Saying thanks — and goodbye — to some of the people who make Bluffton a better place

What a fun hectic week we just had! The Hilton Head- Bluffton Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Bluffton Chamber of Commerce both had their awards parties on the evening of Jan. 28. Hilton Head’s affair was on the island and Bluffton’s soiree was held at Sun City.

In spite of this, Bluffton’s Mayor Lisa Sulka, town manager Marc Orlando and Bluffton Town Councilman Larry Toomer attended both events with nary a hair out of place.

Congratulations to the nominees and winners at both parties. You make our small corner of the world a much better place.

Goodbye Brenda, and farewell

Sunday afternoon found many of Palmetto State Bank’s longtime customers at the Oscar Frazier Park celebrating Brenda Lindblad’s 35 years of service. Brenda has been a mainstay and right hand to Monty Laffitte and to all of us as well. The beautiful party was catered by one of Bluffton’s favorites — Bess Soper. Geist and Company worked its magic as usual, decorating with their signature palms and white flowers in abundance.

We all toasted Brenda as Monty read a beautiful , touching tribute to her. We will miss her kindness and beautiful face that we have all loved for (I can’t believe it!) 35 years.

Support the arts

The Society of Bluffton Artists invites you to a Fine Art and Fine Wine fundraiser to benefit its Center for Creative Arts. The event is from 5-9 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Rotary Community Center. Tickets are $25 each and include wine tastings and hors d’oeuvres. You will also have a chance to bid on art donated by the artists. Tickets are available at the SOBA Gallery on Calhoun Street.

Learning to cook

I just read that culinary institutes around the country are experiencing a decline in enrollment.

Tuition is expensive and there are many restaurants that provide on-the-job training. Another reason is the high stress factor and long hours. I remember cartoons of chefs chasing people around the kitchen wielding long knives and rolling pins.

So many culinary schools are trying new ways to entice students with new trends and opportunities for employment. I love to cook and there are many who do.

Gray Soper is employed at a fabulous resort on the Gulf Coast and is always posting beautiful photographs of his creations. He learned his way around the kitchen at his mama Bess Soper’s apron strings so perhaps learning on the job is good — if someone has the patience to put up with teaching you.

Eat your plants

Would you like to learn more plant-based eating. There is a group called The Palmetto Plant Eaters Club that meets monthly to educate and support plant-based eating.

The meetings are free and open to the public One of my brothers and his entire family are vegetarians, and they have wonderful meals that are always interesting. I will never forget the mushroom lasagna we had at my niece Sarah’s wedding. The caterer used all sorts of mushrooms layered with puff pastry in a sherry-cream sauce. It was heaven.

If you would like to know more, go to www.PalmettoPlantEaters.com.

Are you ready for the next big one?

The Community Emergency Response Team Training program provides training to Beaufort County residents to increase self-sufficiency in times of disaster.

Classes are free and will be held at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, Room 125. Classes take place Feb. 7, 9, 14, 16 and 18.

After our recent experience with Hurricane Matthew, this may be a good thing to look into.

For more information, contact Maj. David Zeoli at 843-812-8035 or Kris Legg at 843-263-2783.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Saying thanks — and goodbye — to some of the people who make Bluffton a better place."