The Messenger has picked up 200 new likes in the past 40 days. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
But, what do you like? What would you like to see more of? Less of?
We know we are read because about 90 percent of our 4,000 papers get picked up at our more than 120 delivery spots. But, we don’t know why unless you tell us more specifically what you do and do not like. Being a positive news source doesn’t lead to complaints but it also doesn’t seem to lead to specific feedback. So, we need your help.
Some people have suggested going online only as a daily info source. Or adding a crime log? Or adding an editorial/letters to the editor page with more controversial topics. Or…
Well, you tell me. There are comment sections everywhere on this site. Please comment.
We need your feedback. We are heading into our third year of publication and we want to make informed decisions on how, and where, to go and grow from here.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Tim Callahan
Editor/Publisher
Murrells Inlet Messenger

Lily Johnson, age 6, was diagnosed with Leukemia in December. The family is from Murrells Inlet and the medical emergency the bills are overwhelming. To help Lily and her family, the Beaver Bar at the County Line in Murrells Inlet hosted “Lyrics for Lily” on Saturday from noon to 6 p.m.
All proceeds will go directly to the Johnson family for medical expenses and travel to treatments at MUSC in Charleston.
Any business or individual still interested in helping can contact dawn.curtis@twcable.com or 843-286-1052.
Thank you.

By Tim Callahan

Like many people in these sad economic times, Jode Gammon has had to create her own job by starting a business.
But, she is using the bad to create the good, offering to sell clothes on consignment, and show people that they have a way to make money right in their closet.
“Women have no idea what a treasure trove is in their own closet,” she said.
She is also using her business, Castaway’s Consignment & Resale, as a platform. No customer gets out the door without her saying, “Thank you for shopping small.”
After moving from her homestate of New Jersey 11 years ago, Gammon said she wants to give back to a community that has been good for her.
“”I want to encourage the community to jump start back up,” she said. “There are too many ghosts, businesses that are here and gone. Our people are not supporting one another. I want to patronize local businesses. I want to give them my money.”
Gammon said, “There is a need for this business. The economy is what it is, but women still need to feel good about themselves. They can get quality merchandise here at an affordable price, and they can empty their closets and get checks.”
Gammon said she takes quality goods only for 60 days because “I work to get them out the door, and people need to get a check now – not later.”
Her 1,400 square foot store is where Sun Video used to be in the Food Lion Shopping Center off Bypass 17 in Murrells Inlet.
“People say I should ask that the newspaper boxes out front be moved because they are blocking my store,” she said. “I tell them, ‘Are you crazy, people actually get out of their cars right in front of my business.’”
She opened up in December and already has a nice selection of jewelry, shoes, purses and ladies casual, business and formal wear. She has two dressing rooms in back.
She takes major credit cards and all sales are final. She does a 50/50 split on consignment.
“We have something for everyone in here,” she said, “and our inventory will grow.”
Gammon said she was in the limousine business in Manhattan for 25 years. She has two sons, both college graduates, both in New Jersey. One is an electrical contractor and the other is in construction.
(Castaway’s Consignment & Resale is located at 758 B Mink Avenue, on 17 Bypass South near Route 707. The phone number is 843-808-1384.)

