Back in July 1996, a Sun News headline read, “Inlet Identity Crisis”. It talked about restaurants closing in Murrells Inlet – nearly a dozen were closed or vacant. There was growing competition from Broadway at the Beach and other Myrtle Beach attractions. Chain restaurants arrived nearby with Sunday liquor sales – the Inlet had none. Off the coast, yields were declining and fish stocks were being depleted; thus, hampering the livelihood of Murrells Inlet fisherman. The varied Murrells Inlet associations at that time were working independently -- there was no community effort. With assistance from the South Carolina Downtown Development Association, members of the community joined efforts to formulate a vision for the village. Click 1997 Community Vision to read what has proven to be a very prophetic look at Murrells Inlet ten years later. Much has been accomplished. Much remains to be accomplished.



- building a boardwalk over the marsh,
- acquiring creek-front property to turn into a public park (Morse Landing Park),
- constructing a public crabbing dock at Morse Landing Park,
- erecting user-friendly signs throughout the inlet,
- partnering with local schools to teach our children about water quality,
- promoting area businesses,
- beautifying the area with litter clean-ups and landscaping projects,
- hosting community forums.


- implementing a long-term and sustainable water quality monitoring program for the inlet.
- securing public parking and completing the Veterans Pier
- renovating or rebuilding a Murrells Inlet Community Center
- completing the Murrells Inlet Bike bridge
- beautifying Business 17 with underground wiring, streetlighting and plantings
- making litter clean up a year-round activity
- enhancing environmental education for our residents and visitors
- promoting Murrells Inlet as a "must see" destination



Whitney Hills, Chairman/Treasurer
Wayne Vereen, Vice Chairman
Kelly Dorman, Secretary
Mimi Burns
Al Hitchcock
Skeeter Nash
Sue Peters
Tom Swatzel
Jim Wilkie

Advisory Board Member
Dr. Justin Catlaldo
Beth Stedman
Leo Phelan
Lari Roper

The Board of Directors meets the first Wednesday of each month (excluding July) at 10 AM in the conference room at the Village Center at 4447 Highway 17 Business. Meetings are open to the public.

Executive Director
Susan Sledz



Murrells Inlet 2007 is always looking for volunteers. We have a variety of activities needing your support. Click Current Volunteer Opportunities to review descriptions of various volunteer positions. Contact us at info@murrellsinletsc.com or call 843-357-2007 if you are interested in helping in any way. Thank you!

We also partner with SC Department of Natural Resources to coordinate volunteers helping build oyster reefs. Call 843-357-2007.



Murrells Inlet 2007 relies exclusively on donations and fundraising for its ongoing operations. Donations are tax-deductible and are always welcome. Make checks payable to "Murrells Inlet 2007" and mail to PO Box 1357, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576. All donors are recognized in the quarterly "Village Scene" newsletter.



Now is the opportunity for families, individuals, and businesses to revere the past, rekindle fond memories or remember loved ones -- past or present. Plaques of recognition are being offered on the marshwalk and the Veterans Pier walkway. These plaques are a permanent enhancement to the Marshwalk, and such gifts may be deducted as a charitable contribution. Click Marshwalk Plaque Order Form to download an order form. Click Plaque FAQ’s for more information.



Lost at Sea Memorial

On April 6, 2008, friends and families gathered at Morse Park Landing in Murrells Inlet to participate in the annual Lost at Sea Memorial ceremony. Two names were added in this year’s ceremony.

John W. Kneidl, born January 26, 1926, resided in Dayton, Ohio at the time of his loss on May 5, 1945. He was aboard the USS LAGARTO, a 1526 ton Balao Class Submarine. The sub was lost in the South China Sea. It has since been located by divers and it is beleived that it was struck by a depth charge at very close range. It is also believed that all members of the crew were either killed or knocked unconscious at the moment of impact. All hatches remain secured. The submarine has not been entered or invaded in any manner and still rests at the bottom of the sea.

Daniel James Phalen, born April 10, 1978, was lost ten miles off the Murrells Inlet coast on November 2, 2007, while aboard a recreational fishing boat that experienced electrical failure.

These men and all those previously added to the monument were honored at the ceremony.

The annual ceremony is held the first Sunday of April. Call 458-7671 or visit Lost at Sea Memorial for more information.

