September 6, 2005, Greenville, SC---Liberty Fellowship, the statewide leadership effort sponsored by Liberty Corporation, Wofford College and The Aspen Institute, today announced the 20 accomplished South Carolina leaders who will serve as Mentors for the Class of 2007.
Liberty Fellowship provides each member of the leadership class with a mentor to provide principle-centered guidance throughout the two-year Fellowship. Fellows are carefully paired with mentors who can challenge and motivate them in profound and positive ways, and provide counsel in selecting and implementing their class projects, which are a key element of the fellowship experience.
According to Hayne Hipp, founder of Liberty Fellowship and CEO and Chair of Liberty Corporation, "Our Fellows will have access to some of the brightest minds in South Carolina, and they will no doubt blossom under such guidance and leadership. This group of Mentors represents all the qualities we look for in a leader and more; I can't imagine a greater group of individuals to mentor the 2007 Fellowship Class."
The Mentors selected for Liberty Fellowship's Class of 2007 are:
Kendall Alley, President for Wachovia of South Carolina, oversees all consumer and wholesale banking operations in the state. He was previously Wachovia's president of the Upstate Region in Greenville. Alley serves on the board of Palmetto AgriBusiness Council; as a trustee for the University of South Carolina's Business Partnership Foundation; and is a member of the Clemson University Executive Advisory Board of the College of Business and Behavioral Science, the Palmetto Business Forum, and the ETV Endowment of South Carolina Board of Trustees. He holds a B.S. in Administrative Management and an M.B.A. from Clemson University, and is also a graduate of the Banking School of the South at Louisiana State University. Alley will mentor John Singerling, VP of Operations for Palmetto Health Richland Hospital.
James F. Barker was named President of Clemson University in 1999. A 1970 graduate of Clemson, he earned his Master of Architecture degree from Washington University in St. Louis and returned to Clemson in 1986 to become dean of the College of Architecture. He became dean of the restructured College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities in 1995. Prior to his return to Clemson, he served as dean of the College of Architecture at Mississippi State University. Barker currently chairs the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the region's accrediting agency, and is a member of the Shaw Group Board of Directors, serving on the Audit Committee. He has received the Buck Mickel Award for Business and Community Leadership by the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the Anderson Independent-Mail's Pointing the Way Leadership Award, and the Order of the Palmetto - the state's highest civilian honor. He also was inducted into the Boys and Girls Clubs Hall of Fame. Barker is a recipient of the National Distinguished Professor Award of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and served as president of that association. He was named Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and has also been a partner in an architectural practice. Barker will mentor William Medich, Senior Vice President/Charleston City Executive for Carolina First Bank.
William C. (Bill) Boyd is a partner with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., in Columbia, where his practice focuses on managing complex transactions and business counseling, as well as antitrust counseling. Boyd currently serves on the boards of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the Business and Industry Political Education Committee, and is also a member of the executive committee of the Midlands Business Leadership Group. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Corporate, Antitrust and Real Estate) and in Chambers USA as one of South Carolina's leading lawyers in mergers and acquisitions. Boyd earned both B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of South Carolina. He will mentor Vincent Graham, Founder of the I'On Group in Charleston.
Thomas C. Coxe, III, retired from Sonoco Products Company of Hartsville in 1996, where he worked in various capacities since 1970, most recently as Senior Executive Vice President. Coxe began his career in 1952 as vice president of the Coxe Lumber Company, and joined Sonoco in 1970 as manager of the Forest Products Division. He has served on various national, statewide and local boards of business and civic associations, including New South, Inc., Sonoco Products, and Wachovia Bank of South Carolina, where he retains the title of Director Emeritus. Coxe holds both B.S. and B.A. degrees from the University of North Carolina. He will mentor Allen Ward, president of Ward Edwards in Bluffton.
