Parents magazine announced that The Little Gym has been named the #1 Birthday Party destination for children. The Little Gym locations in the area are extremely proud to have received this distinction.

While most parents are no longer planning expensive, over-the-top birthday bashes because of the effects of the economy, they still want to make sure their child has a fun and memorable celebration, according to Parents magazine. The publication surveyed birthday party packages offered by national chains to assess which offer the most entertaining, unique and personalized experience at an affordable price.

While researching national birthday chains, Parents magazine looked at what each place provided with regards to fun, games and food, as well as extra incentives such as invitations, party ware and goody bag favor offerings. In addition, the availability of instructors, personalization level, and party room size were also taken into consideration.

"Our primary focus is building confidence in children by helping them develop physical skills. So it is even more exciting to be recognized for the creativity and imagination that we put into our weekend birthday parties," said Paul Dickison of The Little Gym International.

"There are several factors that we believe draw parents to our birthday parties," Dickison said. "Our unique and proprietary music and curriculum are specially personalized to cater to each child's age, gender, and interests. And, unlike facilities where multiple parties occur at the same time, each birthday booking reserves the entire facility."

The Little Gym locations, including those in the local community, make birthday parties a stress-free event for parents, as they take care of set up and clean up for the parties, provide party ware and even send out invitations to guests.

The first hour of the birthday party is spent in the gym engaged in age-appropriate instructor-led games and activities. The final half hour of the celebration is spent in the gym's special party room where children enjoy cake and drinks and open presents. The Little Gym provides drinks for the children, all paper goods, balloons for decoration and a list of opened gifts for thank you cards. The birthday child gets a special The Little Gym T-shirt.

The Little Gym also offers classes for children from 4 months of age to 12 years that range from parent/child classes in early motor skill development to grade school gymnastics, sports skills development, karate, cheerleading and dance.

These programs are built on a structured curriculum where kids progressively build skills, leading to enhanced self-confidence and socialization.

For more information about The Little Gym locations in the area, please contact: Gerald Moore, The Little Gym of Mt. Pleasant, at 843-881-8988

Scout Boats, Inc. has recently added six more national dealers to its current roster. This makes a total of 13 new dealers signed over the past few months alone.

Atlantic Outboard, Inc. (Westbrook, Connecticut)

Grande Yachts International (Grasonville, Maryland)

Marathon Boat & Yacht Sales (Marathon, Florida)

Naples Marina Sales, Inc (Naples, Florida)

Parks Marina (Okoboji, Iowa)

Pier 33 (St. Joseph, Michigan)

"This new expansion to our already successful dealer network will provide convenience for current and future customers, as well as new markets for our company to strengthen our brand," said Alan Lang, national/international sales manager for Scout Boats.

Matt Moore has joined Clawson & Staubes in its Charleston office. He practices with the firm's Commercial Real Estate and Commercial Law groups. A native South Carolinian, Matt is admitted to the Bar and has practiced extensively in South Carolina and Georgia and is also licensed to practice in North Carolina, Colorado and Texas

His practice focuses generally on representing local, regional, and national developers and lenders with the acquisition, development, financing and disposition of commercial real estate.

Specifically, he assists developers and lenders on matters such as contract negotiations and documentation, multi-parcel assemblages, borrower and lender representation in interim and permanent financing, entity formation, drafting of restrictive covenants, development agreements and builder contracts, and the issuance and/or review of title insurance and handling of title related matters.

Additionally, Moore counsels clients and assists with documentation of loan workouts and loan restructurings of real estate secured loans on both the lender side and the borrower side.

He also works with the Corporate Law and Municipal Law Groups in transactional business matters and transactions/real estate matters involving governmental entities, respectively.

Sabrina Cochran has been promoted to associate with Herlong & Associates Architects + Interiors. Cochran has been with the firm since 2003, and recently passed the Architectural Registration Exam. <0x00A0>

She serves as a project leader for custom homes on Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms, Kiawah Island and Daniel Island. Herlong & Associates is a full-service residential architecture and interiors firm specializing in the design of site-responsive custom new homes and renovations.

For more information call 843.886.9199.

Bronwyn Lurkin has joined<0x00A0>Flatfish Island Designs LLC<0x00A0>to manage the production and marketing efforts of the company.

Lurkin is a registered architect and was with Group 3 Architects in Hilton Head and Charleston prior to joining Flatfish.

Flatfish Island Designs offers purposefully designed and competitively priced home plans for sale at www.flatfishislanddesigns.com.

A bankruptcy judge confirmed recently that Century 21 Properties Plus, a perennial top-5 company in the Charleston Real Estate market, had met all the requirements and conditions of its Chapter 11 Reorganization.

"This is a great day for our company, our agents, our employees, our clients and customers," said Tim Rash Century 21 Properties Plus owner. "During these last 12 months, we have been able to meet our financial obligations and provide our agents with support and services so they can continue to give our customers and clients the attention, knowledge, and expertise needed to complete successful real estate transactions."

Concerning the reorganization process, Rash said, "We were very fortunate to have anticipated a market slowdown in 2006 and took steps to scale back costs and modify our business model."

Rash said his firm's position as a leader in military and corporate relocation services helped Century 21 Properties Plus through the reorganization process. "Military personnel and key corporate employees relocate even in tough economic times and we are proud of their continued confidence in our services."

Additionally, he said his company's agents proved to be the difference in successfully emerging from the reorganization. "Our professional agents rolled up their sleeves and sold real estate."

