By now the entire food world has heard of and salivated over a Cronut. It’s a doughnut made from croissant dough, says Chef Dominique Ansel, owner of Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York’s SoHo district. Now Chef Ansel is no flash in the pan; he was Daniel Boulud’s pastry chef for many years and if I were in NYC, I would happily spend a couple hours in his bakery. I first read about this on Twitter on or about the 15th of May and by the 23rd, Chef Ansel was on the Today Show, Fox News, CBS and Judge Judy.

Judge Judy: “Now Chef Ansel, is this a croissant masquerading as a doughnut or am I looking at a doughnut masquerading as a croissant?”

But seriously folks…it looks like Chef Ansel gave one short interview to Grub Street which almost every food blogger in the free world then breathlessly parroted, right down to the “it’s impossible to fry croissant dough” and the “secret temperature” of frying. What the hell? Did Chef Ansel invent a new scale of heat to rival Kelvin? OK let’s all take a deep breath and relax for a second because John and Amy are on this like a cheap suit. My first reaction; I’ll bet all those folks standing in line for a cronut (he only makes 200 a day and sells out in a matter of hours) were also on a gluten-free fad only last week. My second thought was; I gotta try this. Now keep in mind that croissant dough is full of butter so frying it presents a problem. If the dough is room temperature then so is the butter and that means the butter is a warm breath away from separating into its three components: water, milk fat and butter fat. Chef Ansel has several photos on his website and there’s plenty circulating around so after looking closely at these two, I’d say we’re looking at two different doughs.

This is his first flavor but notice how the interior layers of dough look under-cooked? The layers also look as if they’ve been laminated together with egg wash. This also looks like a danish dough to me and Amy. Danish dough is similar (ingredient wise) to croissant dough but has egg and water in it and in a commercial kitchen, the butter is cut in using a food processor then the dough is rolled three to four times.

This is the current photo on Chef Ansel’s website. Notice the difference in the dough? The dough has been proofed longer, the layers aren’t quite so thick and it doesn’t have the pastry cream either. I think this photo was taken by Chef Ansel’s photographer and the above photo was taken by Fox. Perhaps if Chef Ansel had sliced that cronut himself, he may have looked at it and decided it was under-cooked and used another one. This one also looks more professional, the ‘nut looks as if it wasn’t rushed.

So after reading all the cronut stories we decided to make some. Before you embark on this recipe you’re gonna need an electronic thermometer, fresh yeast and a doughnut or biscuit cutter, everything else is fairly common. Amy took the route of pastry dough and I made croissant dough. I started with the recipe out of one of my favorite cookbooks, Baking with Julia. The croissant dough recipe is attributed to Esther McManus. Making croissant dough is not technically challenging but it is time consuming and you’re gonna be in for an upper-body workout.

In the bowl of your stand mixer place the milk, sugar, salt and yeast and whisk together. Then cover with a clean towel and leave it alone for thirty minutes. The yeast will wake up, start eating the sugar and will expel CO2 and you should have a bubbly layer on top. If not, throw it out and start over. If your milk is too hot you’ll kill the yeast so be precise with your temperature. Now add all the flour to your bubbly yeast mixture, place on the mixer and using the dough hook, mix slowly until the dough forms a nice ball then wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the fridge, overnight.

Flour and yeast mixture ready to be removed from stand mixer

I kneaded this by hand for a couple minutes then placed on a big stretch of plastic wrap, covered and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Clean the bowl, find your paddle attachment and let’s get to the second part; the butter.

Blend these two ingredients in the mixer until you have a nice, smooth paste. This should only take about thirty seconds. Then spread this onto a big sheet of plastic wrap, smooth into a rectangle, cover and refrigerate.

Whip the butter and flour using the paddle attachment.

Take another big stretch of plastic wrap, scrape all the butter onto it, shape it into a rectangle about 12 x 8, cover with the film then place in the fridge with the dough.

Sprinkle some flour on the (clean) counter, place the dough on it and get to work. The dough has to be rolled out into a rough rectangle approximately twice the size of the butter shingle.

This is how Popeye got his massive forearms. He was actually a baker in the Navy before he became a professional bar brawler.

And this is your goal. The cold butter should fit neatly onto the surface of the dough.

Now fold the edges over the butter like so…

And get back to work! I pounded the dough briefly before taking up the rolling.

This is what you’re aiming for. Work quickly because all that friction will heat up your butter and the butter needs to stay cold THE ENTIRE TIME!

Now fold the dough into thirds, place on a flat surface, cover with a clean towel and place into the refrigerator for about 30 to 40 minutes to chill the butter. Then…

Place the dough back on the counter, get that rolling pin and get to work! You’re going to do this step FIVE times, no cheating either, got it?

Fold, then refrigerate…

Then for the final (#6) turn fold the dough over in fourths, just like this…

No time to rest on your laurels because the dough heats up and the butter is in danger of breaking. Now what I did was separate the dough into two portions — one to make croissants and the other for the doughnuts. That way if I screwed up the doughnut part at least I would have some croissants.

I sprinkled a tablespoon of cinnamon, folded then rolled again then cut the dough into these long triangles. Amy sprinkled some chocolate chips at the wide part…

then rolled them up…

If you like, you can roll them out then twist the edges towards each other for a more “crescent” appearance.

Brush with a little egg wash then into a 375 degree oven (middle rack, not the bottom) for about 25 minutes or until an internal temperature of 190 is reached.

Needs more chocolate.

Now on to the cronuts. While I was fooling with the croissants the other batch of dough went into the fridge. Then when I was ready and had hot oil, I floured my antique doughnut cutter. This thing has an airhole in it and I can just imagine some burly baker telling his apprentice to keep his fingers off it.

and I cut the ‘nuts into half inch portions.

Now I’m gonna spare you all the temperature combinations I went through but needless to say it took me several rounds. So here’s what I found was best. Cut the ‘nuts, place on a sheet pan, cover with a clean towel and allow them to proof for thirty five minutes or so, that will give them a good rise. Now place the ‘nuts back into the fridge and chill to 50 F. Then fry in 340 to 350 degree oil. The reason being that if the dough is close to room temperature then the butter will break as soon as it hits the oil and then you’ll end up with a soggy mess.

Close enough for government work.

And here’s what I came up with. Drizzle with a little chocolate syrup and yes, it was delicious. Was it “Oh My Lord. That’s Amazing!”? Uh…Not really. Is it what I think Dominique Ansel is doing? Nope. His are larger and his dough is surely leaner in butter than a croissant dough. If you want to try this I would suggest adding sugar, cutting a larger ‘nut and using a lower oil temperature (325-330) so you don’t burn the sugar in the dough. Make sure the ‘nuts are cool, about 50-55 F, got it?

And here’s the finished product, certainly delicious and unlike a yeast-risen doughnut, quite fragile. It’s not Knock My Socks Off amazing though.

My dear wife took another swipe at this and started with a puff pastry dough. This is a quick version that she’s used many times and it’s right out of Saveur Magazine.

Over a large bowl, sift the flour, salt and sugar together. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter, or two forks or your hands, just like if you were making biscuits. You can use a food processor too but remember to make sure the butter is cold and I would also chill the blade and bowl as well. Intersperse some of the chilled water when you’re mixing in the butter. The finished product should feel like pie dough. Once the butter and cold water is incorporated, place the dough onto a big stretch of plastic wrap, refrigerate and chill overnight. Now comes the hard part. Yep, ya gotta roll it out to a rectangle, fold it into thirds, chill then roll again. At least four times. Just like in the previous photos, floured counter and all. And no cheating! An old school puff pastry dough would be made using the technique of shingling the butter then rolling and folding, just like I did for the croissant dough.

After you’ve done this all day, feel free to skip that gym visit until you’ve eaten one of these.

Amy rolled out two very thin layers of dough, brushed egg wash on one layer, placed the other layer on top, rolled again, chilled the dough for about an hour and only then did she cut the cronut. After using the same frying technique described above, this is what Amy got.

A squirt of vanilla pastry cream and a sprinkle of powdered sugar…

And here we go. Pretty close, right? Yet Amy and I both agreed that we wouldn’t stand in line for this. We both thought the dough needed a bit more sugar and some love from perhaps vanilla bean pulp and perhaps just a tiny bit of yeast. Puff Pastry isn’t yeast-risen, it relies on the water inside the butter turning into steam, that creates the leavening. So when Chef Ansel says it took him several tries to get his dough correct, I believe him. We both think he’s using a modified puff pastry dough that’s yeast leavened (judging by his photo of his cronut) and he’s definitely using a commercial sheeter. This is basically a series of automatic rolling pins that does all the muscle work. Imagine a really long ironing board with two rolling pins on one end, the dough is fed into the spinning rolling pins then laid out on the board, folded then rolled again. When we decide to do this again, I think I’ll make croissants instead.
However, if I was going to NYC anytime soon, I would definitely get in line for a ‘nut and I’d probably pick up a croissant or two while I was there. And I salute Chef Ansel; it’s not everyday someone creates an entirely new dish.

A luxurious breakfast in bed of homemade croissants, Kerry Gold Butter, Amy’s local strawberry jam, coffee and the kids sleeping late.

John Malik is an award winning chef in Greenville, SC. Along with his wife Amy, they owned and operated 33 Liberty Restaurant from 2001 until 2008. Following that he was Executive Chef at two upscale retirement communities in the Greenville area. John has a BA in English from Southeastern Louisiana University and has written for Smithsonian Air & Space, Saveur, The Greenville News, Greenville Journal, e-Gullet and has been featured in Southern Living, Bon Appetit and Chile Pepper magazines. John holds the whimsical title of Kingsford Charcoal Flame Master and was named Who’s Who in America Barbecue for his sophisticated take on traditional smoking. While 33 Liberty was open John hosted the entire team of Michelin’s “Red Guide” inspectors for a private meal and lived to talk about it.

John has made numerous guest chef appearances including the Food Network, Fox & Friends, the International Food & Wine festival at Disney World, Great Chefs of the South (Beaufort, SC) “Fixin to Eat” a Salute to Southern Chefs (Paso Robles, CA), the Epicurean Evening (Los Angeles, CA) Charlotte Shout! (Charlotte, NC), Drager’s (San Mateo, CA) and Greenville’s own Euphoria.