Murrells Inlet Bike Bridge

Residents along the Waccamaw Neck are now enjoying the recently opened Murrells Inlet Bike Bridge. The new bike lane and bridge were dedicated on June 7, 2008. The project began four years ago and has steadily moved forward long its timeline since that first meeting.

May 2004 - Linda Ketron of Bike the Neck asks Murrells Inlet 2007 to assume responsibility for completing the “Murrells Inlet Bike Bridge” project. Murrells Inlet 2007 secures support and commitment from Georgetown County as a key project partner.
Spring 2005 - Initial plans are drawn and shared with the community. Preliminary estimates are calculated and potential funding sources are identified. MI2007 writes a grant application for Federal Highway Administration funds administered through the local Grand Strand Transportation Area Study Committee (GSATS). MI2007 turns over the grant application to Georgetown County for approval and submission.
August 2005 - The local GSATS Committee approves the $206,000 grant request.
Winter 2005/2006 - MI2007 writes a grant application for SC Parks Recreation & Tourism Recreational Trails Program (SC PRT) and turns it over to Georgetown County for approval and submission.
Summer 2006 – SC PRT announces that the Bike Bridge project would not receive funding in that year’s grant cycle. It would be resubmitted in the following year’s cycle. MI2007 hires the Earthworks Group to work with the county and SC Department of Transportation to develop the detailed design plans, complete the environmental permitting process and create the detailed construction plans.
Winter 2006/2007 - The critical area permit is approved. Georgetown County and the Earthworks Group work with SCDOT on encroachment permitting details. Commitments are made to use pervious pavement for the north-end bike lane. The grant application is resubmitted to SC PRT.
Summer 2007 - SC PRT approves the grant application for $62,000. Georgetown County Council approves a $10,000 Accommodations Tax grant application. All funding is secured.
Fall 2007 - Georgetown County prepares and solicits bids for the construction work.
December 2007 - Georgetown County Council awards the contracts for bridge construction and the lane and path paving.
February 2008 - Bridge construction begins under the management of Georgetown County and the Earthworks Group.
April 2008 – Construction is complete and the connection is opened for traffic.
June 7, 2008 – The ribbons are cut and the project is officially dedicated.

The Murrells Inlet Bike Bridge project has been funded via the Federal Highway Administration Funds (administered through the local GSATS Committee), the South Carolina Parks Recreation & Tourism Recreational Trails Program grant, Georgetown County Accommodations Tax and Murrells Inlet 2007.

Murrells Inlet 2007 extends its sincerest appreciation to Georgetown County for the county’s ongoing partnership in support of this and many other community projects.

Thanks also go to Bike the Neck, SC Department of Transportation, The Earthworks Group, East Coast Greenway, Huntington Beach State Park and USDA.

Inlet Water Quality Monitoring

Over a year ago, Murrells Inlet 2007 initiated conversations with Coastal Carolina University, Georgetown County, Horry County and Surfside Beach representatives to strategize the implementation of a water monitoring program for the inlet. During that same time, the municipalities finalized requirements of the federally-mandated stormwater management regulations. The Inlet water monitoring program will help the municipalities address some of the minimum regulation requirements.

The Creek Water Monitoring Program was kicked off as the keynote topic at the February 19th Chowder Talk. Since the Chowder Talk, all contract paperwork between Coastal Carolina University, Georgetown County, Horry County and Surfside Beach has been completed. Monitoring kits have been ordered and received. Jim Wilkie and Dr. Susan Libes met on March 21st to perform a reconnaissance survey of the eight sampling sights. Jim Wilkie shared a map of the sites with the MI 2007 Board at the April 2nd meeting. The eight sampling locations are 1) Woodland Drive & Channel Lane; 2) Point Drive at the GSWSA Lift station; 3) Mt. Gilead at Kim Foxworth’s house; 4) Marina Colony pond; 5) creek at Harrelson’s Seafood sign; 6) creek at Boat House Run; 7) creek at the Murrells Inlet Bike Bridge; and 8) Oyster Landing in Huntington Beach State Park.

