This week’s KellyGram is dedicated to a personal friend who has been a public servant for most of his life—Howard Duvall. Howard grew up in Cheraw, SC and graduated from Cheraw High School. He went on to earn a degree in Political Science from the Citadel, and afterwards, he served in the US Air Force and the South Carolina Air National Guard. After his military service, Howard returned to his home town of Cheraw, where he served on the Town Council before being elected to the position of mayor. He eventually became the executive director of the Municipal Association of South Carolina in 1992 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 2008. There is no one—literally, no one—in South Carolina who knows more about municipal government than Howard Duvall. And so, he decided to throw his hat in the ring for the At-Large seat on Columbia City Council and was elected in 2016.

Knowing Howard, I can say with confidence that he is a true, dedicated public servant. He has no hidden political agenda or axes to grind; he simply wants what is best for the citizens of the City of Columbia. Throughout his first term on the Council, Howard has been very active and played an integral role in preparing for and promoting Columbia as a destination for viewing the August 2017 Total Eclipse, finding funding for the ShotSpotter system, and helping to restore law and order in the city by working to limiting the number of bars in Columbia with all-night permits. Here are some of the ways he hopes to make Columbia even better in the 2020 term:

• Improving crime prevention efforts through stronger partnerships between Columbia’s neighborhoods and police officers, and keeping morale high at our phenomenal Fire Department by increasing pay for firefighters.
• Updating Columbia’s infrastructure by servicing and replacing water lines and repairing our roadways.
• Freeing up the city’s budget through wiser spending decisions and eliminating government waste—not by increasing Columbia’s already heft property and sales taxes.
• Creating new jobs by developing, supporting, and enacting policies to attract new companies and promote entrepreneurship.
• Providing Columbia residents with better and more responsive customer service from the City’s agencies.

Though he has several enthusiastic opponents who are intelligent and well-meaning, I genuinely believe that Howard Duvall is THE person for the job! Vote for Howard Duvall for City Council At-Large on November 5th!

Having been a local business owner for over 40 years, I am a big advocate of supporting local establishments—particularly the ones specializing in food and beverages! Lucky for me, Columbia’s food scene (on both sides of the river) has exploded over the last 5 years. As a man with zero culinary skills, I eat out or get take-out almost every night of my life! My go-to restaurant for dinner and Sunday brunch was, for a long time, the eclectic and ever-inviting 116 Wine and Espresso. I vividly recall the morning I went into 116 and learned that Chef Ryan Whitaker (the best chef in the Midlands!) decided to sell his business so he could devote more time to his two precious children. It was Sunday after church—I went every Sunday when I was in town—and I just sat at the bar feeling sick over the news, questions racing through my mind: Where would I go for dinner? More importantly, where would I go for brunch?! I struggled with this last question for quite some time after 116 closed shop, as no brunch in town could hold a candle to Chef Ryan’s! But at long last, I have excellent news to share: I finally found Columbia’s new best brunch!

Sometimes, you find the greatest treasures in the places you’d least expect. Before my brunch discovery, I knew SakiTumi for its fresh sushi and, of course, its cocktails! But SakiTumi’s owner, David Shaw, saw an opportunity when 116 bowed out of the brunch scene, and he decided to mix things up a bit at the restaurant. SakiTumi is still serving its acclaimed sushi six days a week, but now, it is THE place to be on Sundays from 10 to 2, when David breaks out Columbia’s finest brunch menu. His dishes are reminiscent of 116, yet still wonderfully original—you won’t find masterpieces like the Bloody Mary Cheese Melt and S’mores Stuffed French Toast anywhere but here! I’ve loved everything I’ve tried off the menu, and it doesn’t hurt that the atmosphere and libations are just as spectacular as the cuisine! Needless to say, SakiTumi has become my new after-church hangout, and I highly recommend that you check it out—I give the whole experience the Mike Kelly Guarantee!

PS – If you’re a West Columbia resident, be sure to vote David Shaw for City Council!

