Town of Summerton, SC – Slowly Growing , Looking Up, and Pulling Together

Summerton SC ‘Super Saturday’ this past weekend was another in a growing series of successful events that have been held in our town over the past few years. Think DuckFest, Spring Fling Car Show, Briggs v. Elliott Commemoration, Black History Month, the Summerton Health Fair, BirdFest, the Christmas Bazaar and more – see Summerton Outdoors Events. These events are sponsored and supported by numerous local groups that play a quietly active role in the daily life of our town and the surrounding communities. For example:

• The leaders in our local government are rarely acknowledged for their role in helping maintain and slowly revitalizing our town. If you looked closely, you saw the mayor, town council members, and local government employees in the background helping to ensure the success of Super Saturday and the many other events held in and around Summerton. See Town of Summerton web site.
• Also, many leaders of local businesses and business groups are always there, contributing funds and offering their support for the many community events that are held throughout the year. Thank you to Wen Lily’s, the Cookie Store, Short Trip, Summerton Pharmacy, the Rotary and many others who are always there in the background helping out. See Summerton Open Phone Book – Local Businesses. 
  
  
  
   
• Look around and you will also see our many local churches of all denominations and their members offering encouragement, use of their facilities for meetings, encouraging participation by their congregations, working together more and more to help unite the our residents behind constructive community events. See local Summerton Churches.
• There are a number of non-profit organizations such as the Lake Marion Artisans, the Historic Preservation Society, the Pink Dogwood Garden Club, the Swamp Fox Murals Trail Society, American Legion… that also regularly step up and provide volunteers and support in raising funds and helping coordinate many of our local community events. See Summerton Open Phone Book – Non-Profit Organizations.
• The administration, teachers, parents, and students at our local public and private schools are also active supporters and participants in helping out at local events, whether its students supplying their artworks displayed at the annual Black History Month art show at the Lake Marion Artisans art gallery, band members marching in local parades, helping out at fundraisers, preparing our youth to enter the job market and so much more. 
   

Summerton has weathered the ‘Great Recession’ over the past decade and is now coming out more vital and prepared to adapt to the ‘Information Age’ of the 21^st century. Retirees and new businesses are slowly but steadily moving into the area. The town has gone online and now has a fairly robust web site. The Lake Marion Artisans, Pink Dogwood Garden Club, Summerton Weekly News, Historical Preservation Society, Swamp Fox Murals Trail Society, Wen Lilys, Short Trip, Carolina Tree, CamStar and many other local organizations are now have web sites and are on Facebook and Twitter – see Summerton Open Phone listings.

As I look around I am very encouraged and proud of the many individuals and organizations I see working together quietly to maintain and slowly revitalize our town and the surrounding communities. They are all starting to coalesce around a vision of the future that emphasizes our many strengths – strong small town family values, the abundance of outdoor recreation resources (e.g. boating, golfing, hiking, fishing, hunting...), opportunities to explore and enjoy the many wildlife preserves and parks around Lake Marion, the many local festivals, and so much more.

What a great place to live – a place with opportunities galore as we move into the future! Hope to see you next month at BirdFest 2018.