WellCare of South Carolina has given Mission Lexington $5,000 to help families and children in crisis. Mission Lexington provides emergency services to over 21,000 people annually. They receive food, clothing, shelter and assistance including rent, utility fees, mortgage or rent, and prescription medication vouchers at no cost. Wellcare provides government-sponsored managed care services to individuals with complex medical needs. The partnership with Mission Lexington provides additional support to over 4,000 residents insured by Wellcare in Lexington County. For more information about Mission Lexington, visit www.missionlexingtonsc.org

$6,300 raised for USO

The USO of Columbia received a check this week to benefit service men and women. The 22nd Soldiers & Vets Charity Golf Tournament held in May raised $6,300. The funds will help support active duty, veterans, reserve military memebers and their families. AllSouth has been hosting the event for 22 years and has raised more than $300,000 for deserving organizations.

Lexington Goodwill opens new store

Goodwill opened its new store at 1307 W. Main Street in Lexington on Wednesday. This replaces the existing Goodwill store located at 754 W. Main Street, which has served Goodwill shoppers and donors in Lexington for 20 years. The new store features a drive-through donation center and a community room. This space may be used as interview space for area employers who are hiring for positions, a training space, or a meeting space for local GED classes or Workforce Development groups, among other uses. Lexington County has four Goodwill Job Connections offering resume assistance, job leads and referrals, computer and internet access, and other services for job seekers. Last year, Goodwill placed 12,152 people into employment through its job training programs and Goodwill Job Connection services.

Who’s new

Parks Bunch has joined Boyer Commercial Construction, Inc.’s team of project management professionals. Boyer Commercial Construction, Inc.is a veteran owned General Contractor, Construction Manager, and Design Builder based in Columbia. Bunch, 33, spent the last 3 years in leadership roles in the manufacturing industry. Prior to that he served 8 years as an officer in the United States Army and is a veteran of multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. Parks is a graduate of Wofford College.

Amelia Robinson, Celia Means, James-mane Randolph, Tracy Clark and William Surber have joined Exit Realty’s Irmo office at 7328 Broad River road. EXIT of the Carolinas is a network of independently owned and operated brokerages across the region.

Three new agents have joined The Caughman Co., a Weichert Real Estate affliate at 120 Ellis Ave, in Lexington. They are Tinara Exume, Jasmine Moore, and Mavasia Partman-Willis. Each Weichert franchised office is independently owned and operated.

Congressman speaks to rotary

Congressman Joe Wilson spoke at the Rotary Club of Cayce-West Columbia on Tuesday, August 21. Wilson served as Club President in 1979-80, currently he is an honorary member of the club. Congressman Wilson is proud to promote Rotary. He was instrumental in the reestablishment of Rotary clubs in Bulgaria.

BBQ fans pick new leader

Jim Wellman of Lexington has been appointed president of the SC Barbeque Association. Wellman is an SCBA-certified master judge and also coordinates the SCBA’s “Judges on Call” squad. This group of highly experienced judges offer their expertise at specialty events beyond barbecue competitions. Founded in 2004, the SCBA has certified more than 800 highly-skilled judges for barbecue competitions. To learn more, visit www.scbarbeque.com