Century 21 Properties Plus is in great position to prosper moving forward. "We have over 125 professional independent agents who are committed to offering clients exceptional service and are determined to lead Century 21 Properties Plus back to its previous impressive marketshare. I've always believed that our customers deserve, and will receive, the finest service ever offered by any real estate organization," Rash said.

Carefree Boat Club; a country club on the water where members get unlimited access to a fleet of boats has expanded to include a Community Outreach Program; Carefree Cares.

Carefree Cares is a nonprofit organization that gives the care givers of the disabled, special needs and terminally ill a break. Carefree Cares offers restoration of spirit through recreational boating events. These sponsored events are half day, on the water charters themed to specific caregiver needs. There is no cost to the caregiver.

The need is great, 85 percent of families that have a child with developmental challenges are ripped apart by divorce. There is currently a crisis with regard to housing and programs for adults with developmental disabilities. As parents of baby boomers are becoming too old to care for their adult children with developmental challenges, critical government funding stagnates. This affects not only programming and the number of spaces available in group homes, but also in the quality of care. Although many "group homes" exist, there is already a waiting list for beds in this state. Unless parents die or the disabled adult exhibits severe behaviors, they remain with their aging parents.

Upcoming Events

* Harbor Breeze Sailing day - Experience the peace of sailing the Charleston harbor in our 27ft sailboat with our experienced sail captain. (Scheduled for July 24)

* Men's Fishing - Enjoy a morning of fishing the Lowcountry with other men who are caregivers. (Scheduled for July the 12)

* A resource for caregivers to services from business partners.

For more information contact Kim Gabriel at 843.743.5051 or carefreecares@gmail.com.

A writer for The Wall Street Journal recently published an interview with Kent Thune on one of their online blogs. The interview was prompted and inspired by the discovery of Thune's unique philosophies of money and life found on his own blog, The Financial Philosopher, which urges readers to place "meaning before money and purpose before planning."

Thune is a Certified Financial Planner<0x2122> and is owner of Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC, a "fee-only" Registered Investment Advisory firm in Mount Pleasant, SC. You may contact him at 843-214-0691 or via e-mail at kent@atlanticcapitalinvestments.com.

His blog address is www.TheFinancialPhilosopher.com .

SECO International, one of the largest optometry meetings in the world and most comprehensive sources of continuing education for eye care professionals, has announced Neil W. Draisin, O.D., as president-elect. Dr. Draisin, of Charleston, S.C., was elected as part of the new slate of officers during SECO's annual House of Delegates meeting at the 2010 SECO International meeting held in Atlanta, Feb. 10-14.

As SECO's new president-elect, Dr. Draisin was first elected as an officer to the SECO International Executive Committee in 2007 when he became secretary. Then, he served subsequently as treasurer in 2008 and vice president in 2009 prior to becoming president-elect of SECO in 2010. In addition, from 2004 to 2006, Dr. Draisin served as a South Carolina Trustee.

Dr. Draisin has practiced optometry for more than 38 years in Charleston. His practice, Draisin Vision Group, is located at 1470 Tobias Gadson Blvd., Suite 115, Charleston. Dr. Draisin is board certified in children's vision and visual perception and development, as well as treatment and management of eye disease.

In addition to SECO International, Dr. Draisin has been involved in other organized optometry organizations, including the Coastal Carolina Optometric Society, South Carolina Optometric Association, American Optometric Association and Optometric Extension Program. He is a fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, as well as past president of the organization and the South Carolina Optometric Association.

The American Optometric Association awarded Dr. Draisin the Optometric Recognition Award for excelling in continuing education. He serves as an adjunct professor for Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Southern College of Optometry and Alabama College of Optometry, serving as a preceptor for the externship program.

Dr. Draisin is a 1971 graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He completed his residency in Pediatric Optometry and Vision Therapy at State University of New York. Prior to earning his OD, Dr. Draisin graduated from the College of Charleston with a bachelor's degree in biology.

As an active member of the Charleston community, Dr. Draisin established the Head Start Vision Screening Program in Charleston in 1976.

Since then, more than 1,000 children are screened through the program every year. In addition, he has served as president of the Charleston Jewish Community Center and vice president of the Charleston Jewish Federation on the board of his synagogue, as well as on the executive board of the Charleston Boy Scout Council. He is also a member of the St. Andrews Rotary Club where he has a 13-year perfect attendance record.

A native of Charleston, Dr. Draisin and his wife, Carolyn, have three children: Alison, who is getting her Ph.D. in clinical psychology in Seattle; Leslie, a social worker in Boston; and David, an attorney in New York City.

Dale Keith has recently joined Glasspro as an Auto Glass Technician and will be responsible for auto glass replacements and repairs. Prior to joining Glasspro, Keith spent 10 years as an auto glass technician.

According to Paul Heinauer, president of Glasspro, "We are very delighted to have someone with Dale's auto glass experience join our growing Glassspro technician staff."

The Award for Distinguished Budget Presentations has been awarded to Mount Pleasant Waterworks (MPW) by The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).

This award represents a significant achievement by MPW. It reflects the commitment of MPW's Commissioners and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.

In order to receive the budget award, MPW had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentations.

These guidelines are designed to assess how well MPW's budget serves as: a policy document; a financial plan; an operations guide; and a communications device.

This is the second year MPW has submitted a Budget Document and the first year MPW has received this award.