While important to remember that he IS a serious chef, most recently, after undergoing major knee surgery, John let the best of his cabin fever get to him and imagined himself as the mayor of his Upstate city…and he was kind enough to drag our editor on his fictional written journey before pondering who has the state’s BEST pimento cheese.

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Military Base Task Force Appoints New Executive Coordinator

The S.C. Military Base Task Force tapped Charlie Farrell as its new executive coordinator during a meeting of the group’s executive committee at the S.C. Department of Commerce, which now houses the task force.

General William “Dutch” Holland previously ran the task force as interim executive coordinator. William “Bill” Bethea Jr., recently-appointed chairman of the Military Base Task Force, recognized Gen. Holland at the meeting for his service to South Carolina.

“Dutch Holland represents exemplary service to South Carolina. He stepped into the Executive Coordinator role and helped keep the vital business of the Military Base Task Force going during a transitional time,” Bethea said. “Fortunately, Gen. Holland has agreed to continue as a part of the leadership as a key advisor to the statewide team on BRAC and related matters.”

The Task Force selected Farrell to assume the role of Executive Coordinator. “Charlie Farrell has a wealth of experience in military matters and his assistance and leadership as part of the S.C. Military Base Task Force will be a tremendous asset. With the looming defense budget cuts, the work of our group will be important as we prepare for possible base closures here, and in other states,” Bethea noted.

Farrell is a banking and finance graduate of the University of South Carolina with extensive military and professional experience. He flew more than 3,000 hours as a fighter pilot for the Marine Corps and Air National Guard before owning two commercial printing companies then moving into professional development training. Specializing in programs to develop skills in leadership, teamwork and personal productivity, Farrell has conducted over 3,000 programs for repeat clients such as General Electric, 3M, Mayo Clinic, Federal Reserve Bank, Ocean Spray Cranberry and Michelin. Having been an adjunct faculty member since 1992, Farrell served three years as director of executive education in the Darla Moore School of Business at USC.

In April 2012 Charlie Farrell was appointed director of the South Carolina Aerospace Task Force, which is also under the Department of Commerce. He continues in that role, leading the group in developing strategies for enhancing South Carolina’s aerospace industry.

The S.C. Military Base Task Force is charged with assessing the impact of possible base closures in the state and making recommendations to the U.S. Department of Defense and its Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC), a military panel that researches and makes base closure recommendations.

South Carolina is home to eight military installations, 56,000 retirees and 900 defense contractor firms. The military has a nearly $16 billion economic impact on the state, and supports more than 138,000 jobs.

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AFL Presents $145K to the United Way of the Piedmont

Spartanburg-based AFL, a leading international manufacturer of fiber optic cable, equipment and accessories, presented the United Way of the Piedmont with $145,000. The gift was a direct result of AFL’s annual United Way campaign in which associates learn about United Way’s positive impact on local communities and become a part of that impact by giving back.

Associate giving for this year’s three-week campaign exceeded AFL’s goal of $125,000 and last year’s grand total of $111,000, setting a record for AFL. Themed “Build it Up,” the campaign was geared toward building on last year’s roaring success, and did so with a 22 percent increase in participation and a 24 percent increase in overall associate giving.

“AFL aligns our community initiatives with United Way’s focus areas – that of health, education and financial stability. We believe that in doing so we can make an even greater impact,” said Corie Culp, AFL community relations manager. “Our associates made a substantial impact this year for our communities and we are extremely grateful for their thoughtfulness and efforts.”

From perusing local nonprofit booths at the Agency Fair to dunking Jody Gallagher, CEO and President of AFL, in the dunk tank, associates were given the opportunity to learn about local community needs through a variety of fun and informative events. In addition, this year’s campaign included a dollar-for-dollar match for new donors, which showcased AFL’s commitment to giving back.

United Way is only one element of AFL’s multifaceted Community Outreach Program. The program also includes grants, ACT projects, sponsorships, Take Root (a program to provide trees to communities), disaster relief and a yearly Week of Service.

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Upstate Foundation Announces 2013 Artists-In-Residence

The Reserve at Lake Keowee Community Foundation has chosen two artists for its annual Artist-in-Residence

program: Matthew Hanewald and Katherine Scott Crawford. During their weeklong stays in the community, Hanewald and Crawford will display their work and interests through various media and participate in educational workshops to share their crafts.

Hanewald will create a piece of furniture which will be added to the Community Foundation’s permanent collection, while Crawford will spend her visit writing and researching.

Originally from Walhalla, S.C., Matthew Hanewald is a woodworker and craftsman. Since 1994, he has lived in Bellingham, WA, where is he is a part owner in Stream Works, LLC. Hanewald learned his craft from his father, who taught him how to build Windsor chairs. Educated by Ohio chair maker Joe Graham, Hanewald has since blended his influences to create his own furniture and will be in residence at The Reserve at Lake Keowee June 8-15 — hostinf a Windsor-style stool workshop June 10-14 for interested Reserve members. His work will be on display at the Hill House from June 1-28 with an exhibit featuring a variety of his handcrafted furniture pieces. A meet and greet reception will be held on June 11 at The Market within The Reserve at Lake Keowee and is open to the public (RSVP to Kathryn Gravely at KGravely@reservekeowee.com).

Katherine Scott Crawford is a writer and historian originally from Greenville, S.C. and will be in residence at The Reserve at Lake Keowee August 3-10. Crawford currently lives in Brevard, N.C. with her family and teaches composition, literature, and Cherokee courses at Brevard College. Her novel, Keowee Valley, is a historical adventure set in the Carolinas and Cherokee country. During her stay, Crawford will hold a series of lectures about her novel, as well as the Native American history of the area. Her meet and greet reception will be held on August 6 at The Market with residency lectures will be announced at a later date.

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We Remember

Much the way Easter and the Carolina Cup have become the unofficial starts of Spring, Memorial Day weekend has become the unofficial start of Summer.

Unfortunately, we sometimes lose sight of what those events REALLY mean, of what’s behind them, and of why we truly observe them (Notice I didn’t say, “celebrate.”).

We’ll see local pools open for the first time. We’ll watch bikers and families sitting together in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Highway 501 toward the Grand Strand as they take their first beach trips. Grocery stores will sell out of hot dogs, burgers, buns, and ribs as backyard grills are cleaned and fired up for friends and neighbors to come over during the extended weekend.

All of those are great things to be excited about and to look forward to, but it’s important we remember WHY and HOW we get to do those things.

It’s important to remember the South Carolinians and other Americans who gave their lives for our nation so that we can enjoy a way of life not afforded in other countries.

It’s important to remember those who put on our nation’s military uniforms and showed their ultimate measures of devotion to our country.

It’s important to remember those who left their families, friends, and communities to defend our nation and never came back.

The cookouts, beach trips, and pool parties are great, but we cannot forget the men and women who made it possible for us have them.

This year, as you’re playing in the ocean, diving in the deep end, or flipping those burgers, take time to remember people like:

They gave their lives last year so we could observe Memorial Day this year. So whether you’re on vacation or staycation, please take time to observe them and all of those who came before them, and be thankful that because of their sacrifices, we remain free.

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South Carolina. First in Golf...Tournaments

South Carolina. We’re “First in Golf,” and we have a license plate to prove it. What we don’t have and can’t lay claim to is “First in Golf Tournaments,” and that’s a shame. With the Web.com Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am just wrapping up, this is something I’ve thought about a lot over the past several days.

South Carolina has a single annual PGA Tour stop in The RBC Heritage presented by Boeing. Don’t get me wrong. It’s an amazing tournament and has a great place on the Tour calendar (immediately following The Masters), but wouldn’t it be great to have an additional PGA tourney later in the season, too?

Then there’s the Web.com Tour that I touched on a few seconds ago. Think of it as the PGA equivalent of AAA baseball. It’s the last stop for professional golfers before they get their PGA Tour card.

I remember when the satellite tour was formalized by the PGA in the early 90s. With an annually scheduled stop at Verdae Greens (now The Preserve at Verdae) in Greenville, the “Greater Greenville Classic” was held only minutes from my house. Back then, it was part of the newly-established Ben Hogan Tour which became the Nike Tour which became the Buy.com Tour which became the Nationwide Tour which is now the Web.com Tour.

What does this have to do with ANYTHING? It’s simple, and I already said it. We’re “First in Golf,” and we have a license plate to prove it. What we don’t have and can’t lay claim to is “First in Golf Tournaments.”

I guess what I’m saying is, “Mr. or Ms. PGA Official, give South Carolina an additional date on the Tour schedule. We’ve proven we deserve it, we’ve proven we can support it, and we’ve proven that the support is there from your side, too.”

Oh, and to make sure you know, Beaufort native Mark Anderson shot a fourth round 6-under-par 65 for a five stroke win at the Web.com Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation. You know? Beaufort County has had a pretty good week.

: Web.com Tour Pros and celebrities work on their swings before and after their rounds.

: Tournament Title Sponsor BMW Shows off for Spectators

: Anthony Anderson of “Law & Order” poses with a fan at the 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am

: Superstar Kurt Russell walks up 18 at Thornblade

: Janet Jones-Gretzky walking up the fairway during the 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am

: “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky preparing to putt.

: Electronic signage has changed the way tournaments communicate with fans on course.

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Federal Government Issues Approval for Gullah Geechee Corridor

The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor plan has officially been approved by the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, according to officials.

Established by federal legislation in 2006, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor is the only one of 49 National Heritage Areas that promotes the living culture of an African-American population. It spans the coastal communities from Wilmington, North Carolina, through South Carolina and Georgia, to St. Augustine, Florida.

“Please accept my congratulations on the successful planning process that the heritage area partners have accomplished,” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Rachel Jacobson wrote. “I commend you for completing this well conceived plan, and for involving interested citizens and organizations in the planning process. I share your vision for the Corridor, in which we may jointly create an environment that celebrates the legacy and continuing contributions of the Gullah Geechee people.”

U.S. House Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn (D-SC) credits his efforts toward the creation of the Gullah Geechee Corridor as the most popular bill he has sponsored. “I commend the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission for their four years of intensive work to create this management plan,” he said. “Their efforts have already brought tremendous attention to the Gullah Geechee culture, and this plan will serve as a blueprint to not only educate people about the culture, but also to ensure its sustainability for future generations. It is gratifying to see the vision I had for the Corridor coming to fruition, and I thank all of those involved who made this possible.”

Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Chairman Ronald Daise, said, “We are overjoyed that the Gullah Geechee Corridor’s Management Plan finally has been approved! It’s a day we’ve been awaiting for a very long time. Commissioners are ready to partner with grassroots and civic organizations, state and local governments, businesses and individuals to implement programs that will empower and enlighten Gullah Geechee people to sustain the culture.”

Daise said his first thoughts upon receiving notification were to give thanks. “Thanks to God and to Gullah Geechee ancestors and community members who live the culture. Thanks for the Gullah Geechee Commission’s Management Plan Review Committee members who worked diligently to produce the plan’s documents and who provided almost endless edits and rewrites. Thanks to Congressman James Clyburn for his vision and sponsorship of the legislation that created this unique four-state corridor. And thanks to the National Park Service for its guidance and support throughout this journey.”

The Gullah Geechee Commission began developing the management plan in 2008 and completed its production in 2012. From information gathered during 21 public engagement meetings throughout the Gullah Geechee Corridor in 2009, commissioners formed the management plan’s approach and framework.

“In the words of an old spiritual, current and former Commissioners and community specialist Michael Allen—who initially served as Gullah Geechee Coordinator—have been ‘workin on a buildin, wit a firm foundation’ for years now,” Daise said. “The public has watched and waited. Some grew weary, yet others remain filled with excitement and anticipation. There’s a growing understanding and acceptance ‘dat Gullah Geechee mean a lot!’, that is, that Gullah Geechee culture and heritage are indeed significant to our American fabric. There are many who stand ready ‘fa jine we,’ that is, join hands with us to develop programs and ideas that will promote education, documentation and preservation, and economic development among Gullah Geechee people and within Gullah Geechee communities.” These are the three areas in which prospective partners should strive to develop their partnership applications.

The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) and the Gullah Geechee Commission’s only fiscal partner, will begin receiving financial donations to assist the Commission to reach its goals and vision on July 1. Currently, tax-deductible donations to the Gullah Geechee Commission may be made at the Corridor’s website www.gullahgeecheecorridor.org.

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SC House Approves Government Restructuring

On Wednesday, the SC House approved sweeping government reforms designed to eliminate the Budget and Control Board, cut the size of state government, and make the state’s executive offices more accountable to the Governor.

“We got within a late Senate filibuster of reform, and after six years of debate, we’re here again,” said Rep. Garry Smith, R-Simpsonville, the bill’s primary sponsor. “I have worked for this reform since I was first elected to the House, and I’m proud my colleagues have once again overwhelmingly approved this essential government restructuring.”

Last year’s legislation included a large reduction in full-time employees appropriated to the Budget and Control Board. That is not included in this year’s package because the House rolled those reductions into this year’s budget.

“We continue to be the only state in the union that has a Budget and Control Board, and the Republican Caucus has worked with Governor Sanford and Governor Haley to consolidate our state’s administration in the governor’s office where it belongs,” said House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister. “This makes government more accountable and makes our Governor a true chief executive. Future Governors will not be able to shift blame to the Budget and Control Board or the General Assembly, and the public will know who runs our state.”

The House-approved legislation is substantively similar to the Department of Administration compromise legislation hashed out in a House-Senate Conference Committee last year. That bill died when a filibuster on the last day of the 2012 legislative session took all remaining time.

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Nancy O'Dell. A Celebrity's Celebrity with Her Roots Still Firmly Ground in SC

Today’s installment in CRESCENT and on CRESCENT Radio almost didn’t happen…at least in the way you’ll hear it in the audio.

After more than five months of going over calendars, we were finally to schedule Nancy O’Dell, but after we finished our interview, the entire recording disappeared from the servers. We scrambled to write an article based on notes and memory because Nancy is too great not to share, but again, through the magic of technology, the audio reappeared, and we’re able to bring it to you.

Nancy O’Dell is a native of Sumter who moved to Myrtle Beach when she was 6 months old. She’s a Clemson grad who is about to receive an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, and there’s a good chance she’s been on your television more than once recently as the host of “Entertainment Tonight.” As a person, she’s everything you’d expect her to be…unless you’d expect something bad, and then you’d be completely wrong.

Listen to or download CRESCENT’s complete interview with Nancy O’Dell HERE.

CRESCENT’s guest today fits in as easily on a Hollywood red carpet as she does at the Grand Ol’

Opry. If you’re in the Pee Dee, you may have watched her on WPDE in Myrtle Beach. If you’re in the Lowcountry, you may have watched her on WCBD in Charleston. Some of you may have gone to school with her at Clemson. She is originally from Sumter, and she is currently the co-host of the #1 syndicated magazine show on television, “Entertainment Tonight.” Ladies and gentlemen, Nancy O’Dell. It’s great to have you with us today. Thanks so much.

It’s good to be with you and all my Southern folks. Love my South Carolina. I miss it.

You know, I mentioned your time in South Carolina working at local network affiliates, but you’ve achieved an amazing amount of success so far beyond that, not just “Entertainment Tonight.” You’re a member of the Academy of Country Music; you were the original host of Nashville Star; you’ve done movies including almost the entire Scream series; you’ve voiced on The Simpsons; you’ve had guest spots on lists of shows too numerous to mention; you are heavily involved with charities; ranging from MDA to Red Cross to March of Dimes, and of course, your own foundation, Betty’s Battle named for your mother who passed away from ALS-related complications in 2008. In addition to all that, you have three best-selling books and you’re now engaged in the digital space with an educational iPhone and iPad app, Little Ashby Star Reporter. Generally, I ask people what they’re working on. Here I think an easier question is what aren’t you working on?

Sounds like I’m not working on rest too much. They’re all really fun things…like Little Ashby Star Reporter, the app that I did that you can get either for the iPad or iPhone, as you said. It was something that was like a labor of love because I learned that from watching my daughter doing all these educations apps and loving it and that’s just part of their growing up. It wasn’t a part of our growing up. It’s that they know how to work all these gadgets and stuff. I saw her learning so much by doing these fun game-type things and you know, I always thought, “It would be really cool to have a little cartoon character who was a reporter,” because that’s one thing that I love about my job is that I’m constantly learning because I have to go to different places and meet different people. I have to do research on them or research on the places and it’s just constantly a learning experience for me. So I thought, “How great for kids,” and then it turned into a game and fun videos that they can watch but it teaches them at the same time. So, a lot of the things you mentioned are things that I love to do, and to watch my daughter actually play an app that was named after her and her repeat some of the things back that she learned from it. Such a neat experience. And we have another one actually coming out soon. We’re working on the 2^nd story. I’m doing a Little Ashby series.

Congratulations on Little Ashby because I think it was just announced that it was a finalist for Cynopsis Kids !magination Award for “Educational App.”

It was. Thank you for mentioning that. It was a thrill. The honor is for being one of the best in the educational arena, and for that, I take great pride in it. Like I said, we’re working on the next one where Little Ashby is going to go report next so when I tell everybody to see CRESCENT Magazine and listen to CRESCENT Magazine, that you can go to LittleAshbyStarReporter.com. I’d love for you to sign up so I can let you know when the next one is coming out.

Let’s kind of go back to the beginning. When you were growing up, at what point did you have that moment of realization when you said “I’m going to live the rest of my life in front of a camera.”?

You know, I really didn’t. I can honestly say that I remember sitting in my home in Myrtle Beach, SC watching “Entertainment Tonight” and thinking, “That’s got to be the coolest job ever.” Remember Mary Hart in her beautiful gowns and thinking, “That seems like such a fun job,” and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would someday eventually become the host of that show. I actually majored in marketing at Clemson, so I started out in a small TV station in Myrtle Beach/Florence, selling television advertising, and because it was small market, they didn’t require a lot of experience, and on the weekends, I started doing news cut-ins for them, and that’s when I realized that I really liked it because I was constantly learning. Again, one of the reasons I did the app was that I was constantly learning. It was changing every single day, and I thought it was fun because the job never got old. In fact, that’s one thing I love about my job now. I’m going to interview Tom Cruise for the 50^th time, but it’s a different movie in a different location and different co-stars and a different story, so I’m constantly learning. When I realized that I liked it, I got an offer from Charleston from doing the weekend cut-ins at Myrtle Beach to come in and work there, and that’s the point I said, “OK. I really like being a reporter. I really like the fact it’s changing every day, and the stories are different and unique.” So I accepted the job and thought it would be fun to live in Charleston and lived there for 3 years on the police beat, covering the crime beat and anchoring the morning news there. An agent called, and I signed with him, and he got me a job in Miami, and from Miami, I went to Los Angeles. So that’s kind of how it happened. Kind of happened by accident.

And things have really changed, too, since you first got involved because there has been so much of an inclusion of digital integration. When you first got started in television, who would have thought that you didn’t necessarily have to schedule what time you were going to watch something, that you were going to be able to watch it on a phone that fit in your pocket or on a computer that sat on your desk? Those kinds of things have changed the way that you’re able to get out there and promote yourself, promote what’s going on, see what’s happening in the world of entertainment, what’s happening in the world of current events, all of those things. How has that changed for you?

I mean, digital has changed the world for everybody as far as news is concerned, whether it be entertainment news or news in general. It has provided a lot more competition, so it’s great to be on “Entertainment Tonight”, which is such a standard and really the one that started all the entertainment news. It was the first of its kind, the gold standard when it comes to entertainment news. The tough part of it…so it was king back when it started, and so now, it’s just like maintaining that position because there are so many different places where you can get your news, so we’re constantly trying to make things different and do them sooner and get the exclusive. So that is different in the world. I think the great thing about ET is it kind of stands on its own just because the name has been around for so long.

Just from being the veteran, just from being around from the beginning. That helps.

With everything that you have going on, you still maintain very close ties to your home state. Anybody who follows your Twitter feed at @NancyODell, especially during football season, knows your Clemson Tigers are never too far from your thoughts.

How difficult is it to be as involved as you are in family and work and your philanthropic endeavors on the West Coast and still stay so deeply rooted in the Southeast?

