GOOD NEWS: Charleston Forum offers list of June 21 speakers, more

Staff reports  |  The Charleston Forum, a community project that strives to provide a dialogue that moves the conversation forward with no pre-set agenda, has announced its full list of speakers for its 2018 two-hour discussion, which will start at 7:30 p.m. June 21 at the Charleston Music Hall.  (More) Tickets are free.

More than 900 people attended last year’s event.  In June, the forum will focus on overcoming racial disparities in education and economics in two panel discussions. Speakers will include:

• Cindy Ambrose, Deputy Superintendent of Learning Services, Charleston County School District
• Sue Berkowitz, Executive Director of S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center
• Paris Dennard, Senior Director of Strategic Communications, Thurgood Marshall College Fund
• Darrin Goss, President and CEO, Coastal Community Foundation
• Lilyn Hester, Southeast Public Affairs, Google
• Faith Rivers James, Assistant Provost for Leadership, The Citadel
• Michael B. Moore, CEO/President, International African American Museum
• John Read, CEO, Tri-County Cradle to Career
• Bakari Sellers, CNN Commentator and Attorney
• Alana Simmons, Former educator and creator of Hate Won’t Win, Granddaughter of  Rev. Daniel L. Simmons Sr.
• Elliot Smalley, Superintendent, Public Charter School District
• Steve Warner, Vice President of Global Competitiveness, Charleston Regional Development Alliance.

In other Good News:

Food drive is Saturday.  The Lowcountry Food Bank, National Association of Letter Carriers and Food Lion are sponsoring a community-wide food drive Saturday.  Food Lion will provide bags that people can use to donate non-perishable goods next to their mail boxes on May 12.  Letter carriers will collect the food and take it to the food bank to sort and distribute.  In 2017, the “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive collected 136,611 pounds of food for the tri-county area, which created 114,000 meals for food insecure children, seniors and families, according to a press release.

New partnership.  Nashville-based concert promotion company, National Shows 2 (NS2) has entered into a category exclusive booking agreement with the Charleston Gaillard Center for all bookings except classical, dance, Broadway, and educational programing.  This new partnership will strengthen the Gaillard Center’s event offerings and diversify the Gaillard Center’s calendar. Recently renovated in 2015, the 1,800-seat Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall has presented events such as Lewis Black, Tony Bennett, and ZZ Top.

“This partnership with NS2 will only boost the Gaillard Center’s strong start in presenting contemporary and comedic talent. We are excited to be working with a high quality promoter in NS2.” said Stephen Bedard, Gaillard Center’s president and CEO.

Art prize deadline approaches.  It’s the final month to apply for the Gibbes Museum of Art’s 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art. Sponsored by the museum’s young patrons auxiliary group Society 1858, the prize is awarded annually to an artist whose work demonstrates the highest level of artistic achievement in any media, while contributing to a new understanding of art in the South. Entries for the annual award and $10,000 cash prize can be made exclusively online at 1858prize.org through May 31, 2018. Artists from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia are eligible to apply.

More travelers at airport.  The number of people flying to and from Charleston rose more than 10 percent in March at Charleston International Airport.  In March, 174,230 people boarded a flight at the airport, an 8.9 percent increase. The number of people arriving rose 12.3 percent to 184,477 passengers, according to a press release.  “Spring is the start of high travel season in the Lowcountry and is typically when more people travel through the airport,” said airport Executive Director and CEO Paul G. Campbell. “Spring is also when our airlines expand their seasonal services, flying larger aircraft and increasing travel frequency to new destinations and existing cities.”

Rebranded.  Lowcountry AIDS Services has rebranded as Palmetto Community Care to keep pace with the evolving HIV and AIDS epidemic.  According to the organization, “ewer people are progressing from HIV to an AIDS diagnosis. To keep pace with those changes and better reflect the current state of the epidemic Lowcountry AIDS Services decided it was time to rebrand.”  Visit the new website.

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