Darius Rucker gets his own street & day in North Charleston

With country music superstar Darius Rucker and his wife Beth looking on, City of North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey officially renamed a portion of Coliseum Drive to Darius Rucker Boulevard this morning at a ceremony at the North Charleston Coliseum. Rucker, a proud Lowcountry native and resident, has performed many concerts at the Coliseum as a solo artist and as the front man for Hootie & the Blowfish.

“It has been great to see Darius Rucker become a first class and world renowned musician, while always embracing the Lowcountry,” said Mayor Summey. “However, it gives me a larger sense of pride to see Darius come back to the Lowcountry, time and time again, and put forth a meaningful effort to make our community a better place. Over the years his goodwill has truly benefited a countless number of our residents, and for that we are ever thankful. It is a pleasure and honor to recognize Darius Rucker, someone who has never forgot the Lowcountry.”

“It’s crazy,” Rucker said. “You never do anything with the intention of getting something in return, so I never expect anything but when I heard they wanted to name a street after me, I have to admit I was flattered. I’m truly honored that they’re doing that. It’s massive…just incredible. I’m totally over the moon about the whole thing. It’s just amazing to be recognized like that.”

The renaming of the street was initiated by country music radio station WEZL 103.5 FM. Morning show co-hosts TJ Phillips and Ric Rush floated the idea on air of naming a street after Darius back in the spring. North Charleston Mayor Summey was listening. He loved the idea and called into the show to tell Rush and Phillips that he was going to work on the idea. On June 10, 2013 the North Charleston Planning Commission approved the name change of a Coliseum Drive to Darius Rucker Boulevard. 

“The WEZL Crew is humbled by the fact that we have incredible listeners which includes North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey,” Rush said. “He heard us talking about this idea on the air and teamed with WEZL to make the naming of Darius Rucker Boulevard a reality. We are proud that we had a small part in making this happen.”

Mayor Summey cooks breakfast to support the Teachers' Supply Closet

North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey served up free breakfast at Cork Neighborhood Bistro on Friday, September 14 to benefit the Teachers' Supply Closet (TSC), but donations were accepted.

94.3 WSC morning host, Kelly Golden, hosted her show live from the event.



Mayor Summey began planning the fundraiser after meeting with TSC leaders over the summer about their expansion plans that serve greater North Charleston area schools. However, the event was more important than ever. The Teachers’ Supply Closet suffered extensive water damage and loss of supplies on Tuesday, August 28 when heavy rains and flooding throughout the area caused a blockage in a drain pipe which flooded the roof and subsequently the ‘Closet.’

“We have been working hard to get our facility back up and running and are so grateful to Mayor Summey and his staff for holding this event to help us recover. We look forward to meeting some new supporters!” said TSC Executive Director Deborah Hanlon.

Teachers' Supply Closet (TSC) is a non-profit organization that provides free school supplies to teachers in the Tri-County area who work at schools where 88 percent of the students are on the free or reduced lunch program. Currently 34 schools at the 88% poverty index (based on free and reduced lunch program statistics) from Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties are invited to shop.