Well, that’s where digital has helped, that’s for sure because I can keep in contact. You know, it’s funny, I …on my Twitter not long ago. I said, “Hey, you know, how are my Clemson friends out there? Let me know about your other Clemson friends and Clemson conversations.” I get the tweets to my phone, and all of a sudden, it started lighting up like crazy. It nice to know you’ve got a community like that kind of sticks together, so that’s been fairly easy so I can keep in touch with everybody via Facebook and via Clemson, but it’s something that’s important to me. I mean, my dad still lives in Myrtle Beach so, of course, huge tie right there alone, my daddy.

And I believe that on May 10, you’re even going to get an honorary doctorate from the fine folks in Tigertown.

I am. I’m very excited about that. Clemson University give me…I was telling my co-host at ET today, actually, I was teasing him, “You know as of May 10^th, I’m not expecting you to call me Nancy anymore. I want to be called DOCTOR Nancy O’Dell.” We got a good laugh out of that.

I might have to. I was there not long ago. I went back to see my sister. She has a house near Clemson, and I went to see them over the summer. That’s where they took me to eat and I was like, “The Esso Club’s fabulous, but I sure do remember it tasting a lot better when I was in college.” It’s funny. In college, it’s about all you can afford. Right?

The Tigers are looking pretty good this baseball season, but as you know, being from the South, everybody is already looking to fall, so putting you on the spot, what are the Tigers going to do this football season, and will they end their 4-year drought against the Gamecocks?

Absolutely, it’s time. You know, that game you can never predict because it’s just so competitive. It doesn’t matter how much better one team is over the other. It just the adrenaline and everything gets going, but my Tigers will win because they’re going to be the National Champions this year. There you have it.

Yes, and Dabo and I have texted about this when he invited me back to some women’s clinic or something. I was laughing so hard because a lot of times I’ll tweet back and forth with different celebrities and stuff. It’s a natural thing for me, but it was so special the other day when Tajh Boyd tweeted me. “Tajh Boyd tweeted me. Woo!” I told Tom Cruise “Tajh Boyd tweeted me!”

It was funny to watch the Governor’s State of the State address back in January and see Tajh Boyd in the House gallery waving to the Governor was she recognized him during her address.

It shows you how big the sports are, especially Clemson football, in South Carolina. And Carolina, too, they’re doing so well.

There’s no doubt about that, and as much as I want to see my Clemson Tigers beat Carolina every single day, it is a great source of pride for the state to see both teams doing so well.

The state seems to be getting a lot of notice from Hollywood and from New York, as well. The host of movies that have been filmed in the Carolinas including…there were a few months when George Clooney made a temporary home in Greenville when he filmed “Leatherheads.” The Today Show recently broadcast from Charleston. There’s a new Food Network competition show that is about use Spartanburg as a backdrop. Lifetime’s Army Wives has called the Lowcountry home for a few years. CBS announced back in March that it has a new fall series called Reckless that’s going to shoot in Charleston, and even the General Assembly has taken up legislation to boost film incentives. Living in the entertainment world, do you ever have industry people who know that you’re from South Carolina comment on our little corner of the world?

Oh yeah. They’re always asking me about Charleston, that’s for sure. A lot of them ask me about Wilmington, and I have to explain that’s actually North Carolina. It’s only about an hour from South Carolina, from Myrtle Beach so I have to have to explain to them that, from my hometown, it’s only about an hour. But yeah, they do. They often ask especially the more infamous locations like Charleston, and I’m always trying to find something that’s taking place in South Carolina so I’ll have an excuse to go back home. So I’m always volunteering to cover those. That’s for sure. And of course, you forgot about Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds getting married there.

And that’s difficult to do in that world, but there’s something about being able to have an event like that in South Carolina. People will just kind of leave you alone. Although George Clooney would disagree because he said that women would not leave him alone the entire time he was here.

As busy as you are with family and career, you still make time for a tremendous amount of charitable work. What first got you involved in philanthropy, and really, how do you fit it all in?

You know, sometimes, it’s tough. I always say that you choose your causes that are important to you and you’re passionate about, whether it is for personal reason or a friendship reason, it means to me, I think the best ones to be involved in are the ones you have personal ties like Best Buddies, I’m very involved with them. They help people with intellectual disabilities in the community and form one-on-one friendships with them because they tend to lead isolated lives. My aunt was a person with Down syndrome, so I totally understand what the organization is all about, because I know my aunt would always say, “I don’t understand why I can’t be a cheerleader. I don’t understand why I don’t go to school every day. I don’t understand why I can be a member of the basketball team.” That’s exactly what Best Buddies does, is they take these individuals, and they form one-on-one friendships so they can participate in all these things, and they then get them jobs. They have a whole jobs program. Because of my involvement with Best Buddies and my wonderful bosses here at ET and The Insider, our sister show. Both have hired a Buddy so now we have 2 Best Buddies here working for the show. They often make better employees than everybody else because they’re very into their job and take great pride in it. I work a lot with MDA, Muscular Dystrophy Association. I learned about them when my mom was diagnosed with ALS. They were the first people that came in and said, “You know, it’s a horrible diagnosis that you’ve gotten, but we’ll be there for you every step of the way,” and they were there for us every single step of the way. They have specialized doctors who know about ALS, which is…it’s not that common so to be able to find a general doctor who knows a lot about it is difficult because it’s just not that common. So for them to have these clinics across the country for you to be able to go to was a huge, valuable resource. So the least I can do is try to help them to pay back how much they did to help us and the whole process of knowing what to do and where to go and who to turn to.

Yes it is. May is ALS Awareness Month, so hopefully, more people will understand it better and help us to someday find a cure for it.

We can hope. We can definitely hope. Changing to a couple of quick lighter notes. These are two questions that I always have to ask. The first one is, “What do you hate to get asked?” I don’t want to sound like James Lipton here, but what question do you hate to get asked more than anything else?

Let’s see. “What celebrity do you like the least.” I hate to get asked that because I never want to tell it.

Exactly. It’s my job. I can’t tell you the ones I like the least. I can tell you the ones that are not the best interviews, but I don’t like to say who I like the least. So that would probably be the one because I get asked that a lot. People want to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. Right?

They do, and I know there have been some unfortunate situations that have been reported recently, and everybody is questioning why this person does one thing or says something to law enforcement and they should know better. Things happen. You just have to let it ride.

What do you rarely or never get asked that you wish somebody would, in the middle of an interview, just pop right out so you can say what’s been burning to come out.

Oh, gosh. Well, that’s a good question. I never get asked that question. I never get asked the question of what question do you not ever get asked that you want to be asked. I don’t know. That’s a good question. I’ll have to think about that one. I would think that…a lot of time people will definitely get into the celebrity stuff and not focus as much on the charity stuff you asked me about. Thank you for asking about that. Or they won’t focus on your family stuff, which is as important to me, way more important than anything in the world, so I like to be asked about that. But people are just so fascinated about celebrities, which I do appreciate because that’s how I make a living, that’s for sure.

You have become a celebrity dealing with celebrities and there’s a certain sociological interest in that.

There is such an interest in celebrity, which I find fascinating even though I do this for a living, and maybe that’s why I find it so fascinating. I’ve been around it. I’ve been doing it for…I’ve been a journalist for 23 years now… of course, I started when I was 5 but…

But I’ve been doing entertainment for 15, 16 years now, so maybe I’m so used to being around them that the celebrity side of it is not as fascinating to me. It’s more what they do as a human being or how they behave or how they behave when the cameras are off. Having been around them so much it’s not…you’ve done it so long you don’t get star struck anymore. But I’m always interested that people are so interested in every element of their lives. That’s interesting to me. But like you said again, I’m glad they are because it allows me to do what I do.

And…where we had talked about digital integration before, that has changed what allows people to become celebrities. You know, whether it’s YouTube, whether it’s shows that I would not mention that deal with our state that may take place in a certain mobile home park in the Independent Republic of Horry…

Where cast members are getting arrested… That’s what qualifies for celebrity now.

You know that has changed. Reality show stars are definitely celebrities now so that has certainly changed in the world.

A little bit. I understand the actors’ and actress’ frustration because they studied so hard to be where they are and gone through…worked so hard on what they call their craft being actors and actresses, then all of a sudden, these people who do something on a reality show become big celebrities. I can’t say that…it’s not frustrating because I enjoy a lot of the reality shows so much myself. I love to watch American Idol. I love to watch The Voice. I love to watch those kinds of shows. So I like the entertainment it provides. It’s just changed the world, that’s all. And it’s changed the way TV is because programming is so different and what you watch on television now. You can’t…there’s no network that you can watch that doesn’t have a reality show. They all realize that they have to continue to create it.

And there’s the cost that goes into that compared with a fully-scripted, fully-produced, “Let’s bring in a host of writers, and do a 3-camera sitcom or full hour-long drama.”

Yeah, it’s certainly cheaper to produce a reality show, no question about that, so that plays a big part into it because a reality show that doesn’t have the same amount of ratings that a scripted show has may survive just because it makes more profit because it costs less to produce. So it’s funny that can happen, but it can actually be a lesser rated show, but it makes more money, so it’s going to stick around.

That’s amazing. And I know that you had mentioned Mary Hart earlier on and I know that that had to be a…not so much a daunting chair to fill but she had been there for so long. Did you have any hesitation when you got offered the gig?

It was a little daunting in knowing that she is the one that started it all. She was the host of the beginning of the entertainment shows so even my 13 years of Access Hollywood…I told Mary when I came aboard and I knew Mary from many years before because we had been on the red carpet together. I have always adored her and we were friends so…but I told her I credited her with my job at Access Hollywood that I had for 13 years because if I had not been for Mary’s success, for ET’s success, then Access Hollywood would have never been created, which afforded me that job which wound me back at ET so then I tell her that I have her to thank for my job. And to get her blessing, too. You know Access and ET…when I was on Access. We were competitive shows in that we aired the same thing. ET was a much bigger show as far as their ratings, and the way it is produced and stuff like that but they’re considered competitors because they cover the same thing, so having been around in that world for a while helped to transition a little bit. Not quite so daunting because it wasn’t all new to me. It was going on a different show but to get her blessing helped in that feeling, too. For her to know that she had said, “This is the person I would like to replace me when I retire.” To have her say that is a huge help and a huge honor, and that helped in that transition a lot.

It did and then, you know, I came in to ET…I forget how long before I took over but I was here for a good while while Mary was still here reporting, so that made the transition easier, as well.