Harris E. DeLoach, Jr., is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sonoco Products Company of Hartsville. He joined Sonoco in 1986 as Vice President of Administration and General Counsel, and has since worked in various capacities until assuming the position of President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2000, and added the position of Chairman in April 2005. DeLoach serves on the board of directors for Sonoco and Goodrich Corporation. He currently chairs the University of South Carolina Business Partnership Foundation and the Byerly Foundation, and is on the board of trustees at Presbyterian College. DeLoach graduated from the University of South Carolina with both B.A. and J.D. degrees, and received the 1998 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the university's Moore School of Business. He will mentor Harold "Trey" Gowdy, III, Solicitor of the 7th Judicial Circuit.
John W. Folsom is president and CEO of Colliers Keenan Inc., of Columbia, South Carolina's largest full-service commercial real estate company. He is also chairman and director of LCK Construction Services in Columbia, an affilitate of Colliers Keenan. Folsom began his career at South Carolina Federal (now Wachovia Bank) working in various positions until being appointed as president and CEO. Folsom is a member and former chair of the Providence Hospital Board of Governors, a trustee of Washington and Lee University, and current chair of the South Carolina Independent Schools Association and Independent Colleges and Universities of South Carolina, Inc. He is a former chairman and board member of United Way of the Midlands and Hammond School. He is also a former board member of the Greater Columbia and South Carolina Chambers of Commerce as well as the Central Carolina Community Foundation. Folsom earned a B.A. in economics from Washington and Lee University, and holds an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina, where he serves on the Moore School Business Partnership Foundation. He will mentor Tim Madden, managing partner of Wilkins & Madden, P.A., in Greenville.
Kester S. Freeman, Jr., is CEO of Palmetto Health, the largest integrated-healthcare delivery system in South Carolina. Freeman helped establish and currently chairs Health Sciences South Carolina, a healthcare research collaborative dedicated to improving the health and economic well-being of South Carolina. Freeman chairs the City Center Partnership board, is immediate past chair of the United Way of the Midlands board, is a member of the Executive Committee of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and serves on the Midlands Business Leadership Group board. Freeman previously chaired the South Carolina Hospital Association and remains a member of that board. He was also founding chairman of the Carolina HealthChoice Network and served for seven years as a board member of Premier, Inc., chairing the audit committee. Freeman holds a B.A. in Economics from the College of William and Mary, and an M.B.A. in Hospital Administration from Duke University. He will mentor Gordon Sherard, III, an obstetrician/gynecologist with Carolina OB/GYN and department chief at Mary Black Memorial Hospital in Spartanburg.
Elizabeth Van Doren Gray, former president of the South Carolina Bar, is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, and concentrates her practice in commercial and probate litigation. She is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and serves on the State Committee for South Carolina. Gray is also admitted to practice before the United States District Court for South Carolina, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. She serves on the board of the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation, and has previously served on and chaired the Statewide and Regional Citizens’ Advisory Committee of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission. Gray earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina, where she also graduated cum laude with a J.D. degree. She will mentor Tim Washington, Senior VP of Scientific Research Corporation.
John S. Grinalds, Major General, U.S. Marine Corps (retired), stepped down after serving eight years as the 18th president of The Citadel on August 1. Prior to his departure, The Citadel Board of Visitors presented General Grinalds with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, its highest award, in recognition of his achievements in developing principled leaders. Currently on sabbatical, Grinalds will become Head of the Porter-Gaud School in Charleston on July 1, 2006. Grinalds served abroad in various posts, including two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he was awarded a Silver Star for heroism in combat. He served as special assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and later for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . After promotion to Major General, Grinalds became Commanding General of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego in 1989, a position he held until retiring in 1991. He was the seventh headmaster of Woodberry Forest boys' preparatory school, and is a former trustee of the Madeira School, Hampden-Sydney College and Porter-Gaud School. Grinalds is past president of the Rotary Club of Charleston, and in 2004, The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce honored his leadership and service with the Sergeant Jasper Freedom Award. He graduated with honors from the U.S. Military Academy with a B.S. degree, and earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in geography from Brasenose College at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Grinalds will mentor Eric Graben, an attorney with Wyche, Burgess, Freeman & Parham, P.A.
