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February 18, 2026: The Honorable Jay Doyle

Our guest today was Georgetown’s new mayor Jay Doyle. He is the first third-party candidate to be elected to this position since 1894. Mayor Doyle has been a Georgetown resident for sixteen years. He grew up in Massachusetts and attended Northeastern, but left in order to become an entrepreneur. Over the years, he owned a successful construction and energy-saving company, worked in telecommunications, and also served Brookgreen Gardens as Director of Facilities.

Mayor Doyle spoke to us about the importance of learning. “I’m sixty-eight years old and I’m still learning,” he said. “Learning is something that will stick with you throughout life.” He also pointed out the possibilities and dangers of information people obtain from the internet. “I can go online to figure out how to fix something,” he told us, “ and I can go online to learn how to hate someone.”

Mayor Doyle explained how his goals are to preserve Georgetown’s historical aspects, protect the surrounding woodlands while rezoning, and to provide employment for citizens (especially those impacted by our two mills’ closing). “Urban planning is a huge part of what I’m accomplishing,” he said while discussing his focus on development and where to construct new establishments. He invited students to contribute to his plan by coming up with their own ideas and plans for open areas in Georgetown.

Thank you, Mayor Doyle, for taking time to introduce yourself to us!

By: Eleanor

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February 11, 2026: Chip Smith

Our guest today at Open Forum was author, journalist, and activist Chip Smith. Mr. Smith has lived in Murrells Inlet for many years and although he is retired, he continues to work tirelessly on new articles and books and on conservation projects to keep Murrells Inlet as clean and pristine as possible. Mr. Smith came bearing gifts: several copies of two books he published–one for adults (A Pocket Wild: Essays from a Carolina Marsh) and one for children of all ages (The Tide in the Cordgrass, 2025).

Mr. Smith graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a double major in Geology and Physical Anthropology. He explained to us that physical anthropology studies “the physical traces in our bodies of the evolution of the human species” using evidence such as bones and teeth. “But geology to me is the most fascinating,” he said, “because geologists can read the history of the earth.”

Mr. Smith’s active career was as a newspaperman and photojournalist. Today he is a science and nature writer for the local community. He continues to use his scientific training to inform his writing about nature and make science more understandable to the average person. “Scientists are not good at communicating their findings,” he said.

Mr. Smith shared some of his two books with us. One of his essays in A Pocket Wild is about Roosevelt Pickett, a Black man who worked for Oliver’s Lodge in Murrells Inlet ever since he was nine years old and who knew many things about the marsh. He was Mr. Smith’s neighbor and best friend. “Any person who ever met Roosevelt would never forget him,” he told us. He also read some excerpts from The Tide in the Cordgrass, an animal story set on the marsh in Murrells Inlet. There is a character called Clarence the Kingfisher, King of the Creek, and Mr. Smith was delighted to learn that the Kingfisher is our mascot.

We were delighted to meet Mr. Smith! He has since invited us to participate in the Spring Tide Clean-up of Murrells Inlet on Sunday, May 3. We look forward to that and to reading his books. Thank you, Chip Smith, for the talk and the books!

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February 4, 2026: Laura Sonius

Our school has a new friend: Ms. Laura Sonius. Ms. Sonius paid us a visit at Open Forum on January 21, 2026. She wanted to get to know the student body better and to tell us about her passion for education. Ms. Sonius has offered to help TGS with funds for improved classrooms, lab, and equipment.

Education is extremely important to Ms. Sonius’ whole family. Her Jewish grandpa escaped the pogroms in Russia and took refuge in America. At first, he traveled around working different jobs until he got tuberculosis and was disabled for two years. During this time, he read lots of books and educated himself so that he could better his family’s life. He created a very successful packaging material company. Her other grandfather was a hard worker who, after graduating from high school and working as an accountant, returned to college and became a lawyer. Thanks to her family history, she places a great emphasis on the value of schoolwork and college attendance as pathways to opportunity. She also takes her stewardship of the family legacy very seriously: “I was raised to help those who can’t help themselves,” she told us.

Ms. Sonius attended college, got a degree in English writing, and became an editor in Boston, before finally returning to school to get her teaching degree. Her experience in teaching has given her an even deeper appreciation for the needs of our education system. Ms. Sonius said that she saw great potential in each and every one of us at TGS.  She is graciously providing our school with extra funding for things like a state-of-the-art laboratory. “Buying fancy clothes and driving nice cars does nothing for others,” she said. “Education is my passion.” Thank you, Laura Sonius, for speaking with us and for your generosity!