And she’s still got good legs, by the way. Maybe I need to. She still has good legs by the way. That’s one of the first things I noticed when I came here. No, I don’t have anything insured. Maybe I should do that. Maybe I should insure my Southern accent.

You know, it’s still there, just a little bit. If you pay attention and you listen, it’s there. And if you’re anything like I am, if you get upset it really comes out.

Now, see, you’ll say it’s there just a little bit because you’re used to hearing massive Southern accent like I am when I got back home. But here, everybody notices it.

Yeah, because just a little bit stands out to them. So people will be like, “Where in the South are you from?” And when I’m on stage, you know, I have to take it out and do more general, but Nancy is Nancy. And I used to have a massively Southern accent, so just years and years and years of doing the news, it kind of slowly came out. But if you could hear my sister and my dad and my family, there is no question. I’ve got a Southern accent.

Right. I was able to become a little more Southern and say, “Y’all” or “All of y’all.”

Which I’ve noticed is becoming more prevalent in general vernacular. People seem to be using it more outside of the Southeast.

They are. I think it is very contagious. People pick up on a Southern accent. I think that it’s fun. Like I said, the plural of “y’all” is “all y’all,” and everybody seems to like that little phrase.

How have the TMZs of the world, the Tyler Durdens, or Superficials changed the way that you approach reporting from a mainstream entertainment outlet news reporting angle?

Funny thing about “Entertainment Tonight.” It’s just that huge credibility from the fact it’s been around for so long. You know it doesn’t have the banner of being a tabloid show attached to it, so we see it in our ratings. When there is a big entertainment story, a celebrity gets in trouble, or the day after the Oscars or the day after the Golden Globes or whatever. Our ratings spike so much. I get so proud of that because to me, that means that…we’ve got that credibility factor when there’s a big story, we’re the one that everybody turns to. On a daily basis, it happens as well, but you really see it when big stories happen and you want to get the truth and you want to get the information first. You want to get the total information and I think that’s what ET prides itself on — the fact that celebrities do come to us to reveal the true side of the story or they do come to us with a big exclusive or they do come to us for an interview and I think that is how the show will always distinguish itself as truly the entertainment news, not the gossip because we’re going to go out and get the facts and the figures, and we’re going to cover it like no one else covers it. I say that with great pride.

And after 31 years, like you said, there is that credibility. People know that they can trust it.

Absolutely. Well, I know that we’ve been trying to get this discussion scheduled for quite some time but there was awards season that you had to get through first, and it seems like there was something every weekend. What event during awards season is your number one?

I love the Grammys, first of all, which are fun and loose and crazy. We get special access because they’re on CBS, and my personal favorite is…everybody thinks it is going to be the Oscars or Golden Globes, but I’m sure you can probably guess that the Country Music Awards are my personal favorite because I am Southern

and I grew up listening to country music.

I am, and to be there, and to present and hang out with the country music stars… It is my favorite for several reasons. A) I’m a huge fan of country music. B) The country music stars are so down to earth and normal. They don’t walk around with huge entourages, not that all the other celebrities do that, they don’t but a lot of them do, and it’s just that country music stars are just…they’re very genuine. They’re very down to earth, act very normal. You know? You feel like you can just go greet them left and right and hang out and have a good chat with them.

And, of course, one of the biggest country stars around right now is also from South Carolina. From Charleston. Darius Rucker.

That’s right. I saw him at the ACMs. I love Darius, and that’s what we always say when we see each other. “Hello, fellow South Carolinian.”

Even though he may have gone to a different school and wears a different color jersey, that’s OK. We love our Gamecock friends.

Now listen. I always say this, and my Clemson Tiger friends get a little mad at me for saying this, but I say I pull for South Carolina when they’re not playing Clemson. And they’re like, “How could you do that? You cannot pull for South Carolina.” Absolutely I do because my mother went there, and it’s a fellow…it’s another school in the state. I think we should all be supportive of each other when we’re not playing each other.

Well, I would agree. The degree on my wall says University of South Carolina but I have already written my IPTAY check, and I have to pay for our season tickets to Clemson by Monday.

But you have to do that. You really do. I know you have a lot going on and I do so much appreciate your taking time, Nancy. Congratulations on the award nomination for Little Ashby. Congratulations on the honorary doctorate from Clemson. Congratulations on all of the success that you’ve achieved so far and continue to build. I just wanted to remind everybody that you can watch Nancy on ET all week long. Check your local listings for air times and stations. You can watch each day’s full episodes online at etonline.com. Thank you so much Nancy. It was a real pleasure. I appreciate you joining us here at CRESCENT.

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Todd Howard -- From Spartanburg to Spike TV

You don’t want to see him banging on your door, and you don’t want to get on his bad side. If you follow those two pieces of advice, you’ll be just fine. In fact, you and Spartanburg native Todd Howard will probably get along great and even share a few laughs.

He has a strong personality and a great sense of humor, and that’s the reason we’re bringing you this interview in an audio format, too…well, that and by being a cloud-based magazine we have capabilities we can take advantage of that other magazines can’t.

Since his honorable discharge from the Marines in 1987, Todd Howard’s career path has been a little on the nontraditional side. Still, it’s a path that serves him well, and it’s a path that is giving him two seasons (at least) of a hit television show.

Listen to or download CRESCENT’s complete interview with Todd Howard HERE.

My name’s Todd Howard. I’m a former Marine and an eviction specialist with over 20 years experience. We’re getting ready to do an episode of World’s Worst Tenants and we’re going to evict the big Taft Matney from CRESCENT Magazine…all the way in South Carolina.

Listen, man, I really appreciate your taking time out this afternoon to join us and I know that you’ve got a lot going on. Before I say anything else, and I’m not saying this just because I have you on the phone today, but I love the show.

It is absolutely hysterical. It is laugh out loud funny. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect the first time I watched it and it really is one of those things that absolutely got me hooked. But before you and I start talking too much more, let me go ahead and do a quick intro. Ladies and gentlemen, we have with us today the co-producer and the host of Spike TV’s hit series World’s Worst Tenants and a native of Spartanburg, Mr. Todd Howard. Todd, I really appreciate your taking the time.

You know, I was going to ask you about that. Where did that come from? Because, for people who haven’t seen the show, there is a look that you have from the front and there is a distinctly different look that you have from the back.

I’ve got to tell you a funny story. I’m in the gym today and the guy says to me, he goes, “You know when you’re selling a product, you’ve got the have the product you’re trying to sell on the front of your web site.” I go, “Exactly, that’s why, when you go to my web site, you see my picture first.” I was making a joke with him and I said, “The thing I can’t figure out is if I’m going to make more money selling the front side or the back side.”

I’ve got to tell you a funny. I had to…to make it real short…I’m a guy that likes to change his looks all the time and I guess have ADD. I’ve had it my whole life and, for me, that’s kind of been a benefit. Not to everybody else, but just to me. The funny thing is, I always tell people, “When I was a Marine, I had a high-and-tight, and as I’ve grown older, it’s become a low-and-loose.” I used to really get pegged for Stone Cold Steve Austin all the time, and literally, I’ve probably signed hundreds of autographs where people won’t let me go. They’re saying, when he was very popular years ago, you know, and I had…

And it’s not just the look. People used to tell me on the phone before they ever even knew what I looked like, they’d go, “Dude, you remind me of The Rattlesnake.” If I go to Mexico, I’m telling you I’ve never met Stone Cold. I’ve been to a lot of studios where he was at. It seems like he was there an hour before me or I was there an hour before him or something. We’ve always just missed but I want to see him one day and tell him the reason I had to grow this crap on the back of my head is because people always thought I was you. So I had to differentiate myself. Long story short, it’s probably just a little signature. It’s kind of like a, like I said, a little signature. It kind of separates me from everybody else and I’m kind of the guy…if everybody’s moving to the right, I want to be moving to the left. There’s probably not a day goes by that some…usually it’s a pretty lady that stops me and goes “Dude, why do you have that on the back of your head? Why don’t you just shave it off?” I say, “Mama likes it and the uglier the better and, guess what, I can’t see the back of my head so I don’t care.” So people say “What do you call it?” I say “I call it a hair don’t.” There’s people that have hair do’s and, for me, it’s a hair don’t. It’s not something I recommend, but if you do have one, you’ll probably get very tough because you’ll get cut down every day and people will make snide remarks on the internet.

But, here’s the thing, Todd. If anybody has taken a look at you, nobody’s going to make snide remarks to your face.

They’re always doing it on the internet, that’s for sure, but they’re really nice when I’m in front of them.

You’re a former Marine and you’re obviously spending a good bit of time in the gym. What do you bench?

You know, probably the best bench press I’ve ever had, when I say bench press, you know, without any kind of assistance with a bench shirt or anything like that, it’s probably about 500, maybe a little over 500. But you know, I don’t train that way. This was years ago when I thought you had to lift heavy weights in order to stay decent and it’s kind of like an ego builder. I always tell people that a bench press is an ego builder. It jacks your shoulders. I messes you up on a long term basis. I saw a kid in the gym the other day and I said…he had maybe 405 or something on there and I go “Hey, bro, would you like to be able to do that or look like you could do it?” And I walked away. I’m almost 50 years old and a lot of the guys that I knew that trained really, really heavy through the years…when I say they’re broken down, I mean arthritis…a lot of the guys, they took a lot of steroids years ago and their hearts are not like they used to be. I’ve got friends that are having heart attacks left and right from the old days. I never did that. I was always in it for the long haul and I still am. My goal is to be in shape. I train 5 days a week. I eat extremely healthy. I never eat desserts. I don’t eat any junk food. Zero. Because I can’t afford it. I kind of look at food like this. There is strong food and there is weak food. If I want my body to be weak, I eat weak food and my body becomes weak like most people. But, instead, I try to choose the strong foods. Does that make sense?

It makes perfect sense, but how do you come from Spartanburg and you don’t say , “I miss The Beacon.”

Let me tell you. My grandmother and my mother…my grandmother lived with us growing up, she health was poor and, when I tell you what she cooked every day, you’ll know why her health was poor. Dude, it was biscuits and gravy…cornbread…pinto beans. There’s nothing wrong with pinto beans but when you start mixing the pinto beans and the cornbread and the fried chicken…you know how it is. That’s how we were taught to eat. Fortunately, in the late 70s, I guess it was maybe the early 80s, I stumbled into the Olympian Fitness Center in Spartanburg, SC. That was owned by Lee Haney and W.C. Bain. You remember Sheriff Bain?

