Daniel Island Real Estate Hosts Governor Nikki Haley

Daniel Island Real Estate welcomed South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley on August 15 for the ceremonial signing of a new point-of-sale real estate law designed to limit tax increases on second homes, commercial and investment properties. As the center for real estate sales on Daniel Island, the riverfront Sales Center was an appropriate and scenic backdrop for the signing of House Bill 3713, which provides tax relief for purchasers of some properties. The new law applies to properties taxed at 6 percent and caps the amount that a property value can increase when a sales transaction occurs.

With legislators on-hand – including Rep. Jim Merrill of Daniel Island, who was the primary sponsor of the Bill – the ceremony marked what many hope will be the beginning of further  tax reform and a boost to the state’s economy.

“It’s good for real estate, and particularly second home buyers,” said Daniel Island Real Estate Broker-In-Charge Rick Vale, who said he was honored to host the ceremony at his office. “I think just the symbolism of this bill is significant, and hopefully the message will trickle down and have a positive impact not only for real estate sales, but for the state’s economy as a whole.”

Nationwide Tour Alumni Winning Big On This Year’s PGA TOUR

Five rookie players who received their PGA TOUR cards at last year’s Nationwide Tour Championship right here on Daniel Island are producing impressive wins on the PGA TOUR this year, including rookie Keegan Bradley, who captured the year’s final “major” at last week’s PGA Championship. This is certainly good news for the Nationwide Tour, which is producing some very competitive players:

• Last year’s Nationwide Tour Champion, Brendon Steele, broke through with a win at the Valero Texas Open in April, holding off Kevin Chappell and Charley Hoffman with a strong par on the 72nd hole.  Brendon also shared the leader board last Sunday.

• Fresh off his first first career victory in May at the HP Byron Nelson Championship (following a playoff with Ryan Palmer), Keegan Bradley won his first major title this month in a two-way playoff with fellow American Jason Dufner at the 93rd PGA Championship.

• Scott Stallings won the Greenbrier Classic in July, sinking a birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Bob Estes and Bill Haas.

• Also in July, 26-year old player Chris Kirk took on the Viking Classic, shooting a 4-under 68 to beat Tom Pernice Jr. and George McNeill by one stroke.

• In January, Venezuela native Jhonattan Vegas won the Bob Hope Classic after hitting into the water on the second playoff and making a 13-foot shot for par to beat Gary Woodland.

Watching these five young rookies win big makes this year’s Nationwide Tour line-up even more exciting. Be sure to keep your eye on rising star players such as Mathew Goggin, Matt Davidson, Danny Lee, Kyle Thompson and Scott Brown as they prepare to compete in the 22nd Nationwide Tour Championship on the Daniel Island Club’s Ralston Creek course October 24 – October 30.

The Nationwide Tour’s 22nd season got underway last spring at the Panama Claro Championship in Panama City, Panama. More than 200 players from the United States and 18 other countries are competing in this season-long quest to win one of 25 PGA TOUR cards for 2012. Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Nationwide Tour identifies those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. Two out of three PGA TOUR members are Nationwide Tour alumni.

Golf fans can follow the Nationwide Tour on its exclusive television home, The Golf Channel. For further information about the Tour, visit www.pgatour.com, and stay tuned to My Island Town for updates on this Fall’s Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island.

Hootie & The Blowfish To Rock All Weekend Long On Daniel Island

Marking their ninth anniversary of the Homegrown benefit concert on Daniel Island, world-renowned Hootie & The Blowfish will come together for their only public appearances in 2011 during a two-night musical engagement at the Family Circle Tennis Center beginning Friday, August 12.  This year, it’s a weekend-long event, with evening concerts on Friday and Saturday and a daytime festival on Saturday, August 13 featuring live music from national and regional acts and activities for the entire family. The “Homegrown Weekend” is a benefit for Charleston area public schools.

As in past years, Hootie & The Blowfish ask audience members to bring a donation of school supplies with them to the events. All supplies collected will be donated to the local schools with the most need.

With the rich, bluesy vocals of Darius Rucker and gleeful harmonies of guitarist Mark Bryan, Hootie & The Blowfish has sold over 25 million records worldwide with hits such as “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You.”

Weekend festival packages start at $47.50 and are available through www.ticketmaster.com and www.familycirclecup.com/concerts or by calling the Family Circle Tennis Center Box Office at (843) 856-7900.

