Drawing divine inspiration from the world around her, a few years ago Tiffani Taylor descended onto the national art scene garnering widespread recognition and a long list of devotees. Now, she’s spreading the love to other local artists and keeping a few Savannah students under her wing.
Some might call Tiffani Taylor a prophet of sorts and rightly so. As she walks around her home studio, she describes the warmly-lit space as her personal sanctuary and points to her bright paintings, explaining the inspiration behind them.
“I had this vivid dream of a red poppy field, and I was sketching in the field, and I saw the sheet music,” she says describing what is now a series of large landscape paintings that incorporate clips of vintage sheet music. “And I saw truth depicted in the middle of the bulbous red blooms.”

Click here to view the exclusive video of Tiffani Taylor’s interview and photo shoot.

Sixty-eight years after one of the deadliest attacks on American soil, Judy Weiher can’t shake the smell of smoke.

“I thought the whole world was on fire,” remembers Judy Weiher.

To a 4-year-old girl, that’s probably what it looked like at 8:00 in the morning on December 7, 1941, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The infamous attack on Pearl Harbor had begun—to the complete surprise of the United States Navy and Army. Just a few months earlier, Judy Weiher’s father had received orders to be stationed at the Army base on Oahu, known as Schofield Barracks. Weiher, now 72 and living on Wilmington Island, was just a toddler at the time, but the images she saw from her front row seat to history have remained with her for nearly seven decades.

Her first reaction to the bombs that morning, however, was not one of fear but of astonishment. The raid officially began at 7:53 a.m. with an attack by the first wave of Japanese “Zero” fighter planes. Weiher’s father, Ralph Mullis, a Signal Corps staff sergeant, ran out of their quarters in his underwear. As a child, Weiher was more concerned with her father’s appearance than the bombs exploding overhead. “I was absolutely appalled that he’d run outside in his underwear,” Weiher recalls thinking at the time. Moments later, her father rushed back inside, quickly got into his uniform and ran to the area known as the quadrangles to see what he could do.

He’s not some card-trickin’, wand-wavin’ backdoor magician: He’s Magic Marc, the most fun a kid can have in a hospital.

Though his step is brisk, his emotions are drained. Not because he’s leaving an auditorium of thousands as he once did when he opened for Bill Cosby and Aretha Franklin—and performed at private parties for Oprah—but rather because he has just left a hospital room. Marc Dunston, better known as Magic Marc, traded the celebrity life to bring healing to children who have forgotten how to smile. And he has no regrets.

With his bag of tricks and contagious exuberance, Marc makes his way to two very special, private shows. Despite the vibrant colors in his signature patchwork vest and the underwater art that decorates the hallways around him, the reality is that Marc is at Backus Children’s Hospital at Memorial Health University Medical Center.

Savannah has a wealth of leaders guiding the city into a third century of economic prosperity, creative culture and social fairness. In each issue we highlight a handful of standout stars who are bridging communities, formulating ideas, or constructing a better future. The success of these notable personalities has dovetailed with that of Savannah, and they continue to play a role in maintaining the charm of Savannah while ushering in its inevitable growth.

HOWARD MORRISON

WHAT HE’S DOING: Acts as a human connector among vital segments of Savannah’s development. Serves on a variety of boards and attempts to reveal to other influential leaders how their interests overlap. He sees the link between the abundance of higher education players like SCAD and Georgia Tech, and how those institutions in turn play a crucial role with other sectors like the cancer institutes and port.

A local tennis pro bridges the distance between Savannah and the vast savannas of Africa.

He is an unexpected gust of wind, and chances are that you’ll hear Alan Davies before you see him. The booming, resonant English accent of the skilled tennis player turned instructor is first to greet you as you make your way down the sidewalk toward the green clay courts of the Wilmington Island Club. Yet you cannot help but see him as he stands to the side of the court, a man with a commanding presence, dressed in navy tennis clothing, waiting in his usual stance—one that is akin to the virile, debonair Cary Grant of the Golden Era—to begin the lesson.

Presenting the sexiest ladies and gentlemen of the South. And, oh by the way, they’re available.

Georgia’s top dawg always believes his team can win. Even if it doesn’t.

The most peculiar thing about Mark Richt is his “aw, shucks” disposition: It’s unexpected from a two-time Southeastern Conference coach of the year. He doesn’t know how to use his iPod—in fact, he doesn’t even know what iTunes is—and his speech is punctuated with Southern expressions like “heck” and “gonna.” Watch him on the sidelines at any college football stadium in the country, and he’s the same guy: a controlled, take-charge man with a knack for winning football games—and the hearts of his fans.

In his eight seasons as the University of Georgia head football coach, Richt has developed a reputation for high athletic standards and strong family values. While his record isn’t perfect—police arrested eight UGA players last season for various misbehaviors—Richt is a perpetual optimist.

As Georgia gets ready to kick off its 2009 season on September 5 against Oklahoma State, Richt is reflecting on the pitfalls of last year and trying to figure out how a team that

This summer when that Southern sun is beating down and thermometers hit three digits, one word can be a welcome respite: beach. Pools get overcrowded and boats are hard to come by, but oh, the beach! It’s the perfect summer save.

But what if, instead of sharing the water with just friends and fish, you were also floating around with an old shopping bag, a dozen tin cans and a used diaper? The sad truth is that not everyone respects your summer sanctuary, and the damaging effects can reach far beyond just soiling your good time. A group of people in the Lowcountry, however, are working to clean up our waterways and shores while the rest of us are working on our tans. The South presents five of those dedicated individuals and reminds us all that it’s time we join them.

After nearly two decades solving Savannah’s mysteries, Private Investigator Ron Palefsky reveals the truth about sleuthing―one story at a time.

Ron Palefsky sits in the dead silence of his recently purchased converter van, swiveling in the captain’s seat, waiting for any movement from within the house he is watching. Hours pass. I want a coke, he thinks. I wish I could run down the street and just get a coke.

That’s impossible—he could miss crucial information and draw attention to himself.  Maybe a cigarette will help. He lights one, watching the cabin fill with smoke. He can’t crack a window to let the cool night air in without giving himself away, so he forces himself to stub it out slowly.

As Palefsky stares out onto the softly lit streets of Ardsley Park, it starts to drizzle. Tiny droplets of water gather on the van’s windows, blurring the view into splotches of colors. In the house beyond, there is no movement.

A lot of things have been said about children: Children are our future, the world’s most valuable resource, messages we send to a time we will not see. All cliches aside, in a world of revolving uncertainty, few can deny the importance of well-being—both physical and emotional—of today’s youth.

The South presents five outstanding youth advocates who know the importance of fostering young people and have dedicated their lives to the cause. Together with the organizations for which they serve, these individuals arm local children with the tools they need to become successful, happy adults who will, in turn, pass on the message and motivation to future generations.

Jonathan Barrett
Hails from: Perry, Georgia

Why Savannah: “Besides the exquisite architecture, the mild climate in winter, the history, the natural beauty and landscape and the fabulous Lowcountry food,