Well, Sheriff Bain…that was his son. W.C. was his son. He and Lee Haney owned that gym. I was just a young kid, 12 years old, 13 years old and I stumbled into there and I met Lee and Lee became my buddy. I was his chauffer at times. I used to have a little 73 Volkswagen Bug and, whenever Lee wanted to go somewhere…I don’t know why he would ride with me. He’s go “OK, let’s go, you’re going to drive but you better not kill me because I’m going to be the #1 body building that ever existed.” He used to say that. For me, I guess I believed it but I didn’t really believe it because he was just a guy from Spartanburg that had a great physique and, at the time, he was about 19 or 20. When I said I was driving him around, I guess I was obviously 15, 16 at the time, but I met him when I was 13. He taught me how to eat right. He taught me what the right things were to eat so I kind of got a foundation there.

If you’re going to listen to somebody, an 8-time Mr. Olympia is probably a good person to listen to.

Well, yeah, at the time, he was a no-time Mr. Olympia. He just had a pipe dream. He had just won the…when I met him…he had won the Teenage America. He hadn’t even turned pro. When I joined the Marines in 1983, Lee had competed in the Olympia in 83. He did not win. He was like 2^nd or 3^rd and I might have my facts wrong, you could look it up. And I think in 84 is when he started to win. When I came to California, I thought “Oh, wow, man, Venice Beach. I’d heard all about Venice Beach and, you know, everybody works out, everybody’s in shape. I came out here to Venice Beach and I start looking at these body buildings and I’m thinking “Man, these guys aren’t that great. I mean, they’re OK but they’re not that great.” But then, at the same time, I’d been used to seeing Lee all the time.

Exactly, exactly. One of those guys say “Man, dad, you’re tall.” Well, wait a minute, dad’s only 5’6” but, if he’s comparing to a kid, you know. It’s all based on what you see. It’s all relative.

Before we go any further, I want to make sure that everybody knows Season 2 of World’s Worst Tenants on Spike TV wraps up on May 14, but everybody can still catch the first run episodes on Tuesday nights, 10 ET, 9 CT and other times throughout the week by checking their local listings. I was glad to see, too, because this is something a lot of networks haven’t done and still aren’t reaching out there but Spike is making sure that the full episodes are on its web site wo the people can watch on demand from anywhere by going to Spike.com and looking up World’s Worst Tenants on the show listing. It’s awesome that they’re promoting you out there that much.

Yeah, it is, it’s really great. Out of all the networks we could have gone to or gotten picked up by, Spike was the one…it wasn’t set out to be that way but I’m really happy we did. Those people over at Spike are really, really good people. It’s just a blast going to that Guy’s Choice Awards every year. They’ve just been really, really great. I have great respect for those guys and they’re a good team to be on.

To describe it, and stop me and tell me that I’m wrong at any point. To describe it really, you would say World’s Worst Tenants is a “reality-based” show that’s focusing on your 20 years of experience in property management and dealing with tough tenants?

Yes sir, basically, what I’ll tell you this. The way it started was…I sold Rick a house in 1996, my partner Rick.

That’s right and I’ve been married since ‘93. My wife and I had a house and we had it

over in an area that wasn’t the greatest area. It wasn’t the greatest side of town and I decided “Hey.” I told her “Look, I want to have kids.” And she goes “I’m not going to have kids in this neighborhood.” She said “Every time I come home, there are gang bangers standing on the side of the street.” Well, we couldn’t afford a house in another neighborhood, we were lucky to be able to afford this one. Anyway, she put pressure on me to move. The whole idea, at the time, my house was probably worth, maybe $90,000 and I had already…I’m the guy who goes in a like a dummy and I take the house in the neighborhood and I overbuild it. I put a really nice pool in the back and I do all this…anyway, the house…I owed about $148,000 on it at the time and the next door neighbor’s house sold for $90,000. I said “Well, there’s no way we’re even going to be able to sell this house without taking beating on it. But if we can, if we can sell the house and move on, then we will.” Long story short, I found a house in Fall Oak where I live now, actually the home I’m sitting in right now. It was $270,000. I didn’t have anywhere near that money but I was able to get a loan because I always kept my credit good. But it was all predicated of me selling the house at full value. What was the likelihood of me doing it? Well, Rick walks through one day…he walks through the house…he looks at it. He walks right back out. He never said hello to me, he never shook my hand, nothing. He walks in, walks out. He says “I’ll take it.” And I’m thinking “What an idiot. He buys a freaking house and takes over the loan for $148,000 and the house is only worth about $90,000.” Well, about 2 years later…he and I became friends and a couple of years later, he showed me where the house was worth about $220,000. And he goes “Who was the fool?” I go “Yeah, you’re right.” Long story short, we started a company…we started working together and we’ve acquired 100+ properties throughout all those years and we deal with some of the craziest stuff that you’ve ever seen in your life. I mean…we’ve created our lease now that every time somebody does something real crazy, you just…it started out as 1 page and now it’s like maybe 7 or 8 pages long. Every time somebody does something crazy, you write it into the lease. And we learned it all based on experience. We’ve been to court over 100 and something times. We’ve never once had a judgment against us. I was in court just last week and we always said we were going to create a reality show based on it and we would run film when things got really, really crazy. I’m the kind of a guy…Rick’s the guy that tries…he tries to do things amicably and I have a tendency to push people over the edge a little bit. I’ve always said “Look, if the guys breaking the law and I can make him take a swing at me then, all of a sudden, if I can verbally cause him to do that, then I can pretty much get rid of him pretty quick because he just assaulted me.” Anyway, we ran a lot of tape on that and long story short, all of these are based on actual events. Recreations are used in the show because unless a person signs…if you see a person’s face, they have to sign a disclaimer, as you know. We do keep them as real as possible. There are…some of them aren’t recreations, some are. It’s a mixed bag. It is what we do. We do it every day. These are our stories. There’s a disclaimer at the end of each episode and, basically, what we try to do is we try to educate landlords and tenants and show them the dispute that happened. You know, the people…a lot of people, the fans and stuff “Aw, there’s no way this possibly happened.” But yet I get property managers coming to me all the time when I travel around the country and they go “Dude, we got stories better than that.” I go “I know you do, brother.” But people don’t realize that human being are capable of anything. When somebody calls me and says “Hey, so and so ate their young.” Hey, I believe it. We had a situation in Arizona where…this wasn’t my situation, it was good friend of mine and he asked me to come in on it. He had a health club where one of the employees got mad at the other, doused them with gasoline, threw them in the dumpster, set it on fire. People are just crazy.

And that’s what amazes me. And I guess what amazes me equally as much is how you’re able to get somebody to sign the release form.

Well, sometimes it comes down to money. I mean, if a guy’s goose is cooked then, isn’t he willing to mitigate his damage? Sometimes. People will do crazy things to get on TV.

The guy who put the additional vents in so the cigarette smoke was blowing in to the emphysema lady’s apartment next door or the contractor who was essentially running a campground at the house he was renovating or the guy that had the alligator in the bathtub. Over 20 years, those are incredible experiences and incredible stories to tell.

There was a guy once…you haven’t even seen this. There was a guy that had a tiger living in his basement. Literally, the tiger had grown up in the guy’s basement. It was unbelievable. Finally, the tiger got mad and he didn’t want to live in the basement any more.

Exactly. I coined the phrase “You’re lying like a tenant.” Don’t get me wrong. Understand we’re financially successful because we have really good tenants. We really do. We have great tenants. Literally between Rick and I we’ve had probably a thousand tenants throughout the years. If you take a thousand of anything, you’re going to come up with a small percentage of crap. This show is not about the good tenants because, if it was about the good tenants, you wouldn’t watch it, nobody would be interested in it. This show showcases the world’s worst tenants and the stories are actually endless. We’ve got stories that are just…they’re just crazy and they go on and on. When we get called out on a case, we don’t know anything. We’re given a case file and we just go. We have to handle everything by the law and that’s another thing that we try to do in the show. We’re trying not to just entertain people but we’re trying to give them some education, as well, and teach them certain elements of landlord/tenant law. Of course, we’re not attorneys but, at the same time, we can give you the basics and then you can go figure out what the law is in your state, in your city because it changes from state to state, city to city. So the goal is not just entertainment, it also, we’re trying to give you guys something, as well. Does that make sense?

It makes perfect sense. And does Spike realize what you bring to table and have they signed on for season 3?

They never sign on for season 3 until season 2 is done. We typically…we’re doing a million…right about the million mark and I’m not the guy to answer that question, Spike is. I think the show’s got some teeth. I think they like us. I think we’ve done a pretty good job but, at the end of the day, the viewers tell the story.

That’s true, so you want everybody to get in touch with Spike and let them know they’re watching and make sure they get the internet hits on the web site. Make sure that they’re watching, they’re DVRing. There’s a dynamic that you and Randye and Rick all have and it’s something that make the show work. How much of that do you really have to force and how much of that relationship is organic?

It’s one million percent organic. Nothing is forced. The show is not scripted. There is no script at all. So all of that is real. It’s so funny that you mention that. Everybody that knows me and knows us, they’ll watch the show and they’ll go “It’s just like driving down the road with you guys on a normal day.” “That’s how you guys are?” I go “Yeah, the show’s not scripted.” Some shows…people realize reality is often far from reality. Things are staged and things are scripted and so forth and so on. There’s no scripted jokes, there’s nothing that’s scripted and that…I always tell people this “Look, World’s Worst Tenants is a real as it gets.” And that’s just it. These are all our stories and…for example, yesterday, we’ve got a tenant that’s on Section 8. You know what Section 8 is?