Family Circle Tennis Center Hosts 6th Annual Tennis Block Party on Daniel Island

Come out and give your forehand a try this Saturday at the 6th Annual Tennis Block Party at the Family Circle Tennis Center.  Island residents and friends are invited to partake in this free, family event that will be held from 9:00 am until noon on Saturday, August 6. The staff at the Tennis Center’s Instinctive Tennis Academy (I.T.A.) will be demonstrating the newest techniques in tennis instruction, all designed to introduce tennis in a fun and easy manner where everyone can participate.

Children and adults will enjoy a wide range of tennis activities for beginner to advanced players, along with music, games, contests, a fast serve challenge, food, refreshments and much more.

As part of this day of family fun, complimentary drawings will be held throughout the morning for prizes worth more than $2,500, including two 2012 Family Circle Cup Intro Ticket Packages, a Family Circle Tennis Center membership, and an assortment of non-tennis items, including tickets for the upcoming Hootie & The Blowfish concert and Charleston RiverDogs games. The event will conclude with a complimentary cookout lunch at noon.

For more information about the 6th Annual Tennis Block Party, visit familycirclecup.com or call (843) 849-5300.

Get Organized With Resident Crystal Kowalis

Originally from Plymouth, Michigan, Crystal and Joe Kowalis always knew they wanted to retire in the south. Fortunately, their daughter and son-in-law – who were living in Charleston at the same time Crystal and Joe were looking for retirement options – recommended that they visit Daniel Island.

“We had previously made six trips in search of places to retire in the south, but we immediately fell in love with Daniel Island the minute we stepped foot on it,” says Crystal. With two years left until they planned to retire, they decided to buy a condominium at Daniel’s Landing in the island’s downtown.

“We bought the condominium with our daughter’s in-laws and tried to visit whenever we could,” says Crystal. But with Joe working as an engineer and Crystal a schoolteacher, it was difficult to get away as much as they would have liked.

“We had owned the condominium for only about eight months when our real estate agent suggested we look at a house in Center Park that had recently come on the market. We weren’t ready to move yet, but it was the perfect home for us, so we decided to go ahead and make an offer. We’ve never once regretted that decision,” says Crystal.

Crystal and Joe retired and moved to Daniel Island as full-time residents in 2005. Once they settled in, Crystal began looking for an activity to keep her busy.

“I’ve always had a lot of energy, and being retired from teaching school left a void that I felt I needed to fill,” commented Crystal. It was at that time that Joe bought her a membership to the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). Crystal had already helped many friends and colleagues get organized while living in Michigan, so this felt like a good next step. Crystal went on to get certified as a professional organizer and started to network her business both on Daniel Island and in the surrounding Charleston area.

“The business just started to take off. I was helping clients move into new homes, move out of their old homes, and get re-organized in their current homes,” says Crystal.

As a professional organizer, Crystal learns about her client’s personalities as well as their priorities. She then begins to work with them to help them decide which items they really use and want to keep, and which items just get in their way. The next step is finding a permanent and logical place for every single thing. Most of all, she tries to keep the work atmosphere pleasant, and even fun. Many of her clients have become permanent friends.

“I put a lot of humor into my work. You have to – it can be very difficult to bring a stranger into your home and empty out all your drawers and closets in front of them,” continues Crystal. “I do my best to make my clients feel comfortable and get them to make decisions that will, in the end, make their lives much less stressful because they won’t be spending a lot of extra time trying to find things. Or, they won’t be spending extra money on items that they already own and didn’t know they had.”

Crystal takes pride in getting to know her clients and discovering their likes and dislikes.

“It’s like a big puzzle that needs to be solved,” says Crystal. “The idea is to create zones. In a kitchen, we’ll methodically empty everything out of each drawer and cabinet. If my client likes to bake, for example, we decide which things to keep, and then we gather all the utensils, bowls, baking pans and appliances and containerize what we can before placing them within closer reach. Next, we tackle another zone.”

Crystal confesses that it’s not always an easy job to come into a someone’s home and start suggesting alternative solutions for getting organized, such as donating some items to Goodwill or throwing some things away.

“Sometimes it takes a lot of hand holding,” she says. “I once had a client that owned an uncanny number of scissors that they just couldn’t part with. And that was OK. We merely found a special space to store all those scissors. I’ve found that people can also be very sentimental about their personal items. I have strategies and solutions for organizing those kinds of things, too.”

In addition to homes, Crystal also organizes garages, home offices, clothing closets and even children’s playrooms. For more information about how Crystal can help you get organized, visit www.positivelyorganized.us.