By Nolan

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December 10, 2025: Gabby Geathers

Gabby Geathers, Class of 2025, was our guest speaker at Open Forum today. Gabby attends Horry-Georgetown Technical College where she is studying to become a radiology technician. She was nearing the end of her first semester and told us that she was enjoying the program.

Gabby said that the classes were pretty easy because she was well-prepared. One thing surprised her a lot: she is now the one helping all the other HGT students in math! Our students asked her if she had any advice. “Don’t get behind in your work,” she said. “You have to be your own parent!” Good luck with the spring semester, Gabby!

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December 3, 2025: Yorky Burnas-Arnold

Today we welcomed Señora Yorky, who left our school after 13 years of service to go back to Chile and care for her aging father. Señora Yorky was in the States to visit her daughter Paolina and other family members.

Yorky enjoys a trip to Argentina.

“I’m so happy to be here!” Señora said. She told us about her life these days, caring for her father with her sisters and adjusting to life back in Chile. She shared lots of fact about Chile and the students began to ask a lot of questions, particularly about food. “In Chile, we eat a lot of meat,” she told us. “My favorite is empanadas or meat pies that you can buy from sellers on the street.” It was a bit of a culture shock for Señora Yorky to re-adjust to life in Chile after 30 years in the U.S. She told us that Americans are less affectionate and demonstrative than Chileans–the people of Chile are more open.

Señora Yorky spends most of her time with her family (especially her dad) but she has been able to do a little traveling, notably to Argentina. She decided to start classes to become a clown, just because it would allow her to try something totally different. “I love it!” she told us. We want to thank Señora Yorky for her visit and all the wonderful memories she left with us. We miss you!

By Kipper

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November 19, 2025: Bob Willey

Dr. Robert J. Willey was our guest today. Bob and his wife Carol have been retired in Georgetown for 11 years. They moved here from Massachusetts where he worked as professor and dean at Springfield College. After teaching philosophy and history for 42 years, he decided he wanted to do something different. He decided to help out the citizens of Georgetown in a special way by becoming a friend of our library here.  The Georgetown Friends of the Library funds the free programs at the public library such as children’s reading group programs, adult arts and crafts, and many more free activities for the patrons. Bob was determined to get the Friends’ group going and he has succeeded!

Bob is very interested in Black history and in particular the story of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave who worked to help other slaves find their freedom on the “Underground Railroad.” Bob and the FOGL were responsible for finding funds to bring Wesley Wofford’s Harriet Tubman: The Journey to Freedom sculpture Georgetown two years ago. The statue was on display at Lafayette Park where we as a school were able to walk down and visit it.

Bob explained that Harriet Tubman saved her own family from being separated. Her grandnephew James Bowley ended up becoming a great free black man. “He was appointed to run Georgetown’s freedmen’s bureau,” Bob told us, “and he served in the Union Navy.”

Bob told us that the FOGL is working on an exciting new project. They commissioned a small statue from Wesley Wofford to be called Whispers of My Ancestor. It will show Harriet Tubman encouraging the young James Bowley to aspire to great things. The statue will be near the children’s section where anyone can go over and touch it and be inspired. The FOGL has already raised the $40,000 necessary to make the statue a reality.

Best of luck to the Friends of the Library and their awesome leader Bob Willey!

By Larson

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November 12, 2025: Kristi Kinslow

On November 12th, our school had the opportunity to hear from Kristi Kinslow, the Director of Pre-Professional Studies and Recruiting Manager from the University of South Carolina (USC) College of Pharmacy. She spoke with us about the process of becoming a pharmacist through the USC Pharm.D. Program. This program, which has been around for over 150 years, is the oldest and most established pharmacy college in South Carolina. Admissions are highly selective and competitive with only about 100 acceptees per year.

To become a pharmacist through USC, students must complete at least a total of 6 years of education. The first two consist of pre-requisite courses, which may be taken at another institution. After that, students enter the four-year Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program. This program is a professional doctoral degree, and is one of the fastest paths to earning a doctoral degree. Kristi explained that there are over 30 different fields within pharmacy, and a single Pharm.D. degree qualifies graduates to work in any of them. “This degree allows you to constantly change your field,” Kristi said, “the sky is your limit.” 

She also emphasized that a career in pharmacy offers flexibility, versatility, and a competitive salary. Additionally, the USC College of Pharmacy provides students with a strong network of engaged alumni, who can open doors to numerous professional opportunities. Kristi also noted that the role of pharmacists especially became visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they served on the front lines of healthcare. In reality, she reflected, “people didn’t even acknowledge how much pharmacists did until COVID.” We now better recognize the vital role of pharmacists in medicine. 

