Longtime information officer retires to coast

After 30 years in the Augusta area, Maryanne "Honey" Shore moved to the beach.

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The public information officer for Martinez Columbia Fire-Rescue officially retired from her volunteer position with the department at the end of August because of her move to Little River, S.C., just north of Myrtle Beach, according to a letter she sent to The Columbia County News-Times staff.

"Honey, she was an asset to the department with the jobs she's done," Martinez-Columbia Chief Doug Cooper said.

Shore began volunteering for the department about 13 years ago. For the past decade, she has been the contact for media at fires, drownings and other catastrophes. Shore also helped victims contact insurance companies and assistance agencies.

Other than saying, "I miss everybody," Shore said she didn't want any publicity about her departure. As was typical, she preferred to remain behind the scenes and push the firefighters to the foreground.

She was rarely seen without her belt of cell phones and pagers and admitted to listening often to police scanners.

But she's not known just for her affiliation with the fire department.

In the 1980s, many knew the radio news personality by her rhyming WBBQ call sign: Honey Shore, Mobile 4.

During that time, Shore also served as an emergency medical technician, leading her to a nursing career.

Shore helped bring a number of babies into the world in her 23 years as a labor and delivery nurse at the Medical College of Georgia. She retired last year, before the death in June of her husband, Bobby.

Shore always said she'd be working with the fire department as long as possible. But a recent event changed her plans.

In what Shore called the "miracle of miracles," she met a widower living in the Grand Strand area of South Carolina.

"We make each other very happy and have decided to forge a new life together," Shore wrote in the letter.

After months of driving back and forth to Myrtle Beach, Shore sold her Evans home and the pair settled in Little River.

Martinez-Columbia Operations Officer Danny Kuhlmann said he worked closely with Shore during her tenure at the fire department.

"She was fun," Kuhlmann said. "She's always happy. Very likeable, very serious about helping people."