A Life Spent Helping Others Is A Life Filled With Purpose

story by MEGAN THIBAULT MORRIS           photos by SUSAN DELOACH

Meet Melanie Ott, a local business woman who is all about family. She works hard, and along the way, she makes it imperative to balance taking care of loved ones with building her own business and supporting others.

Perhaps you have heard of River Otter Creations, her new company, or seen your neighbors working on one of her custom DIY projects. Or maybe you know Melanie from her days campaigning for her father’s role as Beaufort Coroner. Perhaps you’ve crossed paths with her at events or places in Beaufort. Knowing her, you know a compassionate soul whose life’s work is creating opportunity for herself and others.

Melanie moved to Beaufort from Macon, Georgia, before she could remember, at the young age of 18 months. Beaufort is all she knows, and it is the place she loves to live.

“Beaufort is my hometown, and I never say otherwise,” says Melanie, a thirty-something who decided to stay here for several reasons, and it is easy for her to explain why.

“My family is here. And you can’t go anywhere else and get the same feeling of community that Beaufort has,” Melanie says, smiling. “It’s everything from the natural beauty to the small town charm that makes me proud to live here. The people here are genuinely kind, and we all look out for each other.”

Seeing a lot of growth in Beaufort and appreciating how her hometown is growing responsibly, Melanie and her family are grateful for the sense of community that they experience every day. Whether at the gym or grocery store, they consistently feel a sense of hometown camaraderie. And that is why she decided to make her mark right here in several ways.

Currently, you’ll find Melanie working hard to help folks—local and newly local alike—find their piece of Beaufort paradise. During the pandemic, she accepted a golden opportunity to work at a local mortgage company alongside an experienced mentor, Sheri Little. Helping friends and neighbors achieve their dream of homeownership through the now-public business of Finance of America is what fills Melanie’s days when she isn’t working on her River Otter projects. Finance of America is located in Port Royal, just above Madison’s Restaurant in the heart of the town. (Local tip: You have to check out Madison’s for dinner – great menu!)

As a Beaufort homeowner for over a decade, Melanie appreciates the value in having a place of your own and having a business of your own is special too. For her, that opportunity came about in a fateful way.

In 2019, Melanie and her family encountered health challenges of loved ones that required them to reach far into their hearts to give extra care to those they regard. Melanie found her priority to be helping others. After a cancer diagnosis of her grandmother, who undertook rigorous treatments, followed immediately by a close family friend’s brain tumor diagnosis, Melanie realized she was given the gift of time. She took the opportunity to care for those she loved, allowing their health needs to be her priority. Melanie helped care for them through difficult times and never regrets a second of it.

Year 2019 was also when she had a little extra time to think about what was important and what she had the skill to do. Making people happy and feel better was hitting close to home, and that’s when Melanie developed the idea to begin River Otter Creations.

River Otter Creations is a company name that plays off the last name she’s proud to bear (Ott), and the rivers that wind through the place she loves.

“Plus, river otters are pretty cute animals,” she said. “The name just worked.”

With an idea in mind and a passion for being creative and creating joy for others, the River Otter brand blossomed. Now with several subscribers, River Otter Creations delivers a monthly subscription of the Raft Boxes and the Swap Signs, both of which offer a fun and creative DIY project to enhance home décor.

Melanie balances her job as a Mortgage Loan Originator with the demands of hosting a subscription-based, creative business. And ever-present Melanie is doing her best to support the community too.

“From the onset, I loved the idea of creating a business that supported other local tradespeople,” says Melanie. “The majority of the products used in the kits for River Otter Creations are sourced locally from other small business owners.”

When Covid-19 surfaced, Melanie was able to take an idea she formulated in 2019 to something that would be available to customers during 2020 when home projects reigned. Delivered right to doors was a custom DIY project with all the craft materials needed to produce a piece of art. She named the first product, “Raft Boxes,” a name inspired by the term “Raft,” which describes ‘a grouping of otters.’ The product line and company names were purposefully chosen in hopes that subscribers would find joy in completing these projects with family or friends, even if that meant being together virtually for a while.

“Building a business from inspiration to end product, during a difficult time for the entire world, was never the plan,” says Melanie. “But the stars aligned, and now I am fortunate. I have a business that was not only built on creativity but also a sense of coming together to do a project that can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home.”

The focus on family is what drives the River Otter product line. And some of the special projects hit very close to home. Having a father from a law enforcement background, Melanie created several items to show gratitude to those who help protect us every day. During Police Appreciation Week, Melanie used her own resources to give a special gift to Beaufort Police Department officers.

Those in service now don a key chain with their individual call signs. Most notably, Melanie cherishes a photo of former Chief of Police Matthew Clancy, with his custom key chain hanging just outside of his uniform pocket.

However, that would not be the most memorable piece created for the Clancy family.

After Chief Clancy’s unfortunate passing in late 2020, a shock felt throughout the Beaufort community; Melanie was given a gift. Chief Clancy’s wife, Lisa, asked Melanie to help create a special keepsake for their family. She passed along a handwritten note of one of his favorite quotes, one he will forever have a legacy of preaching to his troops and living by each day:

“It’s nice to be important, but more important to be nice,” read the note. And in his own handwriting, Melanie recreated the saying on engraved wood. Lisa gave the gift to her mother-in-law and two sons for Christmas as a way to remember the legacy of the beloved man who touched the hearts of so many.

You see, it’s not always the revenue that builds a business in a small town. It is the act of doing something kind and honoring those who also make it a special place. For Melanie, it warmed her heart and gave meaning to her work. To the Clancy family, as with others who have also benefited from her skills and resources, it was a matter of love.

This is also the case with some of Melanie’s mortgage clients today. Recently, she participated in a plot by a mortgage client to deliver a heartfelt marriage proposal after a closing appointment. Melanie helped them every step of the way in buying the home, so it was perfect to have her supply a custom sign reading, “She said, Yes!” as a fun photo prop for the occasion.

That gesture is quite in line with Melanie’s motto of “A life spent helping others is a life filled with purpose.” You might find extra time with loved ones, the perfect mate, or the perfect home, or just maybe, you’ll find something that gives back to the community you love and helps others along the way. And that is how it OTT-a be!