OK. She’s on Section 8. She’s a nice lady but we go down there and all of a sudden there’s like 12 cars in the driveway. It’s a duplex that Rick and I owe down in San Diego. And it’s not in the worse area, it’s not in the greatest area. I’ve got a guy living out there in a van. So I knock on the door and he won’t even come to the door. So we’ve been there a couple of times, he won’t even answer it. It’s like nobody is in the van. Yet he won’t move the van. So we posted notices, he hadn’t done anything. We called the tow truck. The tow truck comes out and he comes out and says “Hey, you can’t tow this thing with me in it.” And then we call the police and he won’t answer the door when he comes out so he plays this cat and mouse game. Finally, I told him “Look, here’s what we’re going to do, dude, just so you’ll know. If I have to drive down to San Diego tomorrow, I’m going to bring my big truck, I’m going to put a chain around your frigging axle and I’m going to drag your vehicle wherever I want to drag it to and that’s going to be it. I’m not going to call the cops anymore…well, now it’s gone. We deal with that kind of stuff. Sometimes you try to do the right thing but you can’t do the right thing. As my dad said a long time ago. My dad was a mortician in Spartanburg, SC for 50 years and he was always…he was a real jovial guy and there was somebody that I was trying to help one day and he goes “Todd, give it us. Those people aren’t going to let you help them. Because remember this. Some SOBs won’t let you love them.”

There is not. You can do the best… and that’s the whole idea of what people don’t realize. When we show up, there’s already a whole lot of water under the bridge meaning that you guys are seeing 7 minutes of what could have been a 3 month back and forth. Does that make sense.

It does, it does. And you also have people who have done their best to try and work the system.

Yeah, and that’s who we’re dealing with. I’ve had people like…I had, I think it was MSNBC, one of the liberal media people tried to paint me as a bad guy kicking people out of their house. And I just laughed. “You know lady, I got to tell you something. Drug dealers, people that are just absolutely holding homes hostage. I’ve never kicked a person out of a house for not paying rent in my life that I did not go help try to find another place. You know what I mean?” These are people that are just blatant, blatant, blatant. We’ve got over $450,000 worth of judgments that we’ve gotten in the court system for landlord/tenant stuff through the years. So that’s where a lot of that experience comes from. Will we ever collect it? Absolutely not because a lot of these people are just bad people. As you grow in the business, you become more and more savvy and you look for certain things. You don’t even take a tenant if those things are not in order. Then you’re still taking a chance but, at the end of the day, it cancels out. So if I’m losing 400 grand, I must be making more on the other side or it would go away, right?

I’m amazed that folks will actually tell you “I know what my rights are, you can’t kick me out.” But I think there was a property manager that you had to deal with that was doing drugs, running drugs out of his place. You had somebody who was in a hotel for 29 days and, if he’d stayed one more day, he’d been a resident and knew he just had to get that extra day in there and y’all were trying to get him out at one point. They sit there and they try to flaunt that in your face “I know what my rights are.”

But here’s what you also have to know on that, Taft. Whenever somebody starts speaking in that manner, and they’re doing something like that, they’re not very smart. They usually just have enough information to hang themselves and, typically, they are always breaking the law in some way. So what we do is we go in and we try to find them doing something that is illegal and we try to use that as a bartering system, if you will.

Like the property manager. “Hey, man, let’s take this inside. We don’t want to have this discussion out there.” And the second you step in the door and see everything that is inside his place, you know there is a serious issue with drugs.

You already know there is. I’ve got to tell you too, Taft, 15 or 20 years ago it wasn’t like this. There were people who did bad things but drugs are so rampant these days and it blows my mind that a human being would put poison in their body like they do. There’s people doing drugs you’d never imagine doing drugs. But it comes out in their behavior. You just start looking and you’re thinking “OK now, what’s going on.” Look around their place. You know, it shows up. It’s unbelievable. I just don’t get it but I think we’ve got a big, big problem in society and I don’t see there being any progress in taking care of it.

What ended up getting you out to California? When you left the Marines in ‘87, did you just decide “OK, I’ve done my time,” and see what else is out there?

I was in Spartanburg and…it’s so funny…the Marines got me out here is what happened. I joined the Marines and never even realized the Parris Island existed but then I realized with a harsh reality in October of 83. When I got done, they sent me to school Millington, TN. I had a little girl friend in South Carolina and I’m thinking “Man, I’m kind of home sick and I want to stay on this coast line. I want to stay in North Carolina.” So that was the goal, I was going to try to get stationed in North Carolina. I went to school at Millington, TN and they told us “Whoever finishes first in the class can go to their choice of duty stations.” I’m not the smartest guy in the world but I’m definitely not the dumbest. So if somebody gives me a challenge to say “You’ve got to be #1 in your class.” I’m starting to look at my class and I’m thinking “This is going to be easy.” So I already had it set that I was going to be in North Carolina. It was no problem. There was this little guy. His last name was Love. He was from somewhere in Virginia, I can’t remember. Roanoke, VA or something like that. PFC Love was his name and he was doing terrible in school and this final exam, it actually served as the largest part of your grade. So I was laying in my…I was at the gym one day doing my 500 pound bench press and a little bird happened to fly over me and it dropped the final exam right on the top of my chest as I was doing a bench press. Don’t ask me how that happened but it did.

So I helped this guy study for the test. Here’s what I told him to do. Don’t make 100% because if you make 100%, they’re going to know you’re up to something because you’re not doing that well anyway. I said make sure you miss at least 4 or 5 because it’s better to cheat than repeat. When in doubt, look about. That was my philosophy at the time, anyway. A football coach told me that at Spartanburg High. Anyway, you know what happened…he goes and he makes 100% on the test and he just smoked everybody. He ends up 1 or 2 points higher than me in his ending grade point average. He was #1, I was #2. His choice of duty station was North Carolina. They put me on the freakin’ boat and sent me to California. And I tell you, the day I got those orders, I was….I remember my heart just fell down in my stomach and I’m thinking “Oh, no.” I never dreamed…in my wildest dreams, would have never been coming to California. And everybody told me…you have to listen to everybody because everybody always knows “Aw, you’re going to hate it out there.” These young Marines and I don’t know how they knew. “It’s out in the middle of nowhere. It’s out in the middle of the desert. You’re going to hate it.” Well, they’re thinking 29 Palms but my XXXX was to come to Camp Pendleton. I remember, I had a 1983 Pontiac Firebird and my dad helped me drive it out. He and I drove it out together. I remember coming into San Diego. I’m looking and I’m thinking “Are you joking me? Is this where I’m going to be stationed? There’s the ocean right there. How bad can it be?” And I just kind of adapted to California. I love it out here and I’ve just been here ever since. So my wife always says “The reason that you’re successful in what you do is that you’re part CEO and part farmer.” So we kind of merged the two together.

And you haven’t completely lost the accent. It’s still there. California hasn’t driven it out of you yet.

And I’ve got to tell you. When I came to California, my accent was so country. I mean “Come on man, let me tell me where you’re going. You wanna go? Awright. You gonna go out there? OK. Yeah.” I mean it was so really country because I never knew what phonics was until I came to California. I never heard of it in my life. My parents were both workers and both of them, their families came through the Great Depression and they were farmers. One was a farmer and one worked in a cotton mill. Meaning both sides, my mother’s and father’s family. So education was never a real big concern other than I think my mother finished the 7^th grade, my dad finished the 10^th. I barely finished the 12^th. I got…I was so…at times I was embarrassed because my accent was so strong. Every word that I would ever say, even in a store, I would get laughed at. People would just laugh and they’d go “Man, where are you from?”

Not only that, there is stigma that people with southern accents are not that smart. It’s a stigma. Out in California, it is. And I was in business. I always wanted to be in business. I was always in business selling something. I tried to lose that. I’ve just…I will never lose my southern accent but I have always tried to work on vocabulary and trying to make it sound so uneducated, if that makes sense but sometimes you hear me make up words on the show and that’s kind a fun little thing that I do.

You do make those words from time to time but it is more entertaining when you tell a joke that bombs and you can just see Randye roll her eyes.

Yeah, she rolls her eyes all the time, but you know what? I tell them, I go “Look, I’m your freaking entertainment.” I’m one of those dudes who wakes up in the middle of the night laughing my head off about something and I don’t even know what I dreamed about but it’s funny so they think I’m really weird but at least I have a good time wherever I go.

People can question you all they want and think that because you may have twinge of a southern accent still left that you’re not that smart but, guess what, those folks don’t have a show on Spike TV.

That’s right, that’s what I always tell them. “Let me know what channel your show’s on so I can check it out.”

Well, Todd, I really appreciate you taking time out this afternoon to join us and, just to remind everybody, World’s Worst Tenants is on Spike TV, Tuesday nights, 10 o’clock, wrapping up Season 2 on May 14^th but you can still go to Spike.com and watch full episodes or check local listings. Todd thank you so much, I really appreciate it. Good luck and hope they pick up season 3.

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Special Election for SC's First Congressional District Now a Toss-Up, According to New Poll

Public Policy Polling’s final poll of the special election in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District finds a race too close to call, with Republican Mark Sanford leading Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch 47-46.

Pollsters believe that Sanford’s gains result from nationalizing it and painting Colbert Busch as a liberal. A plurality of voters in the district- 47%- say they think Colbert Busch is a liberal compared to 43% who characterize her as ideologically ‘about right.’ Colbert Busch’s favorability rating has dropped a net 19 points compared to 2 weeks ago, from +25 then at 56/31 to +6 now at 50/44.

While Colbert Busch is seen as too liberal, 48% of voters think that Sanford’s views are “about right” on the issues compared to just 38% who see him as too conservative. Sanford’s also seen some repair to his image over the course of the campaign. Although he’s still unpopular, sporting a -11 net favorability rating at 43/54, that’s up a net 13 points from PPP’s first poll in March when he was at 34/58.

“The special election in South Carolina couldn’t be much closer,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “At this point it’s just a question of whether voters are more put off by Mark Sanford or the Democrats in Washington.”

PPP surveyed 1,239 likely voters on May 4th and 5th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-2.8%.

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Gallery Seventeen Gives Greenville More to Look At

Halfway between Downtown Greenville’s recently revamped North Main area and its popular West End

District, the newly-opened Gallery Seventeen promises to bring established international talent to display in South Carolina while also introducing collectors and art enthusiasts to a new set of emerging artists.

“The reason we chose Greenville is that it’s this really exciting city. It’s this really exciting market. There’s a lot going on, a lot happening. It’s really wanting the arts. It’s really wanting this creative vibe, this culture, and we want to be a part of that,” Gallery Seventeen told CRESCENT.

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Everybody Wanted to be in SC TODAY

More and more, South Carolina’s national media attention is the kind we want…and the kind CRESCENT has been dedicated to promoting since launching in October 2011.

