The Sumner Family
Having Fun While Giving Back
story by WENDY NILSEN POLLITZER photos by CHARLOTTE BERKELEY
Community service is one of the best ways to help benefit the public or give back to our community. It not only has positive effects on society, but it also brings benefit to our lives and personal development. It teaches us how significant it is to help the ones in need, the ones who are less fortunate than us.
It is easy to feel disconnected, as many parents juggle work, school, kids, and activity after activity. But some simple things can bring a family closer — playing a game, going for a hike, or cooking a meal together.
One of the most satisfying, fun, and productive ways to unite a family is volunteering for the community. There is a family in Beaufort who defines this type of service to others. One is a teacher, one helps us keep our money safe, one is an RN, and two are students. They are all Christians, and they all serve God as community leaders in philanthropy. They are the Sumner family: Hall, Amy, Mary Claire, Lillian and Jack (And Sadie, their lab, golden mix).
Amy attended Appalachian State and received her Master’s in Early Childhood Education at the University of South Carolina. Hall graduated with a degree in Business from Auburn University. Hall and Amy Sumner met in the suburbs outside of Charlotte. Hall was in Manager Training School for the Lance Corporation, and Amy was teaching at an elementary school. Hall took a glimpse of Amy, and later asked her assistant to track down her phone number. Thankfully, Hall got her number and asked her out on their first date. They went to dinner at Ocho Café, a Mexican restaurant where they would secure a lifetime of love.
Lance transferred Hall to the Lowcountry, where he was given the choice of living in Walterboro or Beaufort. Hall and Amy chose the latter, thankfully for us! In 1996, Hall and Amy were married, and they built one of the first houses in Telfair. Amy accepted a kindergarten teaching position at Broad River Elementary when Mary Ann Blake went on maternity leave.
As the millennium approached, the Lance Corporation went through a major restructuring phase. Instead of moving again with the company, Hall and Amy decided to stay in Beaufort. They had already fallen in love with their community, and Beaufort is where they wanted to raise children. Bill Hatcher was simultaneously approaching Hall to consider working in Finance with AG Edwards. He joined the firm in 1999 and went on to earn the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification from the College for Financial Planning. To complete the demanding course, he had to complete approved educational programs, pass rigorous examinations, and meet stringent experience requirements, as well as stay updated on changes in the industry through continuing education. Over the years, the financial services holding company merged with Wachovia and later Wells Fargo. In 2015, Hall, Charles Tumlin and Arthur Levin became the founding partners of Tumlin, Levin and Sumner Wealth Management with Raymond James®.
In 1999, the Sumner’s first child Mary Claire was born. And twenty-three months later, her sister Lillian joined the family of three. In 2005, the two sisters welcomed a baby brother, Jack. Amy stayed home with the young children during their youth and worked part-time as the director of St. Helena’s Episcopal Day School. She also taught at Sea Island Presbyterian Day school for a year. She returned to work full-time as a fifth-grade co-teacher with Betsy Holloway at Riverview Charter School in 2010. Amy taught for 11 years at the school until her dream position became available this year at Sea Island Presbyterian Day School. Kathy Hulbert was retiring as the school’s director. Amy was thrilled to have the opportunity to get back to her early childhood roots.
Mary Claire graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BS in Nursing. She is now in the nurse residency program as an RN at Vanderbilt Hospital. Lillian is a junior at Clemson University majoring in Finance with an Accounting minor, following the footsteps of Dad. Both girls played competitive softball at Beaufort High, and at 6’1”, Lillian enjoyed basketball and volleyball as well. Jack is currently a junior at Beaufort High and is actively involved with basketball, golf, and is a local star on the football field. He was also recently inducted into the National Honor Society. He’s not exactly sure where he wants to attend college, but it would be his dream to play football.
All the children learned the commitment to community service from their mom and dad. Each of them served or is serving as acolytes at St. Helena Anglican Church. Their dad, a Eucharistic Minister at the church, and their mom, a resolute teacher in the Christian community, both taught their children from birth that God drives all things, that we all serve HIM. They are truly a family of God.
“But to all who did not receive him, who believed in his name, he gave them the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).
And one way to serve God is to serve your community by volunteering. When you select causes to devote your time, talents, and treasure to, it’s important to select a cause that will produce much joy and happiness for you and for those you serve.
Both Amy and Hall appreciate and value education.
“It’s the key to everything,” smiles Amy.
