The Dorchester County Burial Site Preservation Board reported strong public interest at a recent Native American fall festival and advanced plans for a cemetery tour and other outreach activities while clarifying rules on fundraising and donated materials.

Board member Karen said the board’s booth at the Native American fall festival drew “all ages” and that interactive activities for children and “rubbings” for adults prompted many conversations and interest. She said the group nearly ran out of printed materials but stretched supplies and collected contact interest from residents.

The outreach push matters because board members said more residents are contacting the county with information about burial sites; the board is trying to build public awareness of preservation practices and to direct people to an official reporting process.

Board members discussed scheduling a public cemetery tour (described in the meeting as a “cemetery experience” or tour) and tentatively identified early November dates to hold a single-day event or a choice of Nov. 1 or Nov. 8 if participants need flexibility. The planned route mentioned in the meeting would begin at Church Creek Cemetery, proceed to Richardson Cemetery and Trinity, then visit an older site near Old Harris Road; the board discussed coordinating with local fire companies and showing maintenance demonstrations.

Members agreed to increase the board’s presence online and on social media. Kelly, board administrator, confirmed that the group’s Facebook page is active and that members may send photos and event copy to be posted; the board discussed compiling a map of known sites and noted an existing private resource, DorchesterGraves.com, that contains many site records.

The group debated promotional materials and the use of the county logo. Dorothy volunteered to pay for a banner, and members discussed business cards with a QR code linking to the board’s county email. Kelly advised that county printing typically uses specific file formats and suggested staff could circulate a printer-ready JPEG of the Dorchester County logo; members said they would supply images to a printer or county staff for production.

On donations and fundraising, the board reiterated that it has no independent budget account. At one point a board member said, “this board cannot collect and or raise funding fees, money in any form” and noted that county Chapter 63 governs the board. Later in the meeting Kelly, the board administrator, said she did not see a restriction in the chapter on accepting donated items (donations in kind) for events and that the board lacks an expenditure budget. The board concluded that donated materials (for example, banners or donated table cloths) and in-kind contributions for outreach could be workable but that any change to allow the board to receive or hold monetary donations would require council action and likely a charter or code amendment.

Members also agreed to pursue partnerships with county tourism staff to list events and to invite a Dorchester County tourism representative to help promote the cemetery tours. Several board members said they would coordinate with county staff to post events on the county tourism calendar and on the board’s Facebook page.

The board agreed to hold outreach at other nearby events, including the historic-society Heritage Harvest Festival (advertised for Oct. 25) if event staff allow a table, and to maintain a rolling calendar of community events for 2026. Organizers said they will not require the full board at every event; instead one or two members may staff tables and hand out informational cards.

The meeting closed the outreach discussion by asking members to bring photos, sign-up information and suggested calendar dates to the October 20 work session and the regular Oct. 27 meeting so the outreach plan can be finalized.

Ending: The board set follow-up tasks: (1) finalize a tour date (Nov. 1 or Nov. 8 were discussed), (2) convert logo files into printer-ready formats with county staff, (3) post events and photos to the board Facebook page and (4) pursue a tourism-calendar listing via county tourism staff.