People & Events Oct. 14

Pennington to host weekly coffee meet-and-greet

Hartsville mayoral candidate Mel Pennington will begin hosting a series of meet-and-greets at the Midnight Rooster, 136 E. Carolina Avenue, at 7:30 p.m. today and every week leading to the election on Nov. 3.  Coffee with the Candidate will be a weekly event and will be open to the public, Pennington said.  Pennington will be on hand to answer questions about his plans to make a better Hartsville. 

“Making myself as accessible as possible is one of the most important aspects of my campaign.  I enjoy meeting with people; that’s the fun part,” he said.  “We thought of Coffee with the Candidate as another way to gain a greater perspective on the issues facing our town. We want people to stop by, share a cup of coffee and their thoughts on how we can strengthen our municipality.”

City council election forum set for Oct. 27

People to People and the South Hartsville Neighborhood Association will sponsor a forum for candidates for Hartsville City Council at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at Second Baptist Church, 212 W. Washington St.

The forum is open to the public. All citizens are invited to come and hear from the candidates for City Council Districts 1, 3 and 5 in the Nov. 3 election.

The candidates include incumbent Adlena Graham and challenger Jannie Harriot in District 1, first-time candidate Wanda James in District 3 and incumbent Bob Braddock in District 5.

Info: Clayton Richardson (843) 332-3420.

Wilson Senior Care becomes 100 percent employee owned

Wilson Senior Care, which operates facilities in Hartsville and Darlington, is now a 100 percent employee-owned company based upon the purchase of remaining shares of stock from the Wilson family. With the original purchase of 61 percent of the stock of Dr. John Wilson, founder of Wilson Senior Care, back in 2003, the organization has now become totally owned through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) effective July 29.
An ESOP is an employee benefit plan which makes the employees of the company beneficial owners of stock in Wilson Senior Care.

Wilson Senior Care is the parent company of Medford, Oakhaven and Morrell Nursing Center, The Rehab Center at Morrell as well as Med Center Pharmacy and Medical Supply. 

The healthcare organization generates about $25 million in annual revenues while employing more then 500 staff members, making Wilson Senior Care one of the largest private employers in Darlington County.

Local author releases second book
Local author Nefateri Pecou is pleased to announce the release of her second book entitled Identity Chasers. A formal black and white event will be held at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Florence National Guard Armory to celebrate the release. Tickets are now on sale for $25 through Oct. 31. The cost includes a 3-course meal and a copy of the book. Tickets can be purchased from Hair So Lovely by Tina, Hairstyles Unlimited and Burry Bookstore in Hartsville. This event is RSVP only. For more information, call (843) 245-6176 or .

Local doctor completes training
Dr. Emmanuel Quaye recently attended a six-day intensive continuing medical education course offered by The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), located in Gig Harbor, Wash. Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice addressed one of the key issues in healthcare practice today: improving the management of complex, chronic disease. IFM programs utilize the emerging research base to identify effective interventions and to train physicians and other providers to integrate those approaches for the benefit of their patients.

Lifestyle is a big factor; research estimates that 70-90 percent of the risk of chronic disease is attributable to lifestyle. That means what you eat, how you exercise, what your spiritual practices are, how much stress you live with (and how you handle it) are all elements that must be addressed in a comprehensive approach.

Quaye can be reached at The Medical Group of Hartsville, (843) 383-0713. More information about IFM courses is available at http://www.functionalmedicine.org or by calling (800) 228-0622.