By Tim Callahan
Editor/Publisher

I treated my staff, which is me, and my wife, Debbie, to a dinner on the Messenger in late December to celebrate 2011, our second year of publishing.
Honestly, I was doing it more for my wife than anything else. I did not feel like celebrating because I didn’t feel like there was much to celebrate.
How wrong I was.
I don’t know why, but I decided to treat it like a regular office party, complete with speech about our accomplishments in the past year. I didn’t think the speech would be long. With more than 500 businesses in Murrells Inlet and Garden City Beach, I didn’t think having 25-30 advertisers a month was a victory. Nor did I think our December and estimated January numbers (down 25 percent from last year) merited a big whoop.
How wrong I was.
Numbers don’t lie, so I looked at the numbers and compared 2010, our first year, with 2011.
Whoa!
Revenue up 38 percent. Advertising up 17% (about half the total newspaper revenue increase was from publishing “Murrells Inlet: Memories, Memoirs and Miracles,” a book with many of the paper’s articles from Feb. 2010 – Sept. 2011.)
We sold about 500 of our books.
I was able to buy a Mac, newspaper design software, a Nikon D3000 camera, a desk, and a Kindle.
I was also able to pay a good, local designer (Nathan Kirk) a good wage for his hours, helping him in his new business. And, I was able to pay myself a decent half salary (many businesses don’t even break even until their third year.)
Lest I forget, and I do, the Messenger won four of the nine state writing awards associate members of the South Carolina Press Association were eligible for in the 2010 awards contest.
Most importantly, I was able to glorify God without extensive editing or having stories bagged because, well, I’m the editor. I decide what goes in and stays out, and God goes in because without Him I wouldn’t still be alive and writing. Without Him, I would have never started the Messenger.
So, why was I bummed?
I think it was because I am, by nature, a glass half empty guy. Sad, but true. Instead of looking at all I had, I was focused on the 470 businesses who didn’t advertise. I was focused on all the businesses that said “no” and not all the ones who said “yes.”
Instead of looking at the other local papers, which I did as part of this office party review, I was looking only at my paper. By looking at the others and seeing how little advertising they had in the grand scheme of things, and how much advertising had dropped in them in the past few years, I said, “Heck, we’re not doing bad at all.”
Instead of bringing to mind all the calls and emails I have received thanking me for an encouraging, inspiring and informing publication, I was thinking about the people who should have thanked me but didn’t; all the MI natives and MI institutions who don’t advertise or support the paper instead of all those who do. And, instead of realizing God is in control when everything looks so out of control, I tried to control things I couldn’t control, and failed.
Instead of being thankful that we doing more than just survive in the Great Recession, and in an industry that everyone says is dying, I was wondering why we weren’t thriving.
I am so blind sometimes.
I have index cards that remind me to count my blessings, make a gratitude list, thank God in all circumstances, cast all my anxieties upon Him, etc., and yet my eyes never seem to see those words on the index card. My eyes only focus on call this paper, email that person, write this story, put this up on Facebook, add this to the Web site….
This new year, 2012, I pray the Lord will open my eyes to see the glass half full.
Needless to say, we had a great office party as I shared all the good things that had happened to the Messenger in 2011. And, the party was made that much sweeter by being able to share it all with a glass always full type of girl, my incredible, encouraging and inspiring wife, Debbie.
What a great way to ring in the New Year.

By Sue Sledz
MI 2020
Executive Director

Murrells Inlet 2020 extends its sincerest wishes
to everyone for a happy, healthy and prosperous
2012. MI 2020 also extends its sincerest gratitude
to all who have contributed to making 2011
a great year. We thank our donors, our business
partners, our event sponsors and participants,
and our volunteers. With your support, MI 2020
finished 2011 on firm financial footing, and
looks forward to making 2012 a banner year for
the inlet.
The Murrells Inlet 2020 board of directors also
bid adieu to board members John Benso and
Peggy Bates, and welcomed new board member
Linda Connell, and returning board member Al
Hitchcock. Thanks to all of you for your willingness
to serve.
Over the past few months, Murrells Inlet 2020,
Earthworks, Georgetown County Capital Projects
Department and the property owners have
been meeting to discuss the Jetty View plans.
Plans are now being finalized to submit an application
to DHEC-OCRM for environmental
permitting. MI 2020 has also submitted funding
grant requests for the Jetty View Project to the
SC National Heritage Corridor program and to
TD Bank’s Community Sponsorship program.
In 2009, MI 2020 received funding from the
Bunnelle Foundation to initiate a recycling program
for Morse Park Landing, Wacca Wache
Boat Landing and the Marshwalk. During the
first year (November 2009 – November 2010),
8.6 tons of glass, plastic and aluminum containers
were recycled at the three locations. Of that
total, 5.9 tons were picked up along the Marshwalk.
Murrells Inlet 2020 is very happy to report
that the Marshwalk restaurants have agreed to
take over ownership and funding of the Marshwalk
recycling program moving forward. Thank
you for your environmental stewardship.
Murrells Inlet 2020 will begin holding meetings
with interested residents and local and state government
officials and agencies, launching discussions
about Business 17 Streetscape changes
that would focus on improving the safety of the
existing bike lanes and connecting Murrells Inlet
to Garden City Beach and the river. Call 843-
357-2007 if you have an interest in participating
on this committee.
And, please mark your calendars for MI 2020
spring events:
March 6: Chowder Talk at Inlet Affairs: Murrells
Inlet 2020 will present the 2011 Volunteer
of the Year and the 2011 Golden Oyster Awards.
Chowder served at 6:30 p.m., compliments of
Inlet Affairs; meeting is 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
March 24-25: Race for the Inlet at Morse Park
Landing: this year’s event features a 5K walk,
run, and ride, and an 8K run on Saturday morning.
Additionally, Grand Strand Bicycles is hosting
a metric cycling event for avid bicyclists on
Sunday morning. Proceeds benefit Murrells Inlet
2020.
April 7: Marshwalk Masters along the Marshwalk:
a fun nine-hole, putt-putt tournament that
features a $500 cash prize to the overall winner.
Proceeds benefit Murrells Inlet 2020.
April 22 – 21st Annual Spring Tide: pitch in
on the annual inlet clean-up of our creeks and
streets. Morning work is followed by the “Best
Damn Chowder Cook-Off” and an afternoon of
celebration, friendship and fun.
(Visit the MI2020 website at www.murrellsinletsc.
com for information on these and more inlet
events.)

Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is rising to the top of the polls in South Carolina, according to Pee Dee Regional Director, Gerri McDaniel, and she is asking for help in spreading the word in support of the architect of the “Contract with America.”
She said the campaign needs help in the following volunteer areas: campaign callers, neighborhood organizers and county chair positions.
If you’re interested in making phone calls, block-walking, and other campaign support activities, you can e-mail McDaniel at gmcdaniel@newt.org, or call 843 808-9061. The regional call center is located at 9713 North Kings Hwy., Suite 105, Myrtle Beach, but McDaniel said those in other counties can call from home.
Gingrich’s campaign Web site is Newt.org
(This is a press release from the Gingrich campaign, not an endorsement from the Messenger.)

Weekly health screenings: Tuesdays, mall area of Georgetown Memorial Hospital; Thursdays, Waccamaw Community Hospital. Screenings offered: finger stick lipid profiles with blood sugar for $20 (8-10 hour fast required); diabetes screening-hemoglobin A1C for $15 (no fasting required); blood sugar levels for $3 (2 hour fast required); and free blood pressure screenings, from 7:30 a.m. – noon. For more information, call 546-0623.
(Many of the classes below can be signed up for online, www.georgetownhospitalsystem.org. Also, some of the classes are held at the Wachesaw Conference Center, which is located at 4367 Riverwood Drive, Suite 160, in Murrells Inlet, across from Waccamaw Community Hospital.)

Jan. 2: ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP – GEORGETOWN. Noon. Prince George Episcopal Church. Information, 237-2845.
Jan. 3: HANDLE WITH CARE – BABY CARE CLASS – MURRELLS INLET. Waccamaw Community Hospital, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Free; pre-registration required; call 520-8490.
Jan. 4: CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP. Waccamaw Community Hospital, 4th floor dining room, 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Information, call 652-1875.
Jan. 6: RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE – MURRELLS INLET. Wachesaw Conference Center, from 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Call 652-1144 for information.
Jan. 7: PREPARED CHILDBIRTH CLASS – MURRELLS INLET. Waccamaw Community Hospital, 1st floor classroom, from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. $50 Fee; pre-registration required; call 520-8490.
Jan. 9: CANCER SUPPORT GROUP. Education Center at the Georgetown Memorial Hospital from 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Call 520-8062.
Jan. 9, 11, 16, 18, 23 & 25: SMOKING CESSATION SIX NIGHT SERIES – MURRELLS INLET. Wachesaw Conference Center, 6 p.m. – 7  p.m. Pre-registration required; call 520-8490.
Jan. 11 & 25: ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP- MURRELLS INLET. 10 a.m., Belin Church, Murrells Inlet. Information, 651-9711. STROKE SUPPORT GROUP. Waccamaw Community Hospital, 4th floor dining room, 3:30 p.m. Call 652-1875 for information.
Jan. 11: PHYSICIAN LECTURE – “CURRENT TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR ARTHRITIS OF THE HIP AND KNEE.” Michael N. Bohan, MD, of Carolina Orthopaedic Specialists, will conduct a free lecture at the Surfside Library in Surfside Beach at noon. Lunch provided. Call 520-7842 to reserve a seat. I CAN COPE EDUCATION SERIES. Waccamaw Community Hospital, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Program for people facing cancer. Free; pre-registration required; call 652-1640. HEARTSAVER BLS-CPR – MURRELLS INLET. For daycare workers and people interested in learning CPR, not intended for healthcare professionals. Wachesaw Conference Center, 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. $20 fee; pre-registration required; call 520-8490.

