Greenville, SC – Liberty Fellowship, the statewide leadership program that seeks to inspire values-based leadership among young South Carolina leaders, today announced that Fred F. “Trip” DuBard, III, a member of Liberty Fellowship’s inaugural Class of 2006, has won the first annual Liberty Prize.
The Liberty Prize award of $50,000 is to be used to sustain and expand the winning Fellow’s community leadership project.
DuBard was selected by his Liberty Fellow peers after he and three other finalists presented their projects during the first Liberty Fellowship Multi-Class Reunion, held January 25-27 in Greenville.
For his project, DuBard initiated and led local efforts to create the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation (ECCF) to fill local needs in Chesterfield, Marlboro, Marion, Dillon, Florence, Darlington and Williamsburg counties, South Carolina’s largest area previously not served by a community foundation. Ultimately ECCF will be a collection of charitable gifts and bequests that help Pee Dee citizens help each other by offering donors enormous flexibility and encouraging philanthropy.
Over 70 of the 80 Liberty Fellows, as well as a number of the Fellows’ Mentors, were in attendance at the January 26th banquet at the Westin Poinsett Hotel, where Liberty Fellowship founder Hayne Hipp announced the winner.
Upon announcing DuBard as the winner at the banquet, Hipp commented, “The Fellows’ individual projects represent their passions; their commitment to action; and their insistence on making their communities a better place. What really matters is moving South Carolina forward. When that happens, and you peel back the onion to see why, and you see Liberty Fellows, that’s when we know we’ve been successful.”
DuBard commented, “We don’t need a fish, or be taught how to fish. We need help building a fishing pole so that we can help ourselves. This vote validates the importance of the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation not just to our area, but to the state as a whole. We’ll use the prize to make it easier for neighbors to help neighbors in the Pee Dee.”
Liberty Fellowship Announces Liberty Prize Winner
The Liberty Prize is awarded to a Fellow’s project that meets the following criteria:
- Has a significant impact on the citizens of South Carolina
- Exhibits a commitment to continue into the foreseeable future
- Serves as a model for other organizations, communities, states or nations
- Has the potential for significant expansion or enhancement
- Has been operational for at least one year.
