December 2019 Issue

A Joyful Tradition | The First Tee of Aiken and USC Aiken Field of Dreams

The First Tee of Aiken and USC Aiken are joining forces to build a Golf Practice Facility that will serve as The First Tee of Aiken’s home and as a practice facility for the USC Aiken Men’s Golf Team. Once the facility is completed, USC Aiken will add a women’s golf program. The planned facility will be located on a 60-acre parcel of land on the USC Aiken campus, just west of the convocation center and baseball field. The entire project will cost approximately $3.3 million, however, the first phase, which will cost approximately $1.5 million, will allow us to break ground sooner. Some of you reading this article may

How to Adapt Recipes

Most of my readers are on some sort of specialized diet due to a health condition. There are recipes available online for most diets, including low carb, ketogenic, gluten-free, dairy-free, reduced sugar, and others. There are even specialized magazines for paleo or allergy-free diets. Sometimes you may want to make a special family recipe or favorite treat that includes one or more ingredients you can no longer have. Over the years I have learned some techniques for adapting standard recipes to suit specialized diets. Follow my process as I adapt an online muffin recipe to suit my own dietary needs. Use Healthy Ingredients Each time I make a recipe I

Gifts that Keep on Giving

Stress. Time-consuming shopping. Expenses. Appreciation or lack thereof. Confusion. Do you associate any of these thoughts with Christmas? Most people do, and that is really sad when you consider why we celebrate this holiday. Not a day goes by that I do not think about financial matters. That is what I do for a living and I am passionate about what I do along with the members of our firm. We care about our clients, our families, friends, and community. Serving on four different foundation boards, I accepted the responsibility to support the mission of those foundations. As President of the Aiken Symphony Orchestra, I believe that the organization provides

Hormones Out of Balance?

Below Are Some Reasons Why. We all know that hormones play an integral part in our daily lives. They regulate everything from a person’s blood pressure to how well he sleeps at night. Hormones affect how we feel, our appetite, metabolism, fertility, and reproduction; they even affect our ability to regulate pain. These chemical messengers are produced throughout the body. Through their interaction with our organs and with one another, they help maintain a balance designed to keep us happy and healthy. The delicate balance of hormones can be disrupted in both men and women of any age, but imbalance problems are most commonly seen in adults beyond middle age.

A Story of Celebration | For Your Ears Only

Augusta Symphony’s third annual Gala is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a fabulous performance and support the Symphony in its outreach endeavors. The theme is Bond, James Bond! Celebrating its 65th season, Augusta Symphony hosts its third annual Gala Saturday, January 11, 2020. Austria’s foremost James Bond performance group, The Music of Bond, will join the Symphony’s Maestro Dirk Meyer and the Augusta Symphony on stage at the Miller theater to entertain the audience with scores from favorite James Bond films while movie clips roll on the screens above the orchestra. Your mission is to enjoy an elegant evening of sophisticated fun. The Miller Theater is the perfect setting for

Photo of the Month | December

Memories – that is the joy one gets from a camera. That is what photography is all about. As a kid I remember loving to look at family photo albums and watching my father play with the new polaroid instant camera given to him as a Christmas present in the mid to late 60’s. At that time in life family was everything, and on every holiday occasion he would have with him that camera and would be snapping shots and joyously handing them out to anyone that found themselves in his line of sight. It was fun watching him and the laughs he created with aunts, uncles and cousins. It

Traditions | A Gift for the Entire Family

Everyone wants his or her holiday experience to be a happy one. The reality is, however, that there are a lot of reasons this is a very stressful time of year, even for those who love the Christmas season. One way to counteract some of the stress is to create and continue family traditions that add joy to the time you spend with your family. Research has shown that engaging in family traditions builds and strengthens bonds between family members of all ages. People who participate in family traditions report that this special time spent together makes the effort they put into coordinating busy schedules and traveling well worth it.

Gifting for Work

Every year during the holiday season we create memories and stories with our family and friends. But have you thought about how to thank and gift your employees? Gifts that are personal are very special, and your employees will appreciate that you made the extra effort to think about what they would enjoy. Choose a gift that fits your budget and won’t easily be forgotten. You can start with a card for each, hand printed and individually chosen. You can give your employees personalized gifts like a luggage tag or key chain, holiday ornaments with their family names, wine glasses with initials, a cutting board, coasters, etc. Here is a

A Story of Community | The Greatest Gift

The holiday season is filled with joy for so many. Shopping for the perfect present, partying with friends and family, and of course, the wonderful food. At Area Churches Together Serving (ACTS), we meet people every single day who come to us in crisis. You may think that it is a depressing place to work, but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Through our devoted volunteers, generous donors, and dedicated staff, we do everything we can to help those in need. More times than not, we give our clients a ray of hope for a better tomorrow. One gentleman came to us with very little to his name.