Cue Born in the USA, Proud to be an American, and Independence Day by Martina McBride (I had to add a little twang for my country heart.) Believe it or not, the Fourth of July is my favorite holiday, and just like Christmas has its carols, Independence Day has its melodies. Something about those proud tunes, warm weather, cookout food, and fireworks speaks to my soul. 

Lt./ Col. James B. Kendrick would have celebrated his 103rd birthday this Wednesday, May 18th. In celebration of his first heavenly birthday, we wanted to share his Community Focus article from our May 2019 member newsletter, The Caroliner.

As you may know, I just graduated from the 42nd class of Leadership Grand Strand. Leadership Grand Strand is a 10-month program sponsored by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce to develop a corps of informed, committed, and qualified individuals who provide dynamic leadership for the Grand Strand area. As part of the requirements for graduation, my classmates and I had to volunteer at least 75 hours with various local charities, including Habitat for Humanity and New Directions Men’s Shelter in Myrtle Beach.

Although I already knew that I had a heart for service through previous volunteer opportunities with the credit union, Leadership Grand Strand tremendously strengthened my desire to give back to the community. However, with so many different volunteer opportunities, finding ways to help that will actually make an impact can be tricky.

If you are already an avid volunteer or are looking for ways to start giving back to your community, check out the BALANCE blog post below:

The Grand Strand area is rich with African American history, and with February being Black History Month, there's no better time to explore the past and honor those who paved the way.

As I was researching places and events in our area celebrating black history month, I came across the blog post below, written by Visit Myrtle Beach. It is an excellent round-up of places in our community that share the story of how African culture has shaped our area and lifestyle.

Last year, I wrote the blog post, Ways to Thank a Veteran on Veterans Day. I included all of the typical Veterans Day festivities: flying a flag, saying thank you, attending a service, etc. And as nice as those gestures are, they don't really hold the level of gratitude that we should be showing our former servicemen and women.

On Veterans Day, we close businesses, post on social media, and acknowledge and glorify our Veterans; But how are we thanking them on the other 364 days of the year? Are we celebrating and acknowledging just during the special occasion, the way we do with most other holidays, and then moving on as soon as the decorations come down? How can we continue to honor the men and women who have served our country in our day-to-day lives?

Halloween is right around the corner, and if you don't already have a costume, this is your sign to make your own. If you're not super crafty, no need to worry, these costumes are super easy to make; plus, they're also super cheap.

Halloween can get pretty expensive once you've bought a costume, accessories, candy, treat bags, etc. Save some money this year and make one of the creative costumes below:

Love might not have a price tag, but dates most definitely do. How do you treat that special someone to a great date when even "dinner and a movie" breaks the bank?

Here are a few date ideas that are creative, unique, and less than $20.

Getting back into the swing of things at the start of every new school year can be difficult. However, this year may be exceptionally challenging since many students did virtual schooling last year or were only in the classroom for part of the week. Although there may be a few bumps in the road, here are a few things that you can try at home to make your child's school year more successful:

Back-to-School magic is in the air. August is here, the stores have started stocking their shelves with school supplies, and teachers are holding on tight to their last few days of summer.

The dog days of summer are officially here. I used to dread this time of year as a kid because I knew that the start of a new school year was sure to follow. I always hated kissing summer goodbye, but at least I got to go back-to-school shopping.

I've always been a shopper, so my favorite part of heading back to school was shopping for new clothes, shoes, and supplies. Growing up in a small town in Virginia, we didn't have many retail stores to get the things we needed, so we always came to the beach for our big back-to-school shopping trip. If she could, my mom always tried to plan our trip on tax-free weekend.

This year, tax-free weekend is August 6th-8th. If you're planning to shop, check out my blog post from last year's tax-free weekend for a few pro tips.