Farewell to TGIFF!

As the saying goes – all good things must come to an end.

Such is the case with Daniel Island’s longest running social club, “Thank Goodness It’s First Friday” (TGIFF), which recently announced it would disband due to dwindling attendance after gathering in the community for nearly 22 years.

The group kicked off in the fall of 1998, meeting on the first Friday of each month under the leadership of three of the island’s earliest resident couples, Bob and Kay Uhler, Al and Joan Vitalo, and Lee and Sherry Sidorick. In the beginning, the club’s socials offered a way for residents to meet each other in the evolving new community. At the time, only a few streets had been built out, there was no grocery store, no clothing stores or restaurants, no Volvo Car Stadium or Family Circle Tennis Center, and no connection to I-526 from Daniel Island (only the Clements Ferry Road exits).

TGIFF gatherings took place in residents’ homes. One couple would host the event and provide paper products, and guests would bring food and drinks.

“It was a wonderful way to get people to know each other when we first moved to the island, because we didn’t have any place to do that,” recalled Kay Uhler, in a 2018 article published in The Daniel Island News about TGIFF’s 20th anniversary.

By 2000, Walt and Barb Jenner had moved to the island and soon became TGIFF regulars. In those early years, the Jenners remember TGIFF as a small, cohesive group that mostly consisted of the original people who had moved to the island.

“It was always a fun gathering,” recalled Barb. “…I think it was really very important at the time. There wasn’t a lot here.”

According to the Jenners, there have been great club memories over the years, like the time the newly opened Publix hosted TGIFF and offered food and drink stations in the aisles.

“That was so much fun!” Barb added.

The Hampton Inn also held a TGIFF event when they first opened.

“This trio was performing,” said Walt, “and all of a sudden this woman comes up and starts singing! She was fantastic! Turns out she was just staying there … We really did have some good times.”

Then there were the memorable celebrations for Valentine’s Day and Christmas each year (they collected toys for Toys for Tots and had representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps attend) and a fun TGIFF rendition of The Newlywed Game. One year, there was a missing keys fiasco when a guest accidentally placed their keys into what looked like a collection basket at the door. Turns out it was another guest’s purse.

“We had to call AAA to open the car door so this person could go home and get a second set of keys!” exclaimed Barb.

The Jenners eventually took over the reins as planners of the event, which continued to grow over the years. One TGIFF gathering that they hosted at their home in Codner’s Ferry Park had 125 attendees.

“That’s how big it used to be!” Barb said.

Soon the club outgrew resident homes and had to be moved to a larger location. In 2009, they began meeting at the Daniel’s Landing clubhouse off River Landing Drive, where they continued to meet until late last year.

But with so many new residents moving to the island and so many options for socializing, Walt noted that TGIFF has seen its numbers decrease and the group decided the club had run its course.

“It’s part of history,” said Barb, when asked if it was hard to see it end. “Yes, in a sense it was sad. Because this was Daniel Island, something that had been here from its inception. But you have to let it go when it’s time to let go – and it was.”

“We’re done, but there are other people doing things,” she continued. “… It’s not like its stagnant, like this ends and there is nothing else. Whatever interests there are, people will start (events and activities around them). We’ll always be a growing and thriving community.”

“It has been a great run!” added Walt.

Barbara McLaughlin, manager of community services for the Daniel Island Property Owners Association, has been working with TGIFF’s leaders to get the word out about the organization’s gatherings since 1999, when she started her position with the POA. She extended her “heartfelt thanks” to the Jenners for their efforts over the years.

“This fun, social, monthly gathering, coordinated through their continuous volunteer efforts, allowed owners to establish friendships and create a sense of belonging to the island as community members,” stated McLaughlin. “Their dedication, energy and enthusiasm sustained this gathering for many, many years without interruption, which is truly a remarkable accomplishment. They sacrificed their personal time for the greater good of the citizens of Daniel Island. To thank them adequately is impossible. Through their efforts they have made Daniel Island a better place to live and call home. We trust that the community will remember over the years their generosity of spirit.”