Bobby Harrell, South Carolina's Speaker of the House, was elected to the S.C. House of Representatives in 1992, and two years later was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee. He was elected as Majority Leader in 1997, later becoming chair of Ways and Means and various subcommittees before being elected as Speaker in June 2005. Harrell has also owned and operated both the Oak Haven assisted living community since 1999, and a State Farm Insurance Agency for more than 25 years. He has served his community as V.P. of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, and served on the boards of Boy Scouts of America, the Child Abuse Prevention Center and Crime Stoppers. Harrell holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina. He will mentor David Moody, president of Milliken Research Corporation.
Don Herriott is Head of Roche Global Chemical Manufacturing, part of Roche Holdings, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. He began his career in the banking industry, and in 1981 joined SYNTEX, an international pharmaceutical company. When SYNTEX was acquired by Roche in 1994, Herriott took a position as head of an agribusiness manufacturing plant, and later worked in various capacities for Roche, including international project director, and president and general manager of Roche Carolina. He was named to his current position in 2004. Herriott is on the board of the Palmetto Institute, the South Carolina Board of Economic Advisors, the South Carolina Research Authority, University of South Carolina Research Campus Foundation and MUSC's Hollings Cancer Center. He is past chair of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and was founding chair of The School Foundation in support of Florence District One. Herriott received a B.S. degree in Physics with honors and distinction from Sonoma State University of California. He will mentor Ken Trogdon, executive director of Communicare.
Jim Keelor has been President and COO of Liberty Corporation since 1992, with more than 1,500 employees at 15 network-affiliated television stations, a cable advertising sales company, and a broadcast equipment distributorship. He began his career in TV journalism, working as a local station reporter, producer, anchor and news director, and later for three years as a producer for NBC News before moving into station management. Keelor is director of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the primary legislative lobbying organization for the industry, which awarded him the first annual Chuck Sherman Leadership Award for Small Market Television. Keelor is a graduate of Indiana University. He will mentor Stephen Benjamin, principal of The Benjamin Law Firm, LLC.
Richard W. (Dick) Riley, formerly Governor of South Carolina and U.S. Secretary of Education, is currently an attorney with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. He is also a distinguished professor and trustee at Furman University, where he serves as Advisory Board Chair of the Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership. He previously served as a South Carolina state representative and state senator from 1963-1977, and was elected Governor in 1978. As Governor, Riley was so popular that the people amended the state's constitution to enable him to run for a second term, and he was re-elected in 1982.. After graduating cum laude from Furman University in 1954, Riley earned a law degree from the University of South Carolina. He serves on the boards of South Carolina's University Center in Greenville and Winthrop University, where the School of Education is named in his honor. Riley will mentor Mario Gooden, a partner with Huff & Gooden Architects.
Alex Sanders is president emeritus of the College of Charleston (where he also teaches), and chairman of the board of the Charleston School of Law. He was previously senior partner for Sanders & Quackenbush (now Berry, Quackenbush & Stuart), and served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate. Sanders taught law at the University of South Carolina and the Harvard Law School, and was President of the College of Charleston for nine years. He is a former chief judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals, and previously chaired the American Bar Association’s Council of Chief Judges of Courts of Appeal. In 2002, he was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate, but his candidacy was not successful. Sanders is immediate past chair of the board of the National Judicial College, and in 2003 and 2004, was a teaching fellow in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina, and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Virginia. He will mentor Carolyn Wong Simpkins, an internal medicine specialist and Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Program for Greenville Hospital System.
David E. Shi, president of Furman University, joined his alma mater's administration in 1993 as dean and vice president for academic affairs. He was named president a year later. Shi came to Furman from Davidson College, where he taught for 17 years and served as chair of the history department. Shi also writes a bi-weekly column for The Greenville News, which often appears in The Christian Science Monitor and other newspapers, and he is the author of several books, including two that were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He currently serves as vice chair of the board for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and has served on the boards of the National Commerce Financial Corporation, the Piedmont Natural Gas Corporation, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, Greenville Chamber of Commerce, the Metropolitan Arts Council, and the Urban League of the Upstate, which awarded the Whitney M. Young, Jr., Humanitarian Award to Shi and his wife, Susan, in 2003. Shi graduated magna cum laude from Furman in 1973 with a degree in political science, and earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history at the University of Virginia. He will mentor Benjamin Zeigler, a partner with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., in Florence.