I am blessed to have many friends, but I regretfully lost a very dear one on September 24, 2019—Bruce Carter. Bruce graduated law school one class ahead of me, and unlike many of us who pursued the more lucrative areas of law, Bruce dedicated his career to public service. In his final years, he worked in the field of Medicare/Medicaid for the state government and became THE go-to guy on the subject in South Carolina. Aside from his vocation, Bruce loved his family; he married to his longtime best friend, Judy, and had two daughters. He made it his life’s mission to serve his God, his family, his church, and his community. He was a pious man with incredible intellect and compassion. When Associate Director of our beloved St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, Susan Prinz, delivered the homily during Bruce’s service on Wednesday, her message rang powerfully and true when she described Bruce as being summed up in a single word: he was a man of heart.

Not only was Bruce a devoted family man, he was one of the most active parishioners at our beloved St. Martin’s. He served as a lector, vestry member, and participated in numerous outreach ministries with the church. When he developed symptoms of heart disease several years ago, he became an avid volunteer with the South Carolina Heart Association, and still found the time to work at the Diocesan level as an expert on canon (church) law.

Bruce was, without question, a great man, and he will be sorely missed. I, for one, will miss our conversations about politics, Gamecock athletics, and our church and community. Still, it brings a smile to my face to think about those talks, and how many of them took place in the aisles of the Forest Drive Kroger, where we always seemed to run in to one another. It is strange to think that our paths will not intersect again in this life; that he is gone. But be that as it may, Bruce will never be forgotten. May he rest in peace.

On Monday, I had the pleasure of participating in the 11th Annual Golfing with the Phil tournament hosted at the Members’ Club at Woodcreek. I’ve been lucky enough to have played in this tournament many times, and I love it so much that, for the past several years, I’ve served as the event’s co-chair with Tom Fortson of Terminix. Our goal is to raise funds for the ongoing operations of our world-class South Carolina Philharmonic and to have a darn good time doing it! Thanks to the efforts of the Phils’ dedicated staff, our sponsors, and the participating teams, I’m pleased to report that the event was a success on both counts!

Our major sponsors for this year’s tournament were Terminix, McDaniels Auto Group, and Any Lab Test Now!, with delectable in-kind contributions from Doc’s BBQ (lunch) and Graham’s Catering (dinner). As a local foodie, I was especially delighted to meet Graham Fortson, Tom’s grandson, who just opened his own catering business. Though still a young’un, he already has a wealth of experience and culinary talents, and I predict he will be another rising star in the ever-improving Columbia food scene!

As always, it was an honor to be a part of Golfing with the Phil and to support such a remarkable organization. The South Carolina Philharmonic is truly flourishing under the leadership of Maestro Morihiko who, since joining on in 2008, has taken the Phil to new limits and grown it into one of the finest performing arts groups in the state. If you haven’t been to a concert yet, you’re missing out on some of the finest entertainment South Carolina has to offer! The SC Philharmonic’s season begins October 12th with “Visiones de Musica” in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, and their full schedule is available here. I hope to see you there!

Several weeks ago, I heard an excellent sermon on the subject of joy, and a just few days later, a morning devotional on the same topic appeared in my inbox. The consecutive messages caused me to pause and look inward toward my day-to-day emotional state. It quickly became clear to me that I do not allocate enough of my mental bandwidth toward celebrating the many things that bring me joy. Like all humans, regardless of their faith, I tend to become absorbed by the secular aspects of my life and, without realizing it, develop stress and anxiety over work issues, family issues, health issues, political issues environmental issues…..the list goes on and on.

The truth is, when I take ten steps back and view the totality of my life, I realize that I have been a damn lucky fellow—I am blessed beyond measure! So many aspects of my life inspire joy—my family and friends, my job, my church, my Gamecocks, my golf game (though it could use quite a bit of improvement!), and a wealth of subjects and activities that interest me. I simply spend too much of my time and energy living in my own head, with its worries, doubts, and preoccupations, instead of enjoying the present moment and all of the wonder it has to offer. As I’ve been more mindful of this tendency over the past few weeks, I have made an effort to pay more attention to the things that bring me joy. Not surprisingly, doing so has made me more resilient to the “issues” that inevitably arise each day, and I’m better for it!

But don’t take it from me—see for yourself! I encourage you to spend three minutes reflecting on the things in life, great or small, that bring you joy and start your weekend off in high spirits. You deserve it!

