Winslow's Word: August 2024
With Tropical Storm Debby making landfall in Florida as a Category 1 Hurricane and news of it “stalling out” over the Charleston area and dumping huge amounts of rain, I urge all of our supporters and friends to monitor the news and stay safe. There will be significant flooding which underscores the importance of progressive resiliency planning and policies. When an extended period of time elapses without significant hurricane and flooding events, there tends to be a collective amnesia that sets in about the water risks that Charleston and the Lowcountry face. Thankfully, the city will be unveiling the comprehensive Water Plan later this month with a special City Council workshop. This plan represents the first “integrated” analysis of water risk across the entire city. We must understand the data and the associated risks before we can prioritize capital projects to proactively address them. We look forward to robust discussion about this plan and how to get started on implementation.
I am very excited to announce that we have hired Tracey Todd as our Director of Museums (a position that he has held on an interim basis since the spring). Tracey comes to HCF with deep experience as the former CEO of Middleton Place—his passion for history, education, and historic site management will be critical as we embark on important projects at both of our museum houses.
We are also thrilled to share that Patrick Arnold has joined the team as our Director of Advocacy—again, his depth of experience in land use policy and government relations throughout the Lowcountry will prove invaluable as we navigate several huge planning initiatives that will shape the Charleston region for years to come. To that end, we’ll be seeing movement on Union Pier, the Peninsula Plan, the zoning code rewrite, and peninsula perimeter protection this fall, so our advocacy portfolio will be super busy.
As fall approaches, all our calendars will begin filling up with great educational programs and fundraising events. The HCF calendar is no exception, and one event that we’ve been working on for many months is our first annual Fall Gala which will be held at the Aiken-Rhett House on November 7th. Building off the success of our 75th anniversary gala, this evening will celebrate the wide range of preservation initiatives that HCF engages in through our easement program, the revolving fund, Common Cause Loan Fund, museums, advocacy, and community engagement. We hope that you will join us!
Stay safe and dry,
Winslow