Can golf be an alternative to college football in the fall? Pro golf is popular on TV. Why not college golf?

In speaking with Norman Flynn, former golf pro at The Country Club of Lexington, he said even though we have die-hard foot ball fans, golf has become increasingly popular since the pandemic.

March, April and May were busy months for golf courses with all practicing and playing with recommended safety measures. Norman says it has slowed slightly in the

Norman says it has slowed slightly in the extreme heat but all golf courses still report record numbers enjoying this sport. Adding to the interest are the upcoming golf championships and then the prestigious Masters at Augusta National in November.

Will Branham, current golf pro at the Lexington Club, agrees with Norman that golf gets much additional attention and their club has seen increased interest in the past.

Amy Douglas reports that Pelion High has a new golf coach, Kathryn Cook, a Brookland-Cayce High grad and golf scholarship recipient at Newberry College.

Madison Branum, granddaughter of Janis Summers and daughter of Carman and Jeff Branum of Lexington, is enjoying her golf scholarship at Indiana State University. She has won numerous golf titles.

Congratulations to Otis and Melissa Rawl. He is retiring in early August as our Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce President and CEO after 5 years. He has helped add many new members.

Melissa is retiring at Lexington High where she served as Principal since 2011. She has a total of 43 years in education.

No doubt they have retirement projects planned and will enjoy quality time at their place at Edisto Beach. We wish them the best in a more relaxing lifestyle and thank them for their service to our community.

Angelle LaBorde of Greenwood will serve as the new Chamber President/CEO beginning August 3.

Did you have your hot dog last Wednesday, National Hot Dog Day?!! It is celebrated the entire month of July. Celebrating this day is fairly straightforward – just make your hot dog your way, and enjoy it however you’d like! Honestly, in the Dog Days of Summer, who doesn’t like a hot dog with all their favorite fixings?

Condiments make the hot dog. Of all the toppings you can add, mustard comes in 1st as the most popular hot dog condiment, fol lowed by ketchup and chili. Over 26 million hot dogs were sold annually at US baseball stadiums before the pandemic. Hot dogs are street vendor favorites in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. On Independence Day 2020, over 155 million hot dogs reportedly were eaten.

My favorite has mustard, ketchup, chili and slaw, topped with chopped onions!

Anne Bull reports that Ronnie and Joy Wingard are sending their misbehaving hens away. After trying to make them stop eating their eggs, the hens would not cooperate. The last straw was when they ate a dish full of oyster shells and the dish.

They also ate a ceramic egg Ronnie had put in their nest. There were many “layers” to this story but it’s about to come to an end. In the meantime, please be on the lookout for their duck Nettie who has gone missing. Hopefully she’ll return soon so we will have more duck tales to report.

Long-time Lexingtonians Brandon and Bryon Jeffcoat are the new owners of the Cold Stone Creamery store on North Lake Drive. The Jeffcoat’s acquired the popular business from Karen Petrosyan earlier this month. Assisting with the transaction was Peter Oliver of OTI, LLC.

Scott Adams of Lexington, Dean of the CIU School of Business, is pleased to announce that 2020 graduate David Elliott has joined Thrivent Financial in Lexington. He joins 2019 CIU School of Business graduate Luke Harris. Other graduates Jesse Dukes accepted a position as Assistant Director of Operations for Carolina Health Care, and Gabe Kirk has joined the Columbia office of PricewaterhouseCoopers as a financial institutions auditor.

Happy birthday Congressman Joe Wilson, Edwin Gerace, Donna Bundrick Griffin, Mikel Smith, Heidi Black, Smokey Davis, June Mattox, Rob Campbell-Kelly, John Helms, Jeannine Romano, JT Brodowski, Christine Corbacho, Wade Keisler, Ron Redd, Wade Billings, Sara McNeal, Katie Sayles, Michelle Sebring, Tami Smith, Marge Spears, Pamela Brown, Mark Hendrix, Michael Jeffcoat, Sierra Wise, Daniel Robinson, Bubba Easler, Kristin Hook, Julian Sharpe, Gale Harman, Kay Waites, Fran Felkel, Marie Parkinson, Ella Scoggins, Janet Lehman and Gary Butler.

Correction: Dorothy Christine celebrated a birthday July 15 not Aug. 15.

Let’s all remember to wear our masks. We think it is already making a difference