By Tim Callahan
Should we keep Christ in Christmas? Are we celebrating a myth or tradition
Let’s take a look.
According to Crosswalk.org, more than 300 Messianic prophecies made in the Old Testament were fulfilled in Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. The chances of one person fulfilling a mere eight of those prophecies are 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. For one person to fulfill 48 of these prophecies, the number becomes staggering: 1 chance in 10-to-the-157th power. Add to that the other 250 prophecies, and it becomes impossible for any other person except Jesus to ever fit that particular sequence of time and events. That He lived and died on a tree has even been recorded by Jewish and Greek historians, who were not Christian.
According to Jesus.org, many of these prophecies would have been impossible for Jesus to deliberately conspire to fulfill, such as His descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12:3, 17:19); His birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); His crucifixion with criminals (Isaiah 53:12); the piercing of His hands and feet on the cross (Psalm 22:16); the soldiers gambling for His clothes (Psalm 22:18); the piercing of His side and that His bones were not broken at His death (Zechariah 12:10; Psalm 34:20); and His burial among the rich (Isaiah 53:9). Jesus also predicted His own death and resurrection (John 2:19-22). Allabouttruth.org, lists other OT prophesies that Jesus fulfilled. A few are: Born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21-23); born of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10; Luke 3:23, 33; Hebrews 7:14); born of the house of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Matthew 1:1); taken to Egypt (Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15); Herod´s killing of the infants (Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:16-18); anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Matthew 3:16-17); heralded by a messenger – John the Baptist – (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-3); would perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6; Matthew 9:35); would preach good news (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:14-21); would minister in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:12-16); would cleanse the Temple (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 21:12-13); would first present Himself as King 173,880 days from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25; Matthew 21:4-11); would enter Jerusalem as a king on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:4-9); would be rejected by Jews (Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:7); would die a humiliating death (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53); and would rise from the dead (Psalm 17:15, Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:2, Psalm 16:10, Job 19:26, Psalm 49: 6-15; John 2:19-26).
Christ is Christmas. We are celebrating His birth – not a myth or tradition. We have at least 300 reasons to believe. Check them out on your own. You will be amazed.
Merry Christmas,
Tim and Debbie Callahan
Murrells Inlet Messenger
(This article first appeared in the December 2010 edition)

By Joe Scanlon
Christmas becomes a more multifaceted holiday with each passing year.
I was watching Miracle on 34th Street with my grandchildren over Thanksgiving and the movie’s big dilemma was: is Santa Clause really real?
Watching the news covering Black Friday on Friday evening, I saw a video of people using pepper spray to protect their bargains from fellow shoppers.
Is Christmas about Santa or modern urban retail warfare? Is it a religious celebration of the birth of Christ? Is it a hybrid Christian-Celtic celebration of renewal and rebirth? Is it an economic indicator of the state of the economy? Is it a time for functional families to get together and celebrate, and dysfunctional families to get together and make each other miserable?
It seems to be all of these things and a whole lot more depending upon the people, circumstances and general mood of the country.
I remember even as a child the admonition to “remember to keep Christ in Christmas.” I always sort of understood that this meant not to be too materialistic and to be sure to go to church.
I also think of Scrooge’s promise, having foreseen his own lonely and friendless demise in the company of Christmas Future, to keep Christmas in his heart each day of the year.
With all of these different thoughts and perspectives, traditions and excesses, is it possible to come to a single uncomplicated and hopefully spiritually uplifting idea of what the Christmas season means to us as individuals?
It seems at the heart of it, we are celebrating God’s gift to us of a Savior.
But what are we saved from?
Hell, we are told, if we believe and repent of our sins. In these days of immediate gratification and a ruined economy, it is hard to imagine that most people think beyond the next payday let alone to the prospect of eternity. If we get beyond the doctrine and theology and listen to the New Testament with our spirit, I think what God promised us, through Christ, is hope in the future and freedom from despair, if we are willing to learn from our mistakes and correct them. And, the promise of redemption not only in the afterlife but in the here and now.
One of my missions in life is to improve upon my parents parenting techniques. I have had some success and, as a reward, my children are improving on mine. The outcome is grandchildren who laugh, run, and giggle and play together without hostility or fear.
Our Savior showed us through His example that if you believe in Him, maintain your integrity, endure the discomfort that life visits on the just and the unjust alike, and keep your faith, you will be resurrected, whether this is in the afterlife, or tomorrow when we pass on something we can’t afford or take the time to teach our children rather than intimidate them.
The birth of the Messenger who offers us salvation from despair, hopelessness, overwhelm and greed, and replaces it with the faith that if we follow His example all will be well in the end, is worth celebrating.
(Joe Scanlon is the director of the counseling Center of Georgetown)

