Pause, Reflect and Be Grateful

This time of year is, for the Community Foundation, one of significant reflection. As our new fiscal year begins the first of July, we are saying goodbye to some long-time trustees at the same time we welcome some wonderful new community members to the fold. Before we share our joy in greeting the new members of the Community Foundation family, we must first consider the accomplishments of those whose terms are ending, and remember to offer our sincere gratitude for all they have done and for what they mean to the organization.

Beryl LaMotte will be seriously missed on our board. She was born and raised in South Africa, came to North America early in her adulthood, and spent a number of years in the health care industry. While working as an administrative assistant to the Chief of Surgery at Roosevelt Hospital, she met her husband, the late Dr. Peter LaMotte. After visiting Hilton Head Island in October 1970, Beryl and Dr. LaMotte bought a home on the island and two years later moved here and raised their three children. They were principal players in the establishment of Hilton Head Hospital. On September 11, 1974, Beryl became a U. S. citizen. Beryl’s community involvement has been mostly in helping children. With her children in school at Sea Pines Academy, she became involved with the school and became the first chairman of the “Just Say No’ organization of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton. For 12 years, she served on the board of Family Resources which consisted of a foster care program, school programs in Beaufort County for classrooms, individual and in house family counseling, Genesis House, a home for troubled boys and a girls home in Pineland, SC. This was later re-established in Bluffton as “Spring Cottage” a place of new beginnings. She also has served on the board of the Oxford Institute, a residential substance abuse facility and volunteered her time at Oxford after attending the Rutgers University Summer School of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Studies. She is a founding member of the committee to establish “Women in Philanthropy” at the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, serves on the board of The Children’s Center and is president of the Hilton Head Hospital Auxiliary. She has long served on the Grants Advisory Committee for the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, and served as chair of our Community Relations and Development Committee from July 2004 through June of 2006.

We are also saddened to be losing Bernie Moscovitz as a Community Foundation trustee. Bernie is Chairman and CEO of the Business Leadership Group-EBA Inc, a firm specializing in strategic marketing consultation and direction for business, industry and non-profits located in Beaufort, South Carolina. Bernie’s company also owns the franchise of The Alternative Board (TAB), for Savannah, Hilton Head, Bluffton, Beaufort and Charleston. Bernie and his team facilitate eight peer advisory boards for over 75 business owners throughout the region. In his over 40 years of experience, Bernie held the chief executive office in two multi-national and one Canadian ad agency and played a pivotal role in the successes of major international airlines, hotel and car rental companies, the nation’s largest consumer products companies, financial institutions and scores of small businesses. In the five years before founding The Business Leadership Group, he served as the CEO of the national United Jewish Appeal. His areas of special focus include vision, mission and strategy development and implementation; team-building; executive and motivational training; and all aspects of marketing and communications. Bernie is an Economics and Sociology graduate of McGill University in Montreal. He is on the board of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, and is the President of the Beaufort Tennis Association. Leadership roles he has held while on the Community Foundation board include being Chair of the Community Relations and Development Committee (2003-2004), the Marketing and Communications Committee (2008-2009), and Vice-Chair of the Donor Event Committee (2007-2008).

Losing Gail Quick’s leadership on our board will also be felt. She has lived full-time on Hilton Head Island since 1978 and currently resides in Shipyard Plantation. Gail recently retired as vice chancellor for student development at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. Before becoming vice chancellor she served as associate chancellor for grants and government relations at USCB and, before that, was vice president of student and college development and executive director of the Foundation at Technical College of the Lowcountry. Quick played an instrumental role in moving USCB from a two-year college to a four-year university. Active in the community, Quick has served as president of the Beaufort County Literacy and South Carolina Literacy Associations, and chair of the board of directors of Beaufort Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Quick currently serves on the board of trustees of Coastal Carolina Hospital, Heritage Library, and was appointed to the Town of Hilton Head Island Planning Commission. She is chair of the HHI Land Management Ordinance Committee and was recently appointed to the Mayor's Taskforce for the Island's Future. Leadership roles while a trustee of the Community Foundation have included being Chair of the Community Relations and Development Committee from July 2006-June 2008, chair of the Development and Donor Services Committee in 2008-2009, and she currently serves on our Beaufort Fourth Century Fund Advisory Committee and our Public Art Fund Advisory Committee.

Last, but most certainly not least, we are losing Joe Fraser, III. Joe is a long-time resident of Beaufort County. He is the president of Fraser Construction Company. He received his bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech and his master’s degree from Harvard University. He and his wife, Alice, are the parents of three children. Joe’s community activities are too numerous to mention, and his importance to the area is beyond description. His leadership roles with the Community Foundation alone include being chair of the Finance and Investment Committee from July 2004-June 2006, chair of the President/CEO Search Committee (2006), chair of the Grants Advisory Committee (2009-2010), and actually serving as Chairman of both the Hilton Head Island Foundation and the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. He is a strong, quiet, well-respected leader, and he continues to serve the Community Foundation on the Greater Bluffton Community Fund Advisory Council. Obviously, we have had the blessing of many years of experience and talent through the service of these amazing individuals. When you see them, thank them for their service to the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, as well as their service to the larger community.

And remember, these individuals are tremendous examples of busy people who nonetheless find time to make every day matter for the improvement of the Lowcountry.

Denise K. Spencer