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Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization
Society, Inc. (SICARS)

SICARS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to preserve and revitalize the Hog Hammock Community that is located on Sapelo Island, Georgia.

SICARS was founded in 1993 by Hog Hammock residents and nonresident descendants who wanted to gain control over the future of their community. SICARS was incorporated in 1994, has over 100 members, and continues to grow each year.

The Reality
The State of Georgia owns 96% of the island surrounding Hog Hammock and cannot be purchased for development. Additionally, access to the community on the island is limited to a ferry (operated by the State) or a private boat. These factors create an environment that makes community members, who have called Sapelo home for many generations, subject to stress and fracturing from land loss, speculative developers, racism, and lack of job opportunities.

SICARS Initiatives

Community Education
SICARS believes that our community can take ownership and responsibility for our future only to the extent that we can develop an accountable, representative, and well-informed leadership.

Land Use and Community Planning
SICARS' purpose is to address systemic threats to the survival of the community through land retention strategies, land use planning, and policy reform. These threats include tax and government planning agendas that directly affect our community and encourage or directly create the loss of descendant-owned land. A Community Land Trust has been developed and implemented by SICARS.

Sustainable Economic Development
The human community within our rural and resource-dependent environment holds the key to environmental health and sustainability. The challenge for SICARS and Hog Hammock is to redirect today's economy both to sustain the environment and culture, and to position those descendants trapped in the economic bottom to take advantage of opportunities presented by our ever changing economic trends.

New SICARS Multi-Use Facilities Building

SICARS' New Multi-Use Facilities Building [more photos]

Current Projects

  • Maintenance of Behavior Cemetery, the Geechee community's 200 year-old cemetery

  • Restoration of Farmers Alliance Hall

  • Implementation of Hog Hammock Community Land Use Plan

  • Implementation of first HUD Grant

  • Working with First African Baptist Church to formulate plans for an Interpretative Center on the 4.5 acre lot adjacent to the Raccoon Bluff Church

  • Land acquisition for Hog Hammock Community

Completed Projects

  • With assistance from Savannah College of Arts and Design and the Georgia State Preservation Division of the Department of Natural Resources completed the restoration of Raccoon Bluff First African Baptist Church [photos]

  • Development and Implementation of a Community Land Trust
  • Partnered with Gynn Arts Association on St. Simons Island to publish the The Sapelo Collection book.
  • Constructed and completely furnished SICARS Multi-Purpose Building. [click here for photos]

  • Adopted a detailed Land Use Plan and through legal consultants examined more that 10,000 documents.
  • Documentation of Behavior Cemetery

  • As a community, we have maintained ownership of our land for over 130 years despite great obstacles in our way. While it is important to look at our success, it is also important to look toward the future and implement solutions to long-standing problems.
 
First African Baptist Church - Raccoon Bluff
(before and after)

SICARS Board Members

BOARD PRESIDENT
Charles Hall
Retired Lt. Col. in Air Force Reserve. Owned chain of physical therapy clinics in Ohio. Lives on Sapelo Island and on Hilton Head, S.C.

BOARD VICE PRESIDENT
Jonathan Williams
Mayor Pro Tem, City Commissioner in Brunswick, Ga. Retired assistant principal and coach. Loves boating.

BOARD TREASURER
Herbert Jerome Dixon
Honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps. Has an accounting degree from Morgan State. Makes sweetgrass baskets.

BOARD SECRETARY
Gracie L. Chandler
Retired teacher/school media specialist who lives in Jacksonville, Fla.
Member of Bethel Baptist Institutional Church.

BOARD MEMBER
Eldora Cabral
Retired from the Cloister Hotel, Sea Island, Ga. Involved with Garden Club, Eastern Star.

BOARD MEMBER
Sarah Frances DeLoach
Conducts tours of Sapelo Island and serves as SICARS’ Volunteer Coordinator.

BOARD MEMBER
Karen Grovner
Medical billing/insurance specialist. Heads Sunday School at First African Baptist, Sapelo Island.

BOARD MEMBER
Edna Holmes
Customer Service Manager for the City of Brunswick. Daughter of Eldora Cabral.

BOARD MEMBER
Cornelia Walker Bailey
Sapelo Island historian, storyteller and business owner. Author of memoir God, Dr. Buzzard and the Bolito Man.

BOARD MEMBER
Ronald L. Johnson
Jewelry designer and business owner in South Florida. SICARS’ immediate past president.

BOARD MEMBER
Willie Mae Robinson
Retired Savannah State University assistant professor of social work/administrative. Volunteers with seniors, prison ministry.