Volunteer training sessions were held on April 29th and May 17th at Coastal Carolina University. Davinder Randhaw of CCU trained the team of fifteen volunteers. Thanks go to Faye Bridges, Linda Burnside, King Corbett, Pat Corbett, Donna Ducker, David Hadley, John Houbion, Peter MacIntyre, Gary O’Loughlin, Keith Palmer, Leo Phelan, Mike Putts, Jeanne Weinreich, Jim Wilkie and Marty Wren.

On May 20th, the trained volunteers gathered for their first field training class where they tested four sites. Now fifteen volunteers are sampling on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month. Volunteers are still welcome to join in. Contact Murrells Inlet 2007 to sign up.

Environmental Education

Murrells Inlet 2007 is a member of the Coastal Waccamaw Stormwater Education Consortium, a partnership of local education providers focused on educating the public about preventing stormwater runoff to our creeks, rivers and oceans. Visit the Consortium website to learn more about the consortium and its efforts. The site contains great content on learning how to reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff.

Community Center

In January 2007, the MI 2007 Board of Directors set as a goal the renovation or rebuild of the local community center. Over the past year, Senator Ray Cleary and Representative Vida Miller have secured $235,000 of state funding for the project. Georgetown County has pledged $250,000 of matching capital improvement funds. The county has committed to launching a study of the existing community center to assess the site and facility, gather community input, render a recommendation on the restoration vs. build new decision and develop a design and cost estimate. Murrells Inlet is currently waiting to hear status and plans from Georgetown County on next steps for the community center.

Business 17 Beautification

Projects include underground wiring, street lighting and tree and flower plantings for the core commercial district. A landscaping plan is being created for Morse Landing Park. The committee has begun meeting to scope out the project. The Holiday Sweep of Business 17 is an annual litter clean up event. See events.

Many suggestions have come forward for this project: Install decorative street lighting. Cover the ditches. Make the existing bike lanes safer. Extend the bike lanes into Horry County. Put in crosswalks. Landscape the major intersections. Plant trees along the side of the road. Install more Christmas wreaths. Install decorative banners. Bury the wiring.

After some discussion of lighting, plantings and decorations, it was decided that all these decisions rest on the future of the Business 17 bike lanes. The bike lanes along Business 17 are seeing more pedestrians and bicyclists than ever originally imagined. With the bridge connection complete, the lanes are in constant use. And Business 17 vehicular traffic has increased. Conversations with SCDOT have not rendered any short-term fixes for the existing lanes. SCDOT does not endorse widening the existing bike lanes neither marking the lanes nor adding any physical markings on the line. The only answer left to improving safety is to move them off the side of the road.

Steve Strickland of The Earthworks Group has volunteered his firm’s time to work with MI2007 board member, Kelly Dorman, and SCDOT to study the feasibility of implementing a new bicycle and pedestrian plan for Business 17. The plan will show two elements: First, a separate 8 feet multi-use path that would be separated by 3-4 feet of vegetation and designed to accommodate surface runoff, including piping of ditches that may need to be filled to allow expansion; and second, a raised sidewalk adjacent to the travel lane provided that catch basins and drainage are adequate to remove surface runoff. There should be room to work in the existing right-of-way. Once feasibility is confirmed and a plan is drawn and approved, other Business 17 beautification projects (such as decorative lighting, banners, wreaths, plantings and landscaping) may be executed around a future Business 17 bike path and sidewalk.

Earthworks will also map out alternate bike routes in the Inlet that could be designated as Share the Road routes.

Murrells Inlet 2007 has initiated discussions with Georgetown County about the re-installation of the rain garden at Morse Park Landing. The rain garden at the park was originally designed and planted by the county as part of the Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) stormwater demos in winter 2005. None of the plants survived and only a large mud hole remains. Chris Laude, the Georgetown County Stormwater Engineer, is especially interested in the rain garden. Planning meetings are underway now with the county to discuss next steps for completing the project.

Murrells Inlet 2007 has been discussing possible landscaping for the park. Preliminary requirements include the following:

- Use environmentally correct low-impact planting & maintenance techniques, such as xeriscaping, native vegetation and environmentally safe fertilization and pest control practices.
- Implement a low maintenance plan that requires minimal weeding, annual planting and mulching and ease of grass mowing
- Cannot obstruct view from the road
- Landscape only to accentuate edges to leave open the large center area of the park which is frequently used for community events, such as the 5K Race, Lost at Sea Memorial ceremony, Spring Tide and Christmas tree lighting
- Add soft solar lighting to creek side of the Lost at Sea Memorial.
- Reduce/eliminate sign pollution. Add a kiosk for educational purposes to present topics on stormwater practices and landscaping techniques. Incorporate kiosk and pet waste station into the electrical box area.

