Meet Nifty Lifty, Sir Lift-A-Lot, No Crane No Gain

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Naming the new S.C. Ports Authority terminal after Sen. Hugh K. Leatherman was a no-brainer for the state agency. But naming the wharf’s new cranes requires outsourcing to the professionals.

The SCPA reached out to third- through fifth-grade students in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties who competed to name the five massive blue cranes stationed on the edge of Charleston Harbor.

The winning names include Nifty Lifty, Sir Lift-A-Lot, No Crane No Gain, South Craneolina and The Reel Steel.

The massive blue cranes with a lift height of 169 feet and a 228-foot outreach have been painted with their new names.

The winners represent five schools and four municipalities, including two schools in North Charleston, where the Leatherman Terminal is located, the SCPA said.

“South Carolina Ports enjoys partnering with local schools to engage students and connect them to our operations and workforce,” said SCPA COO Barbara Melvin. “Our Name the Cranes contest is a really special way for students to connect with the port.”

Students have long been a part of naming the SCPA cranes, and Melvin said she hopes the opportunity “sparks a lifelong connection to the maritime industry for them.”

Previous crane names include Inland Port Greer’s Little Miss Sunshine and a second Craneolina. Haven Ebel and Jack Sibley-Jones, both fifth graders at Blythe Academy of Languages in Greenville, won the  crane-naming contest in July 2019 for two new rubber-tired gantry cranes at the inland port.

In 2016, two fifth-grade Belle Hall Elementary School students named additional Panamax cranes Heavy Metal and Cranebob Bluepants. Annabelle Horton and Jacob Blackburn submitted the winning entries for the Wando Welch Terminal cranes. 

Name the Cranes contest winners:

Nifty Lifty
Student: Promise Washington
School: North Charleston Elementary School
Grade: Third
Teacher: Heidi Hocking

Sir Lift-A-Lot
Student: Rashard Davis
School: Fort Dorchester Elementary School
Grade: Fifth
Teacher: Jennifer Veloso

No Crane No Gain
Student: Jaden Warren
School: Drayton Hall Elementary School
Grade: Fifth
Teacher: Shantequa McGill

South Craneolina
Student: Corbin Pritchard
School: Westview Elementary
Grade: Fifth
Teacher: Lindsey Bronzino

The Reel Steel
Student: Noah Cowell
School: Bowen’s Corner Elementary
Grade: Fifth
Teacher: Kelee Beckwith