By Eleanor

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October 29, 2025: Luke Gates

Our guest today was Luke Gates. Luke is an architect who practices in Paris, France. He
graduated from the University of Virginia in 2014 with a BS in Architecture. Luke
wanted to try working in France so he applied to a French firm and ended up moving to
Paris for his first job. He now resides permanently in France.

“Everyone has preconceived notions about what architecture should be like,” Luke said. “School is where all those ideas get challenged.” He had us look around the Auditorium to focus on its features and on what makes it a beautiful and useful space.

Luke told us that architects spend the majority of their time behind the computer but sometimes they draw or build models. Architects communicate their vision in three ways: blueprints, sections, and elevations. Luke really enjoys his job because his firm does a lot of historic preservation and restoration.

“It’s an exciting time to be an architect,” Luke said. He has been using a new technology called PointCloud which is very powerful and cool. PointCloud is a laser meter that can measure and recreate 3D objects and spaces in a computer file.

Exterior view of the Tartarets Heat Plant showing the massive windows and smokestack.

Finally, Luke shared some of his current projects. His firm is renovating the Mame Pavilions by a famous French architect, Jean Prouvé (Prouvé is known for using moveable metal panels). Luke is also working on a turning a downtown parking garage into a commercial space while preserving the existing structure, such as the sloping floors. His firm recently won a nationwide competition to renovate the Tartarêts Heat Plant. The beautiful industrial structure was abandoned for many years but now will become a library and community center. Its main feature, a huge smokestack, will be redeployed as a solar chimney to keep the building cool without air conditioning.

A model built by Luke’s firm showing the proposed renovations.
The old heat plant seen from inside.

We thank Luke for his visit and look forward to hearing about how all his projects turn out.

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October 22, 2025: Marsh Deane

On the 22nd of October, we welcomed Marsh Deane to Open Forum. Marsh is accomplished photographer who owns his own business, MLNL Media. MLNL Media does all kinds of photography from real estate to nature to weddings. Marsh is also a teacher at TGS. He started out by teaching photography, then branched out to also teach Earth Science and Robotics. Marsh brings lots of knowledge and experience to the school through his job and personal knowledge of the local land and environment. 

Marsh believes in the power of immersing yourself in nature and the necessity of preserving nature for future generations. He spoke to us about a wonderful experience he had in the Congaree National Park photographing the synchronous fireflies that appear there every spring. He went on the Congaree, traveling miles upriver on his kayak to reach the most secluded parts of the swamp. When he arrived, he went deep into the forest to find the fireflies, a twinkling array of beautiful lights in the night.

For Marsh, this experience put a deep focus on how we tend to skip over the little things we see every day, whether it be the trees, the wildlife, the river, or anything else. He reminded us that some other places, like big cities, can’t even see the stars in the night sky due to light pollution. Marsh’s journey into the Congaree Swamp gives us an example of exactly what he hopes people will have the courage to do—he went deep into the wild to capture nature in its purest form. Through this journey, he told us that he conquered his fears and truly “witnessed the Holy Spirit deep in the Carolina night.” 

We thank Mr. Marsh for sharing his inspiring account of his journey in the Congaree National Park and his experience with the beautiful wildlife deep in the pristine forest.

By Nolan

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October 29, 2025: Steve Williams

Mr. Steve Williams came to talk to us today. Mr. Williams is a local author, historian, and former educator who has won awards for his newspaper columns. He graduated from Winyah High School and went on to work as a teacher and educational adminstrator for thirty years in Atlanta, Charlotte, and New York. When his parents died, he retired and decided to move back to Georgetown. He then embarked on a new career as a writer.

Mr. Williams has written fourteen books about black history and today he talked to us about his new children’s book From Slavery to Shipwright. The book details the history of James Mashow, a slave of mixed heritage whose white father sent him up North to become a carpentry apprentice. James found his calling in ship-building and went on to construct 100 ships before the Civil War. He was a very well-known shipwright in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he was in charge of building many whaling vessels for that booming industry.

Mr. Williams told us that James Mashow’s example should encourage us to do great things. “He was born ordinary,” he said, “and became extraordinary.” Mashow’s inspirational story is now better known, thanks to Mr. Williams’ research. Mr. Williams told us that every day was a chance to learn and better ourselves. “To quote Dr. King,” he concluded, “the way to education is always under construction.”

By Reece