An Entrepreneur Who Delights in the SC Friends She’s Known Since Childhood
by Melissa LaScaleia
Introduce me to your family.
It’s myself and my son, Dylan McConnell. He is twenty-seven years old and lives in Georgetown too.
Where are all the places that you have lived? Where do you live now?
I have always lived in Georgetown County, in Andrews. It’s a little bit inland, about 18 miles away from Georgetown, right off the beautiful Black River.
Why have you always lived here?
I love that I know everyone where I live and the feeling of camaraderie that results. There’s perks to living in a small town: when my son was growing up, it was important to me that I knew his teachers, their backgrounds, morals, and values, as well as those of his friends. And there’s a mentality in which everyone helps each other out. I also love the Lowcountry lifestyle: fishing, being on the water, and the beaches.
What’s your favorite place in the area?
Front Street in Georgetown. The scenery is great, and you can shop, dine, and hang out with friends right along the waterfront at the junction of five rivers and the Intracoastal Waterway.
Where do you work?
Anderson Brother’s Bank in Georgetown. I also own a clothing boutique called Raja’s Closet. It’s a mobile boutique with a brick and mortar location on Highmarket Street in Georgetown.
What are your favorite things to do here in the area?
Spending time with my son who also loves to fish; meeting friends on Front Street to catch up and have a nice meal; sitting on my back porch with a cup of coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet and the birds.
What do you like most about living here?
First and foremost, the weather. Also my friends that I’ve known since childhood. I like being so local to where I work. The people that we serve in the community at the bank are the same that we shop with in the grocery store and have dinner with and see walking down the street. I like that here, everyone is my neighbor. I like knowing who I’m going to run into. As my son was growing up— I pushed him to go live somewhere else, to go do something else, see something else and he said to me, “Mom why would I? Everything I love is right here.” And that’s true for me too. Everything I love is right here, and that’s what I enjoy about living here.
Is there anything that you would like to see in the Myrtle Beach area that isn’t here?
I’d like to see more available health care services for our rural communities.
