Commercial Truck Insurance in Hartsville, SC

A South Carolina singer took to the “American Idol” stage — and performed an emotional tribute to his mom.

Preston Duffee, 21, sang his own song “Something to Write About,” which he wrote in honor of his late mother, according to video from the episode that aired Sunday, March 5.

“I miss her every day, especially with things like this, how big this is,” Duffee, who is from Hartsville, said on the show. “If my mama was still here she would be really proud and she tell me that she knew I’d get here someday.”

Duffee advanced in the competition after his mom, who he called a big supporter of his music, died by suicide two years ago.

“Music has quite literally saved my life as far as helping me to cope,” Duffee said. “Not only just that — just to eat, put food on the table.”

Duffee said he created “Something to Write About” after his mom’s death. “American Idol” judge Lionel Richie said he was a fan of the contestant’s talents.

“Right on the money,” Richie said. “See, songwriting is a skill and you nail that.”

Fellow judge Katy Perry said the performance reminded her of fellow judge Luke Bryan. In fact, Duffee said he’s been compared to the country star; his original song even included the lyrics: “He gave me a flashback of our little Rat Pack and all the memories we made and the Luke Bryan songs we sang.”

Right on the money @PduffMusic. You have good taste in music too buddy! Your bright future starts in Hollywood! #AmericanIdol pic.twitter.com/UFOyZefRx9

— Luke Bryan (@lukebryan) March 6, 2023

While Duffee received praise for his guitar performance, Bryan warned that there are other country singers in the competition.

“You’ve got a really bright future as a songwriter,” the judge said. ”And your voice will grow and be stronger.”

After advancing to the next round of auditions, Duffee wrote on Instagram: “I hit the jackpot! I got the golden ticket and I’m heading to Hollywood!”

Hartsville is roughly 70 miles northeast of Columbia.

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FLORENCE, S.C. – Friday’s marquee Region 6-4A matchup between South Florence and Hartsville took a sobering turn toward the end of the third quarter.

Hartsville senior running back Carmello McDaniel was hit during a running play and lay motionless on the ground afterwards following the whistle.

Medical personnel attended to McDaniel, who was eventually put on a stretcher and taken away via ambulance.

The teams resumed play, with the undefeated and top-ranked Bruins securing a 49-21 victory over the fifth-ranked Red Foxes.

Following the game, Hartsville coach Jeff Calabrese didn’t have an update per say on his running back, but did offer that things were pointing in a positive direction.

“We don’t have an update right this second, but all signs are pointing to a positive recovery,” Calabrese said. “…We don’t have a lot of details right this second – I’m going to go over to the hospital right here in a minute, but all signs are pointing to a recovery, so we’re very hopeful and we’re praying.”

SFHS coach Drew Marlowe echoed those same sentiments after the game as well.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with No. 1 from Hartsville,” he said. “Hope that he is all right. That’s the bad part about this game is it’s violent and it’s physical.”

It was a gut-punch to say the least for the Red Foxes, who obviously had McDaniel on their minds the rest of the night.

The Hartsville High football team and staff gather for prayer following an injury to senior running back Carmello McDaniel.

“We love Carmello – he’s a great young man and anytime you see a teammate not doing well and carted off the field, it’s extremely difficult to deal with,” Calabrese said. “Yeah, it’s hard.”

It terms of the outcome, turnovers were a huge factor along with the Bruins’ special teams play Friday night.

South (6-0, 1-0) wound up with three interceptions – one returned for a score by Cameron Coe – and one fumble recovery.

Marlowe’s squad also got a big lift from Quincy Rhodes in the kick-return game as he ran back one for a touchdown and also had another TD run negated by a penalty.

The Hartsville High football team and staff gather for prayer following an injury to senior running back Carmello McDaniel.

SFHS added rushing scores from Syree Livingston, Zion Gilbert and Latrelle McClary as well as a pair of touchdown passes by Bryan McCartt. He hit Felder Gibson for one and had a huge fourth-down strike to Raleigh Jett in the second quarter that tied the game at 21-all at the time.