I just picked up a copy of the Murrells Inlet Messenger and must commend you on circulation, a first class local newspaper.
My wife and I resided in Murrells Inlet (in Blackmoor) the first five years of living here on the coast, before moving to Pawley’s Island a year and half ago. We moved here in 2005 from Abbeville, S.C., after I lost both my parents three months apart, something tough to endure for an only child.
Judy and I are born and raised South Carolinians. We relocated here to be close to the grandkids. I have one of those life after 50 moments I would like to share with you and your readers:
In 2003, at the age of 50, doing consultant work, staying in hotels three nights a week, I began writing, pounding the keys on the laptop for something to do. It served as an outlet – somewhat therapeutic – because my wife and I had assumed caregiver duties for both my ailing parents.
We had sold our home in Greenwood, S.C.,to move in and care for them and my 94-year-old grandmother. We brought my grandmother with us to the beach several months after my parents’ deaths. Granny passed less than two months after the move. She was my mom’s mother. Over the course of 11 months, I had lost all three and, basically, my entire bloodline.
I eventually completed a 650-page novel. Over the next eight years, I wrote ten more novels and 100 short stories. No one, including my wife, had ever read any of my novels; my choice. I had shared a couple of short stories with friends and family. I was sort of a closet writer, doing it because I enjoyed it. I thought about one day submitting some of them for publishing but never seriously pursued it. I had and still have a full time job working at Metglas, Inc. in Conway.
One afternoon in June of this year, after I arrived home from work, a gentleman showed up at our door thinking the previous owners of our house still lived there. We had been in Pawleys for just over a year and half. I had seen the elderly man walking through the neighborhood. He introduced himself as Robert O’Brien and then realized I wasn’t the man he had expected to visit. He apologized, stating he had just dropped by to proudly show the previous owner a copy of his novel he had just gotten published because the previous owner had also shown interest in wanting to write a book.
I told him that was very interesting and that I do a little writing. Bob asked me if I had a completed manuscript. I told him yes. I had ten. Floored, he said you and I need to talk, stating he had started his own publishing company, Prose Press. This seemed much too coincidental for me. I felt like I had received a sign, an omen, that this was the push I needed to actually attempt publishing one of my novels. I selected one and began the dream. My wife, Judy, became my proof reader and the book was proofed and edited five times before eventually submitting a final version to my new friend and neighbor, Bob.
Two weeks ago, I became an actual author.
T. Allen Winn’s “Road Rage” has now been published and is available on Amazon.com. Barnes and Noble, etc.
Who would have ever figured that I would have started writing at age 50 and published my first novel at age 58? Things happen for a reason; my urge to write prompted by a tragic period in my life and Bob O’Brien showing up at my front door. I have indeed begun an incredible journey. Ironically, in January, I began keeping a journal on my laptop entitled “Life Begins at 57 ½.” Yup, a diary of sorts. I would have never thought in my wildest dreams that it would include me being a published author. No one can ever take this away from me. My only wish is that my parents would have been here to witness it. But, then again, I’m sure they are smiling proudly.

Best regards,

Tom Winn
Pawley’s Island