Sixteen years ago, Boys Day Out started at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church with 15 boys.
Now it is hundreds of boys and men at Camp Pee Dee.
Boys Day Out is a chance for men and boys to bond through swimming, fishing, canoeing, basketball, football, and horseback riding.
The rules were simple —  have a good time, no bullying, no fighting, no cursing, and no sagging pants.
The goal is to help young men become bigger men.
As the guest speaker for this year’s event, Clio native Sterling Leaven talked about having once sat where the young men listening to him were.
He talked about coming from a broken home and having a reading disability. He had to attend special classes for reading.
“Where you start has nothing to do with where you will end up,” Leaven said.

When Marlboro County native Robert Newton graduated from Duke University years ago, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life.
“I wanted to do something significant with my life that would have an impact on people and hopefully make the world a better place,” he said.
After growing up in the Adamsville area and graduating from Marlboro Academy, he left the county to earn his bachelor’s degree from Duke University.
He ended up deciding to go to law school because he had always enjoyed debates, discussions, and arguments.
“I wanted to fully understand the law and government and how it worked,” Newton said. “I wanted to see it from the inside.”
He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Various activities will be taking place throughout the county on Friday and Saturday.
Donate and help save lives by participating in the City of Bennettsville Police Department’s American Red Cross Blood Drive. 
It is from 12:30-5:30 p.m. Friday at the Bennettsville Community Center Recreation Room.
Every presenting donor will receive a free haircut from Sports Clips. 
To schedule an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org and use sponsor code of CityofBenn.

WALLACE — Andy Rogers was humbled by the fact that Palmetto Brick is 100 years old.
“A lot of people from the early 1900s until today have put their blood, sweat, and tears in this business,” he said.
Rogers is the vice president and the fourth generation of his family to run the business.
A 100th-anniversary celebration was Sept. 13 for the business, which is the largest family-owned brick maker in the state.
It remains one of only a handful of American-owned and operated brick manufacturers in the United States.
Customers, vendors, family, employees and area officials attended the event on the grounds of the business.

Friday, September 13, Northeastern Technical College (NETC) hosted an information session for high school students participating in Junior ROTC programs to learn more about the resources and benefits available to them if they choose to pursue a military career.
The event was held at the NETC Marlboro County Campus. Approximately 115 Junior ROTC students from Marlboro, Dillon, and Chesterfield counties were in attendance.
New recruits enlisting in the military typically start at E-1, the lowest rank and pay grade. Entering a branch of the military with JROTC experience and having earned college credits from a college like NETC, allows recruits to begin their military career at a higher rank and pay level.