Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2020

19 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.VOICEforMP.com feature overturning it, which the law allows the Council to do. My wife Suzette and I prayed about it together. We talked it over, and we both remembered a decision I had made at the beginning: I would have to live with many things I would do wrong during this ordeal, but I could not live with losing the lives of Mount Pleasant citizens because I hadn’t done enough. I would rather be criticized for doing too much than for doing too little. After the press conference announcing the stay-at- home order, calls and messages began flooding in from all over. Prior to issuing the order, I had never felt quite so alone as a leader. After issuing the order, it meant the world to me that other leaders and even many citizens went out of their way to make me feel anything but alone. In moments like this, it becomes evident how connected we really are and how our decisions affect so many others. Still, there have been many low points. One was the loss of Hugh O’Neill, manager of Cantina 76 on Coleman. There have been cancelled weddings, cancelled sporting events and a cancelled Blessing of the Fleet. My personal friend and lobbyist for the town of Camden, South Carolina, Jack West, became one of the first people in our state to die of COVID-19. Then my pastor and friend, Bishop Steve Wood of Saint Andrews, contracted the virus and was hospitalized for 10 days, in intensive care on a ventilator. His story has been publicized since then and shows how ugly this virus has been, even among those who survive. But we can’t look at these low points and not consider the highs. What are they? Mount Pleasant citizens started the Feed Our Heroes program, in which the public purchases meals to deliver to those working the front lines. This program helped struggling restaurants and boosted the morale of workers risking virus exposure. Neighborhoods and schools held drive-by graduation events for students. People paid for the car behind them while in restaurant drive-thru lines. Resident musicians, like Bobby Houck of the Blue Dogs, held Facebook Live concerts that fans watched while hunkering down at home. Helping businesses safely reopen and stay open became my top priority, which is why I accepted an invitation from the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce to do a weekly “Mondays With the Mayor” Zoom program. I also serve on the One Region Task Force, which consists of leaders across the region who work with MUSC to adopt and promote safety procedures for businesses. I don’t know anyone in a decision-making capacity who thinks they’ve gotten everything right. Facts have changed. Medical advice has changed. Decisions have had to be made quickly, with the information available at the time. There was no template for this like there is for a hurricane. We only knew we had to somehow flatten the curve. The staff members of one of our local hospitals were recently honored with a police car and fire truck parade in the hospital parking lot. During the parade, I stood with the hospital’s top executives, expressing my gratitude for their dedication to the well-being of our citizens. “And we thank you for taking reasonable protective measures,” they replied. “They have helped flatten the curve.” We have all learned in our physical separation from each other just how important our emotional connections are. We have vowed not to ever again take little things for granted – like going out with a group of friends or to a movie or concert. We will never forget this year. Mayor Haynie gives a press update at a Mount Pleasant Town Hall meeting.