 

The past several days have been surreal, tracking Hurricane Dorian as it dispensed its wrath on the Bahamas and began making its way toward South Carolina. As we prepared for and endured the storm—all the while doing everything in our power to help those already impacted—I was amazed by the resilience of the human spirit, including my firm family at Mike Kelly Law Group.

Our lead paralegal in Myrtle Beach, Linda Willis, lives in the border community of Loris, SC. It, like the rest of the state, shares a rich history, and she has lived there all of her life. On Thursday morning, at approximately 7:00am, one of Linda’s granddaughters alerted her to an ominous noise from outside, which turned out to be the sound of a humongous tree being ripped from her front yard by a tornado! Linda instinctively grabbed her grandkids in time to shelter them, as best as she could, from the next and even more terrifying boom—that of a utility pole being hurled to the ground immediately by their home. Thanks be to God that no one was injured, though the experience will be seared in her and her granddaughters’ memories forever. 

And while Linda and her family were praying for their survival, MKLG’s rising-star litigation attorney, Karlen Senn, was already actively working alongside her family to get supplies and aid to her many loved ones living in the Abaco Islands, Bahamas—some of whom are injured or even missing, all of whom are facing unimaginable hardship. Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas and stripped thousands of inhabitant—including those who are as, in effect, family to Karlen and her daughter—of their homes, their livelihoods, and their access to basic human necessities. But while the gravity of the situation could easily be debilitating, but rather than caving under its weight, Karlen and her family immediately began getting relief efforts underway. They are working with Southeast Rescue and Relief to get generators, tents, tarps, and other staples to the island, and plan to deliver the first load of supplies this weekend.**

The wreckage that Hurricane Dorian left in its wake is utterly devastating, and I will not pretend that there was any silver lining in its storm clouds. But I can find inspiration in the strength and perseverance that arises in response to such tragedy, like that demonstrated by Karlen and Linda. The road to recovery will be a long and arduous one, but not insurmountable. While Dorian may have been one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded, hope, community, and human will are stronger. The sun will shine again! 

 

The most magical time of the year is finally upon us—football season! As I mentioned in last week’s KellyGram, my love for sports spans far and wide (though I’m particularly partial to the Atlanta Braves and Gamecocks), but nothing gets me charged up quite like college football! Our rivals—albeit the favorite team of my son Mac and MKLG partner Brad Hewett—the Clemson Tigers, kicked off their season last night with a win against Georgia Tech, and the Gamecocks will begin their 2019 season tomorrow, playing against UNC Chapel Hill at the Bank of America stadium in Charlotte. Having taken a beating from an ACC team in the Belk Bowl, we owe it to ourselves and our conference to really bring down the house tomorrow—I’m hoping for an all-out blowout!

But while I love going to the games and watching the Gamecocks play, what really makes football season my favorite time of year is the tailgating and camaraderie, renewing old acquaintances, and the tremendous displays of school spirit. So sit back, relax, and enjoy—2019 college football is here!

Everyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge fan of the USC Gamecocks and the Atlanta Braves—hands down, they’re my two favorite teams. This season has been a great one for the Braves, and they’re currently leading the National League East Division. Still, their long-time, former manager, Robert “Bobby” Cox—who is in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame—is my favorite MLB manager of all time, second to none! He stood up for his players, and if ever one of them was in danger of getting thrown out of the game, he marched out onto the field and took on the umpire’s fire. In his last season, Sports Illustrated featured a cover story on Cox—specifically about the 156 times he was ejected from the game during his career as a MLB manager.

Bobby Cox has had two successors since retiring from the Braves, and this past Sunday, the current manager, Brian Snitker, stood up for his team in a different but equally unforgettable way. In a most important game against the LA Dodgers—currently the best team in Major League Baseball—Snitker pulled the Braves’ most promising player, Ronald Acuna, Jr., out of the game after he lost time admiring a play instead of running it. The decision shocked fans because, frankly, no one with more potential has ever worn an Atlanta Braves uniform than the 21 year-old All-Star. When asked how he could unceremoniously bench an MLB prodigy in a critical game, Snitker said—and I quote—“As a teammate, you’re responsible for 24 other guys and that name on the front is a lot more important than that name on the back of that jersey.”

 

(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)