“That was huge to be able to hit that right there,” Marlowe said. “…We got ourselves in a bad position a little bit (with some penalties), but were able to hit a long pass down the sideline for a touchdown (and) gave us some confidence, which was really important for us.”

The defense also shut out the Red Foxes (4-2, 0-1) in the second half after a three-touchdown performance in the first half.

Quarterback McKendrie Douglas punched the ball in from a yard out to cap off Hartsville’s opening drive while McDaniel and Hakeem Watters added the other two TD runs.

But four turnovers were simply too much to overcome.

“We had our chances to stay in the ballgame, we really did,” Calabrese said. “Just didn’t play well enough…We didn’t make long touchdown catches (when) we had chances. He had a chance to go up 14 and we didn’t do that.

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“That’s what it is – it’s missed opportunities. Against a team that’s won 20 in a row, all they know how to do is win. You can’t open that door and we did tonight.”

South Florence will travel to Wilson at 7:30 p.m. next Friday while Hartsville will hit the road for a 7:30 p.m. matchup at Myrtle Beach.

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DARLINGTON, S.C. — The cities of Hartsville and Darlington have announced the dates for their annual Christmas parades.

The Hartsville Christmas Parade will take place in downtown Hartsville on Dec. 9 beginning at 3 p.m. A collaboration of the community, the parade will feature Hartsville’s first responders, local businesses, marching bands, dance troops, and an appearance by Santa Claus.

The parade route will begin on South Fifth Street at the Newsome Warehouse parking lot and proceed north on South Fifth Street. The parade will turn right onto Laurens Avenue, just before Applebee’s, and turn left on South Fourth Street past the Fairfield Inn. The parade will continue on Fourth Street, past the Hartsville Farmers Market on East Carolina Avenue, and will turn left onto East College Avenue. The parade will then turn left again onto North Fifth Street before turning right onto West Carolina Avenue. The parade will end at Thornwell School for the Arts, 437 West Carolina Avenue.

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For parade entry forms, guidelines, float rental contact information, or vendor license application, visit www.hartsvillesc.gov.

The Darlington Rescue Squad Christmas Parade is planned for Saturday, Dec. 2, at 4 p.m. The golf cart decorating contest once again will be included in the parade festivities.

The lineup for the parade will be at Fitness World at 1032 Pearl Street starting at 2 p.m. The route will end at the intersection of Spain and Cashua streets.

To find out about rules, visit www.cityofdarlington.com. For more information, email dfrs1956@gmail.com.

HARTSVILLE, S.C. — Jeff Calabrese compared the journey of the upcoming football season to climbing Mount Everest.

“We’re not even at base camp yet,” the longtime Hartsville football coach added.

While there is still a long climb ahead of them, the Red Foxes do begin the 2023 campaign with more than a handful of returning experienced players who will likely be key pieces in a potential deep playoff run.

Hartsville went 7-5 a season ago before falling to eventual lower state runner-up A.C. Flora in the postseason.

Offense was the Red Foxes’ calling card as they posted an average of 43 ½ points per game and scored more than 40 points five times.

Defense was a weak spot, however, as HHS allowed an average of more than 30 points per game and gave up more than 50 in three of its five losses last year.

“There were a lot of games last year we could have won or performed better in if we were able to do certain things on defense,” senior defensive lineman Bryson Jacobs said. “So I think the biggest point is just being able to come through on that side of the ball.”

At the top of the list of things to improve on this season is the team’s overall run defense, Calabrese said.

“We haven’t done a great job of stopping the run the last couple of years,” he said. “And a lot of that has to do with the fact that we weren’t very big and strong. We were playing a lot of young kids, and those kids have worked hard to get bigger and stronger.”

Jacobs and fellow defensive lineman Jordan Davis were among the names Calabrese pointed to that have improved in that area. Jackson Chavis is also switching from the offensive side to the defensive front and Hayden Wilson will step into the full-time nose guard role after playing in HHS’ final game last year.

