Duke Energy Foundation Awards Microgrants for Severe Weather Preparation

As hurricane season begins, emergency managers and first responders turn their eyes to the tropics as they continue to prepare their communities for the possibility of impacts from severe weather.

Duke Energy is preparing as well and stands in support of these communities across South Carolina by announcing $500,000 in microgrants through the Duke Energy Foundation. These funds will increase community resiliency and local ability to help residents prepare for and recover from the devastation brought by significant weather events.

“Preparing communities to respond to severe weather impacts begins in our neighborhoods and communities,” said Mike Callahan, Duke Energy's South Carolina president.

“Providing our fellow first responders with the tools and training to handle whatever Mother Nature throws our way is necessary in maintaining a resilient and prosperous South Carolina.”

Duke Energy's Emergency Preparedness and Storm Resiliency Grant Program was designed to help organizations with roles in emergency preparedness increase their resiliency to these events through advanced preparation, planning, equipment and training.

Applicants could request funds up to $20,000. Grants were awarded to 33 nonprofits and governmental entities across the state.

Among the grants were: $20,000 to the American Red Cross to support community disaster preparedness; $20,000 to the City of Florence Fire Department to purchase specialized equipment to help block flooded roadways; $19,500 to Marlboro County to help purchase an unmanned aircraft/drone and the training of an operator; $15,000 to Greenville County Emergency Management for a three-year subscription to “Baron Threat Net,” a web-based system that provides critical weather intelligence; and $20,000 to the City of Charleston to purchase a multiple-event response trailer to aid in severe weather preparedness and emergency response resources.

Leadership Grand Strand Names New Executive Director

Leadership Grand Strand (LGS), the leadership development program of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce (MBACC), recently announced that Shannon Furtick was named its new executive director. Furtick succeeds Diana Greene, who is retiring after 19 years with the organization. 

Furtick started her career with the chamber in 2008 and served as the business development director of member engagement before beginning her new position on June 3.

“We’re very excited to see Shannon expand her role at the chamber by carrying on the remarkable legacy that Diana has cultivated over the past two decades at Leadership Grand Strand. Shannon brings a wealth of organizational experience and passion for the community that will carry the program into this new chapter,” said Karen Riordan, MBACC president and CEO. 

Among Furtick’s achievements, she graduated from LGS’s Class 31 in 2011, completed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organization Management (IOM) in 2016, was recognized by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives’ 40 Under 40 in 2020, and received Multiplying Good’s Jefferson Award in 2022. 

Now in its 45th year, LGS has graduated hundreds of community leaders who have made substantial contributions to the Myrtle Beach area. 

For more information and to apply for the program, visit LeadershipGrandStrand.com.

‘Zombie Foreclosures’ Down for Second Quarter 2024

ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, released its second-quarter 2024 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report showing that 1.3 million (1,289,387) residential properties in the United States sit vacant. That figure represents about 1.3 percent, or one in 79 homes, across the nation – the same as in the first quarter of this year.

The report analyzes publicly recorded real estate data collected by ATTOM — including foreclosure status, equity and owner-occupancy status — matched against monthly updated vacancy data.

The report also reveals that 237,208 residential properties in the U.S. are in the process of foreclosure in the second quarter of this year, down 2.3 percent from the first quarter of 2024 and down 23.9 percent from the second quarter of 2023.

Foreclosure activity has declined this year following a surge in cases that hit after a nationwide moratorium on lenders pursuing delinquent homeowners, imposed during the Coronavirus pandemic, was lifted in the middle of 2021.

Among those pre-foreclosure properties are about 6,945 sitting vacant as zombie foreclosures (pre-foreclosure properties abandoned by owners) in the second quarter of 2024. That figure is also down from the prior quarter, by 5.4 percent, and down 20.6 percent from a year ago.

A total of 6,945 residential properties facing possible foreclosure have been vacated by their owners nationwide in the second quarter of 2024, down from 7,338 in the first quarter of 2024 and 8,752 in the second quarter of 2023. The number of zombie properties has decreased quarterly in 30 states and annually in 38.

As those numbers keep dwindling, the biggest decreases from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2024 in states with at least 50 zombie homes are in Ohio (zombie properties down 22 percent, from 597 to 466), Maryland (down 17 percent, from 104 to 86), South Carolina (down 14 percent, from 74 to 64), California (down 13 percent, from 310 to 269), and North Carolina (down 12 percent, from 67 to 59).

The latest count of zombie homes continues a long-term pattern of those properties representing only a tiny portion of the nation's total housing stock – currently at just one of every 14,724 homes around the U.S. The ratio is down from 13,905 in the prior quarter and from one in 11,577 in the second quarter of last year, to the lowest level since early 2021. 

Dairy Alliance Recommends Glass of Milk for National Dairy Month

June is National Dairy Month, and The Dairy Alliance, a nonprofit organization funded by dairy farm families in the Southeast, is encouraging folks to celebrate National Dairy Month by raising a glass (or a few) of dairy milk.

With nearly 75 percent of Americans chronically dehydrated, some experts recommend rehydrating with dairy milk.

Dairy milk provides 13 essential nutrients that hydrate, replenish, and support immune health and strong bones.

“From children to adults, the natural electrolytes, carbohydrates, and high-quality protein in dairy milk makes it a champion for rehydration,” said Geri Berdak, chief executive officer of The Dairy Alliance.

“Whether you're replenishing after a workout or simply trying to stay hydrated throughout the day, dairy milk offers a balanced and effective way to meet your nutritional needs.”

The Dairy Alliance is a nonprofit funded by dairy farm families of the Southeast, including South Carolina.

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