Joel A. Smith III is dean of the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. In August 2000, he retired as president of Bank of America/East, where he advanced from credit analyst in 1971 to president, with responsibilities for commercial, small business, premier and consumer banking divisions in seven states and the District of Columbia. Smith serves as board treasurer for the South Carolina ETV Endowment, and is a former member of the Board of Regents for the University of the South. He is a board member and former chairman of Spoleto Festival USA, for which he co-chaired the 25th Anniversary Campaign. Smith also chairs the audit committees for Avanex Corporation and Carolina National Bank & Trust, and serves on the boards of NetBank and the Palmetto Institute. In January 2003, Smith was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian award given by the governor of South Carolina. He graduated from the University of the South with a B.A. in Political Science and Economics, and also holds honorary degrees from S.C. State University, Fayetteville State University and the University of South Carolina. Smith will mentor Regina Hollins Lewis, an attorney with the Nexsen Pruet law firm in Columbia.
James W. Terry, Jr., president of Carolina First Bank in Greenville since 1991, oversees all retail, commercial, commercial real estate and corporate banking functions throughout an 84-branch network. He began his career with First Union National Bank, first as a regional executive and commercial lender, and later as executive vice president of corporate banking and western regional executive. Terry is immediate past chair of the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, and past board and fund chair of the United Way. He is a current member of the Greenville Community Foundation board and the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee, and formerly chaired the Furman University Advisory Council. Terry earned a B.S. degree in business administration/marketing from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He will mentor Susan Lill, a human resources professional and founder of Align HR Services.
Donald R. Tomlin, Jr., is president of Tomlin & Company, Inc., in Columbia, an investment banking business which provides merger and acquisition advice to print and electronic media organizations. He has spent more than 30 years working in real estate and print and electronic media, and also runs Tomlin Interests, a venture capital investment company for technology-related businesses. Tomlin has extensive experience in financial management and multi-family housing development, and has interests in residential community projects in Ayrsley, Mt. Pleasant and Northeast Columbia. He received a B.S. degree in Business Management from the University of South Carolina. Tomlin will mentor Bea Strickland Wray, CEO of SourceHarbor, Inc.
Mack I. Whittle, Jr., is President and CEO of The South Financial Group and Chairman and CEO of Carolina First Bank. He has worked in the banking industry since 1969, and was named S.C. Bankers Association Outstanding Young Banker in 1988. Whittle is chair of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and previously chaired the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees and the Greenville Urban League. He serves on the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts, and serves on the boards of Benedict College, the Palmetto Business Forum, The Palmetto Institute and the South Carolina Arts Foundation. Whittle holds both B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of South Carolina, and also attended the Louisiana State University Banking School of the South. He will mentor Yelberton "Yebbie" Watkins, chief of staff and counsel for Congressman James E. Clyburn.
David H. Wilkins was named the 21st United States Ambassador to Canada in June of this year. He previously served for 25 years in the South Carolina House of Representatives, 11 as speaker of the House. Wilkins began his legislative career in 1980, and quickly rose through the ranks in the House of Representatives, serving six years as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and two years as speaker pro tem before his election as speaker. He served as state chairman of the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign and as co-chair of the South Carolina Bush for President campaign, and was appointed by President Bush to the Board of Visitors to the U.S. Academy at West Point in 2002. Wilkins is past president of the National Speakers' Association and former chair of the Southern Legislative Conference. He holds a B.A. from Clemson University and earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of South Carolina, and practiced law for 34 years with Wilkins & Madden in Greenville. He will mentor John Ballato, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Clemson University.
The first gathering of the Class of 2007, "The Challenge of Leadership" Seminar, will take place at Wofford College in September.
For more information, visit www.libertyfellowshipsc.org.