The Red Foxes also have experience on their side. Middle linebackers Coleman Radcliff and Web Barnes both return along with JaQuez Coe, who was injured last season but started as a sophomore. Xavier Robinson is also back at linebacker and has played on the defensive line as well.

The secondary features returner Da’Marion Coe and a couple of news faces in Kylif Miller, Antuan Segars and Cole Winburn.

“I think (defensive coordinator) Carlisle Koonts has done a phenomenal job of creating a defensive plan that will allow these players to be very successful. So we’re excited about where we’re headed on defense.”

The offense returns a number of key cogs as well, including seven offensive lineman who either started or saw playing time last year led by Slayton Stokes. Sophomore Chris Price and senior Jazir Reardon are also pushing for time up front.

The Hartsville run game will miss J’Shawn Anderson (1,405 yds., 23 TDs), but leading rusher Carmello McDaniel (1,814 yds., 24 TDs) is back with junior Hakeem Watters stepping up from a backup role last season that saw him rush for 265 yards and two scores.

EJ Smith, Jackson Moore and Keon Hickson return to give senior quarterback McKendrie Douglas some weapons on the outside as well. Douglas threw for 1,284 yards and 13 touchdowns in ’22 while also rushing for 684 yards and seven more scores.

“It’s special being able to grow into a system and make it your own,” Douglas said. “…We’re going to run the rock and we’re going to do our thing. Whatever puts the most points up on the board, that’s what we’re going to do.

“…All three of our receivers are returning and all those guys have been getting it done all summer, so I’m super excited to see what they’ll do. My job is just to get the ball to them.”

HARTSVILLE, S.C. (WPDE) — Sonoco of Hartsville is celebrating 125 years in business this week.

Sonoco started in 1899 as a small and humble company in a rented warehouse, according to the company's website.

It reads:

In 1899, a small team of 12 worked in a rented warehouse in Hartsville, South Carolina on the Southern Novelty Company’s first product: a cone-shaped paper yarn carrier used for winding and transporting yarn. Since textile cones at that time were typically wooden, these paper cones were a novelty. This innovative product positioned us as the leading producer of cones in the U.S.

Since then, we continued to expand our product line and plant locations around the country. In 1923, the Southern Novelty Company name changed to Sonoco Products Company. Using the first two letters of this new company name, we claimed the name Sonoco. In the years to follow, we expanded internationally into North America, South America, Europe and beyond.

Sonoco now has more than 300 operations in 33 counties and employs more than 23,000 people.

The company's products and services include consumer packaging, protective packaging, healthcare packaging and industrial services.

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The company's CEO and President Howard Coker has been with Sonoco for 38 years.

Coker said they serve some of the world’s best-known brands in consumer, industrial and other markets.

We really focus on four key markets. One is our metal can market. So, if you think about Bushes baked beans, Lysol, spray paints. Second, is our paper can business. And everybody loves Pringles and Pillsbury and I could keep going," Coker said. "Our industrial business, which is represented behind me in terms of paper. And then finally, our flexible and thermal forming business. Where we make things like the trays for Lean Cuisine or the bowls for Kraft macaroni and cheese.

The company's website says its team members are their greatest asset.

It states, "At Sonoco, we believe that people build businesses. Investing in our growth drives our business toward world-class operations, innovative progress and committed customer service."

The company has garnered the following awards, certifications and recognitions in recent years:

Coker said they're proud of how the company has grown over the past 125 years. He added they have a dedicated team of employees across the world, who've worked hard to expand the company.

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He said Hartsville is where it all started and that's why they've stayed there for 125 years.

Frankly, there has been talk that after we reach $7 billion in sales, do we need to move to a bigger city? And the answer is emphatically, no," said Coker. "The core values of Sonoco are born and raised and reinforced, right here in Hartsville, South Carolina.

Officials said Sonoco leaders will ring the closing bell Tuesday morning at the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate the company's 125th anniversary.

Learn more about the company and its history by clicking here.