finished.
Numbers are really up for track. They were up last year for track, and they're. They're blowing those numbers away.
Really excited about that.
Lots and lots of other programs, exercise programs, walk with ease programs, bingo programs across the county that are really becoming quite large.
So lots going on no matter what you're interested in doing. And then, of course, We've got a St. Patty's Day. Paddle and float coming up. Floating hike coming up.
Lots of outdoor stuff's coming up now that the weather's kind of getting a little bit nicer to be outside, so. So much is going on.
[00:17:03] Speaker B: You really do have something for every age group, every activity level. I had the pleasure of going and taking some pictures at the Valentine's Day party for your senior centers. Senior centers last month and they had such a great time. I just love watching them enjoy themselves.
[00:17:21] Speaker A: We have a great time with our seniors and they are a very active bunch. Our, our senior centers are not what you would think of when you say senior centers. Oh no.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: They're dancing and singing. They, they crowned their king and queen Queen.
[00:17:35] Speaker A: They're very talented. They're a whole lot of fun.
We also will be shortly opening our first county dog run at Stables park and probably another one or two of those may be coming up. But that is very exciting. Dogs and their people will be incorporated very shortly into the goat program. So there will be some dog and their people hikes. Dogs are always welcome. Leashed dogs are always welcome on the trails. But there will probably be coming out real soon a division for the dog and people fit goats and our goats.
So we, we really want to have some something for those folks because we, a lot of us are are pet folks and, and dog folks. So we really understand that bond as well. So so now we'll have to get
[00:18:27] Speaker B: like little bandanas that say go for the.
[00:18:29] Speaker A: Absolutely. So stay tuned. Stay tuned for that. So we're always trying to find new, fun, different things for, for our audience and for people that, that want to be part of of outdoor recreation or just recreation in general in Georgetown County. All right.
[00:18:46] Speaker B: Well, Beth, thank you so much. Thank you for everything you do for our county and thank you for joining us. Thank you.
That's it for this month's first Friday with Georgetown County. Thanks so much for joining us. As always, I'd like to bring you a list of important events to note coming up this month.
Tomorrow on March 7th, don't miss the third annual Francis Marion Living History Day in the city of Georgetown. From 10am to 4pm the 2nd South Carolina Regiment will present live firing demonstrations while Webster's 13 Regiment of Foot Royal Forces will be in hot pursuit of the evasive swamp fox Francis Marion. For more information about this free event, please call Ken Beasler at 704-617-5045 or Paige Sawyer at 843-546-3745. The Bureau of Aging Services is holding a bingo blowout on Friday, March 13th at the Howard Senior center in Georgetown. Their bingo caller will lead participants through multiple rounds of the classic game with plenty of chances to win big. For more information, call 843-545-3532.
As always, the library has many wonderful events going on throughout the month. Also, did you know that we've recently changed how library events are advertised on our website. In addition to one main calendar which lists all of the libraries of the events, each of our individual library branches now has its own calendar that lists just the events for that branch. So you can choose the calendar which best suits your interests. You can subscribe to email or text notifications on our website gtcounty.org Georgetown County Council meets twice this month on Tuesday, March 10th and Tuesday, March 24th. Both meetings are scheduled for 5:30pm in County Council Chambers.
Planning Commission is scheduled to meet on Thursday, March 19, also at 5:30pm in council chambers. However, the meeting may be canceled due to lack of applications. Please check our website for more information.
The Board of Elections and Voter Registration will meet at 5:30pm on Wednesday, March 11 at the office of Elections and Voter Registration on Hazard Street.
The Library Board will meet on Thursday with March 19th at 5:30pm at the main branch in Georgetown.
Lastly, county offices, the Landfill and recycling centers will be closed on Friday, April 3rd in observance of Good Friday.
For more events, please Visit our website gtcounty.org Join us next month for another First Friday with Georgetown County
[00:21:30] Speaker A: Sam.
