Reflections of the Chair:
Looking Back
W
e all have a story about how we discovered
Kiawah. For some, it goes back many
years; for others, it was a more recent
experience. Regardless of how long ago
it was, there are always common threads woven through the
fabric of these tales.
For us, 2005 was the first time we visited Kiawah. We had
planned a summer trip to check out potential places to buy
a plot of land to build a retirement home eventually. Being
a geologist, I was concerned about hurricanes and living on
the coast—so we began our search around the lakes north
and west of Charlotte. We were living in Moscow at the time
and had friends there who told us that if we were looking in
the southeast, we should consider Kiawah Island. Although
we had never heard of it, we planned a one night stay on
Kiawah at the end of our trip to check it out. As we worked
with realtors around the lakes, they always asked, “Where else
are you looking?” When we mentioned Kiawah, they would
always pause and say, “That’s a beautiful place.”
After a couple of days of looking, we found our dream lot
on Lake Wylie, and were ready to buy it. Since we had already
paid for a one-night stay on Kiawah, we decided to drive
down, spend the night, and return the next day to buy the
lake property.
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You know how the rest of the story goes. As soon as we
approached the Kiawah River bridge, we were stunned by the
beauty of the expanse of marsh and maritime forest. As we
drove around the Island we were enchanted by the diversity
of wildlife and the way development was in harmony with
the natural environment. A visit to the beach was the tipping
point—and it dawned on us that this is where we wanted to be.
We bought our lot the next day and have never looked back.
Kiawah is indeed a place of many wonders, and we are
all very fortunate to spend time here. The Conservancy
is all about preserving this wonder for us and for future
generations to enjoy. Serving as chairman for the past two
years has been an honor and a privilege. There is nothing
better than working alongside passionate people to achieve
a common goal. And thanks to your support, the Kiawah
Conservancy is stronger than ever and is well positioned to
obtain protection and enhancement of all the KiaWonders
that we hold so dear. NK
Richard Ames, Chairman, Kiawah
Conservancy Board of Trustees
Background photo by Sue Corcoran