Author: Margaret Evans

Barreling down the streets of the Historic District at speeds reaching 40 miles an hour, nearly 200 professional cyclists will compete for a piece of a $15,000 purse in the Fifth Annual Beaufort Memorial Cycling Classic.   Some 4,000 spectators are expected to turn out for the May 3 event, part of the USA Crits Southeast series. The seven-race schedule starts April 30 in Athens, Ga., with the Terrapin Twilight and ends eight days later in Sandy Springs, Ga. The Beaufort heat is the third race in the series.

The University of South Carolina Beaufort is pleased to announce that political activist and communications strategist Ambassador Karen P. Hughes will deliver this year’s Commencement address. Karen Parfitt Hughes, Ambassador, political activist and communications strategist, was born in Paris, France, the daughter of the last U.S. Governor of the Panama Canal Zone. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Journalism summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University, where she was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa.

The Geico Skytypers have a giant message for you   Okay, so the Blue Angels perform incredible, death-defying aerobatic maneuvers at sub-sonic speeds. But can they make giant billboards in the sky?  In a word, no. In spite of all their advanced technology, state-of-the-art aircraft and elite pilots, they still can’t fire off messages in the sky that can be seen for 400 square miles. Nope. For this you need the Geico Skytypers, the only flying unit on the planet to perform at events like the Beaufort Air Show and “type” in the sky. The Skytypers also fly a unique aircraft: authentic World War II era North American SNJ-2 trainers. Of the 11 remaining planes still in existence, the team uses six of these.

Editor Margaret Evans gets up close and personal – over the phone – with Lt. Cmdr. Jim Tomaszeski, one of America’s famed flying daredevils known as the Blue Angels.   The Call  I’m sitting in my home office (i.e. breakfast nook), watching the clock, waiting for a phone call from Lieutenant Commander Jim Tomaszeski of the United States Navy. I’ve got my voice recorder all set, my list of incisive questions before me, and my cat in my lap. I am well prepared. And I am nervous. Lt. Cmdr. Tomaszeski isn’t just any old naval officer, you see. He’s a Blue Angel – a member of that super-elite squadron of Navy and Marine Corps flyboys who travel the country dazzling large audiences with their breathtaking audacity and spectacular skill. As far as I’m concerned, they’re the sharpest, bravest, coolest dudes this side of a movie screen. And I am a small town journalist, sitting in a breakfast nook, wearing pajamas and holding a cat. Thank goodness for phone interviews. Ours is scheduled for 2 pm.The phone rings at 1:58. Naturally. These guys don’t miss a trick.