Hall is currently the president of the Boys & Girls Club of the Lowcountry Board of Directors, whose mission is: To enable all young people, especially those who need it most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens by providing a world-class club experience that assures success is within reach of every young person who enters their doors, with all members on track to graduate from high school with a plan for the future, demonstrating good character and citizenship, and living a healthy lifestyle. They believe every kid has what it takes. The mission and core beliefs of Boys & Girls Clubs fuel their commitment to promoting safe, positive, and inclusive environments for all. Boys & Girls Clubs of America supports all youth and teens – of every race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability, socio-economic status, and religion – in reaching their full potential.
“The results of this program are tangible. We have a great relationship with Beaufort County schools. We can track progress with MAP scores and know this program works for kids who don’t otherwise have the same opportunities as others,” Hall explains.
The Boys & Girls Club of the Lowcountry has ten clubs in Northern and Southern Beaufort County and are about to open its eleventh at Lady’s Island Middle School. Ninety-three percent of those kids think schoolwork is important. Eighty-two percent are on target to graduate from high school, and 78% have volunteered for other organizations this year. Yes, I believe it is working very well.
In addition to the Boys & Girls Club, Hall has served on the advisory board for USCB Center for the Arts and is past president of Main Street Beaufort, USA. The kids have participated in Interact and Lillian went on to Palmetto Girls State. Yes, I do believe they are a family that serves.
And frankly, they are just a darn great family. The kind that welcomes everyone into their home, without judgment…always willing to help others before self. But they also like to have fun. When asked about their favorite vacation, they did not hesitate.
Lillian, Hall, and Amy all said at the same time, “The three-week road trip!”
In the summer 2014, the Sumners traveled 5,724 miles, used 364 gallons of fuel, and spent 116 hours in the car together.
“And everyone lived to tell about it,” writes Amy in their family blog of the trip.
After reading the blog, written by Amy, Mary Claire, and Lillian, and shared by Lisa Clancy during their trip, I too wanted to join the Sumner family! One of the only rules of the trip was that they had to eat at local restaurants, no chains. The initial 10-hour car drive landed them at their first destination, New Orleans. They tried alligator for the first time, along with Po Boys and jambalaya, and finished the evening with beignets at Café DuMonde. Jack even got his first set of beads for dancing on Bourbon Street! The next couple of days in San Antonio and Waco, Texas, included a trip to The Alamo, the Schlitterbahn Water Park, and the Circuit of the Americas, the only Formula One racetrack in the United States. Then they headed to Abilene Texas, where they visited a ranch and Jack received a lasso, knife, and cowboy hat. And he roped his first calf!
Onward to Carlsbad Caverns, where they said goodbye to the flat lands of Texas to the bald mountains of New Mexico. They passed through El Paso on their way to Tucson, when at some point, they got a flat tire and Jack commented to his father,” Formula One does it much faster, dad!”
They visited Fort Bowie, the Apache Pass, and the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, before spending time in the same hotel in Tucson that Amy and Hall stayed in for the Century Ride for the Leukemia Society years prior. They then headed to Phoenix for Father’s Day, rode horseback for an hour to a steak dinner at sunset, and was fortunate to catch a Diamondback’s game at Chase Field the next day. The following several days included a visit to Saguaro National Park and to red dirt country, traveling with the Pink Jeep Tours outside Sedona at the Coconino National Park.
Their destination heading West was the Grand Canyon, where they camped at Phantom Ranch in the Skeleton Point Campground and hiked along the Colorado River. They snapped the iconic family photo of one of the seven wonders of the world and began their journey back East. The trip included visits to Winslow, AR; Santa Fe, NM; Taos, NM; Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; Amarillo, TX; West Monroe, LA; Pearl, MS; Atlanta, GA, then back to home sweet home…Beaufort, SC. They heehawed at a rodeo, participated in a Corn Dance, gave tribute to the late President John F. Kennedy, and spent too much money at the Duck Dynasty warehouse. They went to another major league baseball game hosted by the Texas Rangers, but all agree that there is no comparison to the fun at minor league parks hosted by the El Paso Chihuahuas and the Albuquerque Isotopes. They also toured LSU, University of Arizona, and Arizona State University on the trip, as the girls were soon approaching college.
It truly was the family trip of a lifetime!
The Sumner family radiates joy by giving back, whether it’s in the classroom, at a hospital, at a board meeting, or on a field. Their bond is unmatched, and it’s because of their valued relationship with God, with each other, and with their community. Thank you to the Sumners for making our little town of Beaufort a better place to live, and also by making it really fun!
