First things first as I sit down to a stack of To Do’s on my desk on this sunny Charleston morning.

58 years ago, a baby girl was born 3 months after me in the exact same hospital room in Clinton, NC.    The hospital had only one delivery room.  It’s quite possible that she was even born on the same hospital bed as me.   Through our child and teen years, she and I remained close friends, even puppy lovers from time to time.   She went off to the University of North Carolina.  I went off to Vietnam.  Our paths didn’t cross again for 38 years.

A few years ago, I called her one evening while driving from NC to Florida.   We talked through 3 states.  Something special was still there.

2 years later, we are now real estate business partners and, in many ways, life partners.   The textures and depths of the history born in that hospital room 58 years earlier remains intertwined and richly meaningful.

Rebecca Warren Gooden is loved, appreciated and respected by all, including her business partner.

This week her Rotary Club of Mt Pleasant acknowledged their respect by giving her their Annual Presidential Citation.   She is Rotarian of the year.  Rotary’s motto is Service Above Self.   The club surely selected an exceptionally dedicated service oriented giver this year.   Rebecca is always there for anyone who needs a helping hand or a warm heart.  Always.

She’s a busy and successful entrepreneur who owns a residential real estate business (Gooden+Faircloth), a real estate investment business, a NC golf course and a top-ranked Mt Pleasant Restaurant (Crave Kitchen & Cocktails).  She’s a member of more professional organizations than I can keep up with.

Congratulations and thank you Rebecca.   You are loved, appreciated and deeply respected.