WOMEN’S WELLNESS WEEKEND
A Weekend to Elevate, Empower, Enlighten & Entertain
story by CAROL LAUVRAY photos by SUSAN DELOACH
Women’s Wellness Weekend (WWW) is sure to elevate, empower, enlighten, and entertain the women of Beaufort. This four-day event, March 19-22, 2020, provides opportunities for women to explore personal, physical, spiritual, financial, and emotional wellness through workshops, presentations, and mentoring. The Women’s Wellness Weekend is presented by the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) Center for the Arts. Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) is the headline sponsor of the event, and Tumlin Levin Sumner Wealth Management of Raymond James and Associates, Inc. is also sponsoring and participating in the event.
During the weekend, you’ll be able to enjoy wellness activities, such as participating in yoga classes, journaling, and meditation. The weekend also features events that will entertain and bring you joy, including: a lunch with Author Patti Callahan Henry at Belfair Country Club in Bluffton; a moving, storytelling performance by Natalie & Sara Daise set during the Reconstruction Era, The Room: Songs and Stories of Free Women; a musical show Sherma Andrews: Legendary Lady Singers, with Ms. Andrews performing hit songs of some of the greatest female singers; and WINE-ING Women: Wine and Cheese, a wonderful networking opportunity with other WWW friends, sponsored by SugarBelle Boutique.
Bonnie Hargrove, Director of the USCB Center for the Arts, explained, “This is the inaugural year for the annual Women’s Wellness Weekend. At USCB, we enjoy presenting conferences for the community, and when we’re planning them, we ask ourselves, ‘What would we like to attend?’ So we are doing what we do best—gathering a group of ladies together who want to support women’s wellness in our community and promoting the event! Thanks to the University, we have a wonderful venue and classrooms to accommodate many of the presentations and events for the weekend.”
Another member of the event planning committee, Cindy Coburn-Smith , who is the Manager of LifeFit Community Health Improvement Program of Beaufort Memorial Hospital, stated, “We looked at our medical staff to see who would best fit with the programming for the Women’s Wellness Weekend. One of the presenters from BMH will be Dr. Eve Ashby, who will use her humor and experience as an OBGYN in a talk titled ‘Hot and Flashy,’ about the emotional and mental symptoms women can experience during menopause. Another presenter from the hospital will be Dr. Yvette-Marie Pellegrino , a Board Certified Obesity Medicine Specialist, who will share a holistic approach to weight loss that focuses on nutrition, exercise, behavior and medicine.”
A Wellness Fair on Saturday, March 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. will feature CHiP, BMH’s Mobile Wellness Unit (located on the Center for the Arts lawn) that will provide free and low-cost wellness screenings, including blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, and PSA lab tests, as well as free clinical breast exams and skin cancer screenings. Courtney McDermott, Director of Marketing and Communications for Beaufort Memorial Hospital, stated, “We have developed a great partnership with USCB to support wellness in the Beaufort community.”
“A talk titled, ‘Women, Wealth, and Well-Being,’ will be presented by Liz Koehler from Blackrock in Atlanta,” said Carson Bruce, a Financial Advisor for Tumlin Levin Sumner Wealth Management of Raymond James and Associates, Inc. Ms. Bruce said, “We want to reduce the anxiety, stress, and intimidation that women experience when they think about managing money.”
“The Women’s Wellness Weekend planning committee began meeting in the early summer of 2019 to brainstorm prospective presenters for women’s wellness sessions and discuss the kinds of events they would like to include during the weekend,” said Bonnie Hargrove. The WWW planning committee members include: Bonnie Hargrove and Deon Furman of USCB Center for the Arts; Cynthia Coburn-Smith and Courtney McDermott of Beaufort Memorial Hospital; Carson Bruce of Tumlin Levin Sumner Wealth Management of Raymond James and Associates, Inc.; Lakinsha Swinton and Kelsey Alford of Beaufort County Schools; Denise Fanning of Beaufort County YMCA; Liz Serieux of USCB Department of Nursing & Health Professions; Rhonda Carey of City of Beaufort; Lynda Dyer of Beaufort Convention and Visitors Bureau; Janet McCauley of Osher Lifelong Learning at USCB; Laura Riski of 100+ Women Who Care Beaufort; Roxanne Cheney of Bringing Order Home, LLC; and TZiPi Radonsky, Ph.D.
Partners in presenting the Women’s Wellness Weekend include: 100+ Women Who Care Beaufort; Weezy Alcott, A.T.R.; Beaufort Convention and Visitors Bureau; Beaufort County YMCA; Beaufort Lifestyle Magazine; Bringing Order Home, LLC; The Island News; Lowcountry Weekly; ONE Yoga Sanctuary; Red Piano Too Art Gallery; SugarBelle Boutique; USCB Community Outreach; and USCB Department of Nursing & Health Professions.
Enjoy access to Women’s Wellness Weekend events, shows, and local discounts with your WWW Button. For more information and to purchase your WWW Button for $15, as well as to purchase event tickets for the Women’s Wellness Weekend, visit USCBCenterForTheArts.com. You’ll receive a $5 discount on ticketed events with the purchase of your WWW Button.
“This wonderful event provides women in our community with many resources,” said Bonnie Hargrove. “Women will benefit from a wide array of networking and mentoring opportunities to uplift, strengthen, and enrich ourselves and each other. There is truly something for every woman at Women’s Wellness Weekend!”
