Citadel cadets help expand community impact through Coastal Carolina Fair partnership

December 15, 2025 Students

For a Citadel cadet, servant leadership is not unfamiliar. It’s lived out daily through service to others. Whether on campus or in the community, cadets often volunteer their time, effort and talents to help others and make a difference. In this case, that service took place at the Coastal Carolina Fair, where Citadel cadets volunteered to assist with the event, providing more than 1,700 volunteer hours. But their impact went beyond time alone — through their volunteerism, they were able to save the Exchange Club of Charleston $52,560, funds that will enable the organization to give back even more to the community.

Cadet Henry Colbert served as the CIC, or Cadet in Charge. Just a sophomore, he said taking on this role gives him the opportunity to expand upon his leadership skills. Colbert said the experience was enjoyable, and he already has plans to be the CIC for next year’s fair.

“I participated in the Coastal Carolina Fair last year, and I knew that I was going to volunteer again this year, but as the CIC. Remaining calm, especially with all the traffic and almost constant chaos, was a vital lesson that I used to operate. I also learned that taking the time to get to know the cadets who were going to be returning the following days helped operations flow a little smoother,” said Colbert. “Part of the reason I took the responsibility of CIC was due to my plans to commission into the United States Army. I wanted to use this as an experience – taking charge of a unit, taking care of them and leading them. This experience helped me build some of the characteristics and methods that I will need as a future officer in the military.”

For other cadets, the experience also offered an important chance to apply what they hope to do in their future careers. One nursing major said the work inside the Aid Station at the fair reminded her of why she chose this path.

“Just helping people is what I like to do — being able to make a difference in someone’s life, even if it’s as small as just giving a band aid. Seeing that you made someone’s day – or you helped them out of a bad situation or, in the worst case scenarios, saved someone’s life – meant a lot to me,” said Cadet Alexis Hewett.

Tara Josberger, the assistant director of service and community engagement at The Citadel, has been the Krause Center’s coordinator for the event over the past two years. Her role includes cadet coordination, from getting them registered and transported, to also ensuring uniform standards and more.

“The work that the Exchange Club does, in terms of giving back to the community, is vital. Although it may seem like they are just directing traffic at the fair, what they are actually doing is allowing more than $50,000 annually to go directly back into the hands of community members that need it,” said Josberger. “It is a partnership we continue to grow, and I very much enjoy my involvement each semester.”

The Coastal Carolina Fair is one of the largest fundraisers in South Carolina, as well as one of the largest all-volunteer nonprofit fairs in the country. The partnership between the Exchange Club and The Citadel has allowed that mission to reach even further into the community.

“Our mission nationally is the prevention of child abuse, and the involvement of Citadel cadets has allowed us to increase our financial support to the greater Charleston community by tens of thousands of dollars. We look forward to growing our relationship with The Citadel in the future, not only through volunteerism, but also through internships and career experiences,” said J. Wallace, ’04, external communications chairman of the Coastal Carolina Fair.

About The Exchange Club of Charleson

The Exchange Club of Charleston is an all volunteer organization working together in Unity for Service to our Community. The Exchange Club of Charleston, founded in 1923, is the largest Exchange Club in the nation. It has donated millions of dollars to local charities over the years by owning and operating the Coastal Carolina Fair since 1957. The Exchange Club of Charleston’s purpose for the Coastal Carolina Fair has always been to raise funds for charity. Since purchasing its fundraiser the Fair in 1957, the Exchange Club of Charleston has provided 10’s of millions of dollars to hundreds of charities to benefit thousands of our citizens to make the Lowcountry a better place to live and work. Through fundraising efforts and community service projects, Exchangites make a difference in cities and towns across the Lowcountry in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties. For more information, click here.