Have faith. Believe. Say it with me.
Fall is coming.
I know, I know. We're still ordering our coffee iced, parking under trees, and wearing our shortie PJs to bed. And the delineation between seasons grows ever-fainter with the rollout of Oktoberfest and pumpkin-spice-everything backing up earlier and earlier each year.
Still, the signs are there. The blanket of bright orange gourds lining the farm at Boone Hall Plantation. The competitive electricity of college football as each Saturday approaches. The chatter among kids (and youthful adults) revealing preliminary costume plans. And it's not just the sights and sounds. It's the actual engagement in the season: Immersing in all the play features of the pumpkin patch. Gearing up with fellow fans for game day at the stadium (or sports bar). Suspending reality for a night of elaborate dress-up, bewitching decor, and justified chocolate. In other words, as much as we dig the trappings of fall, what we really love is experiencing it. And, not "even" here in warm, coastal Charleston. Especially here.
Inspired by the transition to fall colors and textures, we recently collaborated with Blossom Bay Florist to create one of our favorite design installations to date. Dozens of seagrass-woven picnic baskets, handled totes, and round planters, adorned with native flowers and greenery, create an arch over the entrance to The Charleston Place Hotel. The feature is not only a visual depiction of Southern hospitality, but a lovely nod to the promise of autumn.
Energized by that expression, we embarked on a long-overdue team retreat. Filling the stunning space of a house on Folly Beach with bodies, souls, ideas and, yes, superpowers, our crew of seven renewed its commitment to the KLH Group mission, vision, core values, and "why." We did this in ways that were intentional and organized, but also within the spontaneous, less structured beach banter and late-night chats. It's hard to not have fun - and feel incredibly grateful - in a seaside home situated at the "Edge of America." But the real magic was what we brought back: conspicuously stronger cohesion and a reignited purpose.
In the weeks ahead, we have TWO clubhouse builds benefiting FIVE kids in TWO cities (Charleston and Mobile, AL). And both builds find us partnering with clubhouse "alumni!" First, we are again teaming up with CANFOR, following their big 12-clubhouse event this summer. Then we join forces once again with Zach, whose daughter Eliza Kate received a clubhouse this summer and has recently rung the "cancer-free" bell, as he sponsors a build to pay-it-forward. It might sound paradoxical to say that it is both humbling and rewarding to reconnect with past partners, but it's just the way I find the words.
I don't know how I got so lucky... to have this team, these partnerships, such opportunities. Maybe it was like my annual outlook on fall in the Lowcountry. I had faith. I believed.