We have towns people want to visit, chefs who have become celebrities, food that is the envy of the snobbiest culinary critics, and products people can’t wait to get their hands on.

Oh, and now national networks want to use our state as a backdrop for their live broadcasts.

Case in point is NBC’s TODAY, as hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb were live from Charleston this morning.

Profiling Palmetto State clothing (including our friends from Loggerhead Apparel) and Lowcountry cuisine with our pals The Lee Brothers, South Carolina was on display for the world to see.

Now to get the rest of the nation’s media to discover what we already know. South Carolina has a lot of great stories and a lot of great people to tell them.

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South Carolina Business Students Go Global

Moore School students present export plans to their SC SBDC client Widget Works. From left to right: Professor Frank Rydzewski, Paul Audet of Widget Works, Kelsie Stanley, Pak Sze Leung, Lindsay Wille, Thomas Chang, Emily Watkins and John Vandermey of Widget Works pictured in front of the client’s E-Board.

The South Carolina Small Business Development Centers (SC SBDC) and Professor Frank Rydzewski of the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business recently joined efforts to bring real-world experience in export planning to undergraduate business students. In the class “Global Competitiveness,” students learn the right questions to ask to understand a client’s business, team building dynamics, leadership skills, and business writing and presentation skills. The curriculum this semester included speakers from the US Commercial Service, the SC Department of Commerce, and various banking institutions.

The class, which examines growth opportunities in both domestic and international markets, matches students with SC SBDC clients in a consulting capacity. Eight teams of business majors worked for six weeks to develop export plans for a wide variety of products and services. Working alongside SC SBDC business consultants Beth Smith, Scott Bellows, Mickey Conway, and Chad Hardaway, students learned the challenges and rewards of negotiating the international business environment.

“Every year it is wonderful to see how students grow through this hands-on learning process,” said Rydzewski. “We received very positive feedback from all the clients. It shows how positive the partnership can be when the SC Small Business Development Centers and the International Business Department of the University of South Carolina work together.”

Students examined distributors, freight forwarding, licenses, intellectual property issues, financing, insurance, competition, roadblocks, taxes, market trends, efficiencies, profit margins, supply chains, political climates, partnerships, customs, and the business friendliness of countries like Germany, Canada, Mexico, Morocco, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Most projects focused on business-to-business products and services such as degreasers, paint removal, electronics, turbines and telecommunications. Student teams made recommendations about international trade show opportunities and bi-lingual marketing materials.

SC SBDC Technology Commercialization Consultant Chad Hardaway directly facilitated the working relationship between his client, Barberwind, and their student team.

“I was surprised when my team recommended Morocco as a viable international market for Barberwind’s turbines,” Hardaway said, “but their research into syndicates that have financed global wind projects revealed strong potential. Their research into the country’s infrastructure needs was thorough and convincing and their export plan was well-considered. Our client was so impressed that he expressed interested in hiring some of the team after graduation.”

At the end of the presentations, each client was presented with a symbolic invoice underscoring the value of each team’s export plan.

“We appreciated the challenging considerations our student team brought to us concerning the manufacturing of our products internationally,” said Paul Audet of Widget Works, which makes the E-Board, a multi-purpose, ergonomically designed workstation. “Collectively, our student team was very strong and our results impressive. This is an outstanding program.”

International Business junior, Emily Watkins, who worked on the Widget Works team found this project to be the capstone of her academic career.

“This real-world consulting project teaches skills that could never be learned from a book, no matter how many years you spent in academia,” Watkins said. “This project brings fresh inspiration and confidence as you see how your skills are already being valued and used to solve real problems.”

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SC House Approves Ethics Reform

The SC House overwhelmingly approved a package of ethics reforms today that are the biggest change in the state’s ethics laws in two decades.

“While our ethics laws have been touted as the toughest in the nation, they were written before e-mail, the Internet, PayPal, cell phones, and even ATM machines,” said House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister. “We took a big first step earlier this year by changing the makeup of the House Ethics Committee and today we took another major step forward.”

The bill was a compromise after months of study by committees appointed by House Republicans, House Democrats, and the Governor. Some of the highlights include:

“I’m proud of my colleagues for coming together approve these major reforms,” said Rep. Murrell Smith of Sumter, the chairman of the House Caucus Ethics Reform Study Committee. “This is conservative legislation to its core: It strengthens the law, streamlines the complaint process, and makes public officials more accountable to the public.”

The legislation was approved before the May 1 “crossover” deadline and will go to the state Senate after third reading tomorrow. Had the House not dealt with the legislation today, it would have likely had to wait until next year to more it forward.

“It was past time for a change to our ethics laws,” said House Ethics Committee Chairman Kenny Bingham. “It was time for our state to take the lead, raise the bar, and hold our public officials to a higher standard. My colleagues in the House took a big step forward this week.”

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My Seersucker is Off Limits

On Wednesday (April 24), Missouri State Senator Ryan McKenna (D-Jefferson County) unknowingly declared sartorial war on South Carolina.

Concerned with the issues facing the Show Me State, Sen. McKenna took a swipe at the biggest issue of all and authored and submitted a bill amendment that would ban any person over the age of eight from wearing seersucker suits “because adults look ridiculous in seersucker suits.”

Really. He offered that amendment. It was an actual amendment. I’m not kidding. Take a look for yourself. (Download PDF Here. Download JPG Here.)

He withdrew his amendment to the higher education funding bill shortly thereafter telling The Riverfront Times, St. Louis’ alternative newsweekly, “It probably wasn’t germane to the bill,” and adding, “It was all in jest, anyway.”

A number of members of both chambers of the General Assembly from Senator Robert Ford to Representative Brian White are known for donning seersucker. The Statehouse lobby is filled with the breathable summer material on both women and men. Walk up and down most streets in the state during the warm and hot months, and seersucker will have more coverage than kudzu.

I first learned about Sen. McKenna’s amendment from a CRESCENT reader in Pennsylvania who sent this note,

Don’t worry. I feel no pressure, but if Sen. McKenna keeps up his nonsense or tries to export his anti-seersucker propaganda to South Carolina, he’ll be the one to feel pressure. Specifically, he’ll feel the pressure of a pair of my white bucks kicking his rear end back to Jefferson County.

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South Carolina and the Dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library

What does today’s dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library have to do with South Carolina? On the face of it, you might be confused, but there are a number of Palmetto State connections.

All three of them are there today for the library’s dedication, and Tucker Eskew took a few minutes to talk with CRESCENT about the experiences of the day.

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SC School Fundraising Isn't Limited to Cookie Dough, Anymore

Childhood obesity is a national epidemic, and if you’re a parent of school-aged children, you see school fundraisers selling everything from cookie dough to popcorn…not exactly the message parents want to see when we keep saying that children and adults need to get in better shape.

A Columbia, South Carolina parent named Ken Carey has decided to do something about it through a new concept called LocalHappiness.net.

Local Happiness sells South Carolina-sourced items designed to both support Palmetto State businesses and to offer an alternative to school fundraising activities that encourage unhealthy habits among students and their families.

“Ours is the first and only fundraiser in South Carolina to partner with the best our state has to offer. We carry more than 100 SC-made products and are always looking for more,” according to Carey, adding that Local Happiness offers music, books, artisan-made toys and gifts, and a number of healthy food products that include gluten free, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives, and even options for those with severe allergies.

With programs designed for elementary, middle, and high schools, Carey says Local Happiness can customize catalogs and kits to include a school’s local business partners and a school’s spirit wear or promotional items.

According to Carey, Local Happiness products allow participating schools to charge near retail prices and keep more of their dollars than out-of-state fundraisers

charge for programs – with every dollar staying in South Carolina.

“We want to work with schools to help them meet their fundraising goals while engaging local entrepreneurs, and honoring a sustainable lifestyle,” Carey added.

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In a Small Town

I don’t know that I appreciated growing up in a small town until I became a grown up in that same small town.

I love going to watch the 9 yr old’s baseball game and visiting with parents There’s something great about living in a place where you realize the next morning that the noise you heard outside your window the night before was just the horses from up the street that got out and decided to take a nighttime stroll through your yard.

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New Poll Shows Colbert Busch Leading Sanford in SC’s 1st Congressional District

In the upcoming special election in South Carolina’s first congressional district to fill the term of Tim Scott who was named to replace Jim DeMint when he resigned from the US Senate to head the Heritage Foundation, new figures from North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling (PPP) show Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch expanding her lead to 9 points over Mark Sanford at 50% to 41%. Green Party candidate Eugene Platt polls at 3%.

According to the poll, Colbert Busch has a 51% to 35% advantage with independent voters, is favored by 19% of Republicans, and loses 7% of Democrats.

Sanford’s numbers show him with a 38% favorable rating among likely voters while 56% responded that they have a negative opinion of the former governor.

In light of last week’s reports regarding trespassing charges filed against Sanford by his ex-wife, 65% of identified GOP voters say the trespassing charges don’t give them any doubts about him, and his favorability with them has improved from 55% / 39% a month ago to now 61% / 32%.

PPP’s president Dean Debnam said that while Colbert Busch is strengthening her lead, “The only question is whether an extremely unpopular Sanford can find some way to make voters like her even less than him in the next two weeks.”

PPP surveyed 796 likely voters from April 19th to 21st. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 3.5%.

Operation Cronut

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Military Base Task Force Appoints New Executive Coordinator

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AFL Presents $145K to the United Way of the Piedmont

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Upstate Foundation Announces 2013 Artists-In-Residence

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We Remember

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South Carolina. First in Golf...Tournaments

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Federal Government Issues Approval for Gullah Geechee Corridor

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SC House Approves Government Restructuring

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Nancy O'Dell. A Celebrity's Celebrity with Her Roots Still Firmly Ground in SC

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Todd Howard -- From Spartanburg to Spike TV

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Special Election for SC's First Congressional District Now a Toss-Up, According to New Poll

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Gallery Seventeen Gives Greenville More to Look At

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Everybody Wanted to be in SC TODAY

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South Carolina Business Students Go Global

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SC House Approves Ethics Reform

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My Seersucker is Off Limits

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South Carolina and the Dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library

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SC School Fundraising Isn't Limited to Cookie Dough, Anymore

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In a Small Town

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New Poll Shows Colbert Busch Leading Sanford in SC’s 1st Congressional District

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