MI2007 has received two landscaping plans for the park and has met with Georgetown County to discuss the proposed plan. The County indicated that MI2007 would need to assume responsibility for all funding, materials and labor necessary to install and maintain any landscaping or irrigation at the county park. MI2007 will research estimates, potential grant funding, donors and volunteers for the project. Once this preliminary information has been gathered, the Board of Directors will determine whether to proceed with plans for the park project. Contact MI 2007 to share any thoughts you may have on the project.

Promotion

Marketing and promotional funds that have been traditionally available from Georgetown County to MI 2007 have been cut. The Promotion Committee is now looking at ways to promote Murrells Inlet as a “must see destination” for visitors. We plan to add a webpage to our website to provide local business information to help address the hundreds of visitor and relocation inquires we receive for Murrells Inlet. We are alswo drafting a "fullfillment" package to answer many of those inquiries. And MI 2007 looks forward to continued support from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and new support from the recently-formed Georgetown County Tourism Commission to assist in promoting Murrells Inlet.

We are also looking for committee members to organize a promotional event called “Arts on the Marsh” to allow local artists the opportunity to showcase and sell their wares along the beautiful settings of the Marshwalk and Morse Park Landing.

Spring Tide

Sunday, April 20 marked the 17th annual Spring Tide in Murrells Inlet. This year, over 270 volunteers picked up 5.7 tons of trash. Spring Tide, South Carolina’s biggest and longest-running one-day community cleanup, has rid the Inlet saltmarsh and roadsides of literally hundreds of tons of debris while bringing the community closer together in appreciation and care of the local environment. Spring Tide, coined “the festival where everybody works,” was founded by Chip Smith and a group of like-minded friends in 1992.
During that first year, some 600 volunteers hauled away 70-140 tons of debris, much of it left by Hurricane Hugo. Over the years, the marsh has yielded wayward dockage, discarded coffee cups and soda bottles, cast-off computers and televisions, bicycles, an occasional sofa, signs, buoys, messages in bottles, white boots coated with oyster shells, even an unopened six-pack of fisherman’s beer. This year’s clean-up unearthed a barnacle-encrusted prosthetic leg .. pegged (no pun intended) to be the most interesting find of all time.

Spring Tide is a community effort from start to finish: from the volunteers who provide and crew watercraft, pick up along the streets, unload boats and trucks, help out at the headquarters, provide and drive pickup trucks; to the companies who provide dump-boxes and soft drinks and canoes; to the 18 restaurants that cook the chowder; to the impressive lineup of local top-drawer entertainers who volunteer their afternoon for the Inlet; to the businesses that donate door-prizes; to the team of nocturnal chefs who cook up 200 pounds of barbecue and 140 pounds of chicken; to the Hot Fish Club which provides the venue and Georgetown County which provides equipment and allows us to use the landing and park and Keep America Beautiful’s Georgetown office who donate the trash bags. It’s all a labor of love for the creek!

For the past 17 years, the Spring Tide Board of Directors, Chip Smith, Donna Wade, Brian Wade, Jerry McKinnon and Cynthia Geiger, have rolled up their sleeves to bring Spring Tide to the community. The Spring Tide Board asked Murrells Inlet 2007 to take over ownership of the event for years to come. "I think, after 17 years, we’ve established an important Inlet tradition," Chip says. "And by bringing Spring Tide under the auspices of Murrells Inlet 2007, we’re ensuring that the tradition will continue. Spring Tide is a wonderful day for the Inlet, and a wonderful project for MI 2007, and I couldn’t be more pleased." At its April 2nd board meeting, The MI2007 Board of Directors unanimously voted to assume responsibility for the continuation of the annual community clean up. At the close of this year’s Spring Tide, Captain “Crustacean” Chip Smith passed the Spring Tide flag to Whitney Hills, Chairman of Murrells Inlet 2007. Moving forward, the event will continue as it has in the past.

Spring Tide t-shirts, sweatshirts and cookbooks are available for sale at the Murrells Inlet2007 office.