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Holiday Market draws all kinds of interest
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Kai Wade, left, FFA reporter and a sophomore at Windsor Forrest High School, stands with Susan Giddens Steward, owner of Gratitude Gardens, at their vendor table at last Saturdays Holiday Market at J.F. Gregory Park. - photo by Photo by Rachael Hartman

There was a steady hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers at the fourth annual Holiday Market last Saturday at the J.F. Gregory Park pavilion.
The event, hosted by the Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce, drew customers looking for special gifts for loved ones and vendors with unique products to sell.
Products featured included soy candles, knitted winter hats, local honey, specialty soap, customized home décor, jewelry, organic vegetables, dolls, Christmas ornaments, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, paddleboards and more.
Vendors came from Richmond Hill, Savannah, Pooler, Bloomingdale, Hinesville, Ludowici and other area cities.
Susan Giddens Steward, owner of Gratitude Gardens, set up a vendor table at the market with the help of Windsor Forest High School students. Proceeds from sales of organic vegetables, seeds, homemade jams and Christmas ornaments supported the Future Farmers of America club at WFHS.
“From seed to harvest, we teach how to do it all,” Steward said of her work at the high school. “I go to the school and teach the kids how to cook what we grow. They come to the farm to plant, weed and pick the harvest. Everything we do is organic. What you put into vegetables is what you get out.”
A little farther under the pavilion was a lady dressed in a bright-green monster suit. Naomi Havens, dressed as the “Whatif Monster,” was representing Usborne Books. The book, “Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster,” and a plush Whatif Monster were available for local Wounded Warrior families for a $20 donation. Havens recently gave Whatif books and toy sets to 16 Gold Star families, which are military families whose soldier died in action.
“They came from Beaufort, Savannah and Jacksonville on their way to a Snowball Express event in Texas. We met them at the Savannah Airport,” she said.
In the middle of the pavilion, another vendor table was set up for Damsel in Defense, a line of personal self-defense products designed specifically for women.
McKenzee Williams and Tracey Norrell, independent Damsel pros, told stories of why personal protection is so important to them.  
Williams was at the Pooler Walmart walking back to her car when she noticed someone following her from a distance. She already was using the flashlight on her “Get a Grip” stun gun when she decided it was time to send a warning.
“I turned around, looked the man straight in the eye and discharged a warning [from my stun gun]. The man immediately turned around,” she said. “Sound is the No. 1 deterrent for criminals.”
Williams dispelled some defense myths.
“A lot of people say, ‘Just use a can of wasp spray.’ How many women do you know that actually carry a can of wasp spray in their purse? It’s a federal offense to use wasp spray for any other purpose than what it was created for. It says so on the bottle,” she said.
Norrell is a survivor of domestic violence.
“My situation I was in involved guns, so I don’t feel comfortable having a gun in the house,” she said. “My daughter is also a survivor of sexual assault. Every woman needs to have an option. She doesn’t have to be defenseless to violent crimes.”
Along with black, pink, purple, blue and green stun guns, Damsel in Defense offers pepper sprays, vehicle emergency tools, personal security alarms, key chain striking tools and alarm trackers for young children which sound when a child ventures too far from a parent.  
“People who attack women aren’t going to change their attack. They are going to change their victim,” Williams said. “They prey on women who appear weak and defenseless. If you show them you’re willing to fight back, they may turn around.”

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
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The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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