OneSouthCarolina® 2014
Keynote speakers are Emmy- and Peabody-award winning journalist David Brancaccio
and NASA chief and South Carolina native Charles Bolden
February 28 – March 2, 2014
Hilton Head Island
OneSouthCarolina 2014, the third annual event, anchored by keynote speakers Emmy- and Peabody-award winning journalist David Brancaccio and NASA chief and former astronaut Charles Bolden, brought old and new DLI friends together to be inspired by stories of progress in education and economic development in South Carolina and the nation. In addition to powerful speakers and the serious exploration of issues critical to the state’s progress, DLI graduates reconnected with classmates and forged new ties with other Riley Fellows from throughout the state.
Run of Events
The pre-conference panel Remembering “The Forgotten South Carolina” –Where Are We Now? kicked off this year’s event. Connecting back to Doug Pardue’s dynamic and cogent four-part Post & Courier series exploring disparities in income, education and health in South Carolina, a panel of distinguished guests—Mark Quinn, Roland Gardner, the Honorable Jenny Horne, Doug Pardue and Terry Richardson—continued the discussion of the “Two South Carolinas” and progress made since last year’s discussion. Friday evening ended with a stimulating conversation about how the arts figure into economic and community wellness in the state with Ken May, Mark Quinn, Kerri Forrest, and Cate Ryba as panelists in Conversation: Arts, Culture, Community and the Economy.
Saturday was a full day of thought-provoking content. DLI facilitator Juan Johnson gave an inspiring tribute to ten years of the Riley Institute’s Diversity Leaders Initiative. Ten Years of DLI celebrated the remarkable accomplishments of DLI capstone projects, ending with a powerful video about the Momentum Bike Club project and its continuing program of mentoring young people with multiple risk factors, including persistent poverty, parental incarceration, and instability in home life.
Don Gordon, executive director of the Riley Institute discussed the impact poverty has on achieving real economic development. With the context set, David Brancaccio delivered his talk on “A Tale of Three Cities: How Experiments in Education, Entrepreneurship and Healthcare are Bridging Divides” using clips from his recent documentary that portrays stories of innovative partnerships in three cities—Cleveland, Cincinnati and Camden, examples of initiatives that have attacked poverty-related ills at a grassroots level. Quoting the African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together,” Brancaccio stressed the vital role of community collaboration in attacking poverty.
Jonathan Green, a celebrated Gullah artist, delivered a powerful address that detailed the extensive contributions of South Carolina slaves to the legacy of South Carolina’s rice culture and questioned why few, if any, museums in the state have major exhibits to tell those stories. Images of Green’s beautiful paintings were used as backdrops in the meeting rooms.
The afternoon panel Toward an Inclusive Economy, moderated by David Brancaccio, featured four successful projects in South Carolina that have used business, nonprofit and community grassroots collaboration to effect positive growth and change in South Carolina. A panel of South Carolina business leaders—Anita Zucker, Jim Reynolds, Bill Barnet, and Harris DeLoach—were paired with corresponding community leaders—Russell W. Booker, Rainey Knight, Sherrie Snipes-Williams, and Karen Woodward—to speak about successes and challenges in their projects.
NASA chief and former astronaut Charles Bolden, a South Carolina native, wrapped up the weekend on Sunday morning with inspiring, personal stories about his own upbringing in South Carolina, and the importance of education, community and diversity. Bolden flew in four shuttle missions and was tapped to run NASA in 2009.
Meet Our Distinguished Speakers and Guests
Hosts
Richard W. Riley
Former S.C. Governor and Former U.S. Secretary of Education
Often referred to as “one of the great statesmen of education in the century,” Riley has worked throughout his lifetime to bring significant, widespread change to education in South Carolina and the United States.
Juan Johnson
President, Diversity Leadership in Action; DLI Creator and Facilitator
Juan Johnson is president of Juan Johnson Consulting and Facilitation, a firm he launched in 2006 after concluding an extraordinary 21-year career with Coca-Cola Company and is facilitator of the South Carolina Diversity Leaders Initiative.
Carl Hort
Interim President, Furman University
Serving as Furman University’s interim president since July 1, 2013, Dr. Kohrt is a successful business executive and an accomplished academic with deep Furman ties. He enjoyed a 29-year career at Eastman Kodak Company, joining the company as a scientist and retiring as executive vice president and chief technical officer, where he was responsible for research laboratories on four continents.
Moderator
Mark Quinn
Director of Public and Member Relations, The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina
Mark Quinn is director of Public and Member Relations at The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina and has had a long career as a professional journalist in South Carolina. Quinn worked in television journalism for more than 16 years, 13 of which were spent in Columbia, South Carolina.
South Carolina Traditons III:
Celebrating South Carolina’s Gullah Geechee Artists, Heritage and Corridor
Each year at OneSouthCarolina, the Riley Institute and the South Carolina Arts Commission invite artists to represent some of the many dimensions of our state’s cultural expression. This year, in recognition of the federally designated Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, five South Carolina artists who are Gullah Geechee joined us as representatives of their culture, foodways and artforms. Those in attendance learned more about the rice culture and its impact on South Carolina. They also saw examples of woodworking, blacksmithing, basket sewing and painting from artists who each hail from a distinct Gullah Geechee heritage and represent one of South Carolina’s signature cultures. For information about Gullah Geechee people go to www.gullahgeecheecorridor.org.
Music this year is a return performance by legendary blues artist Mac Arnold and his band Plate Full O’ Blues. Read below for more information about all of the 2014 artists.
Award Winning South Carolina Traditional Artists Featured at OneSouthCarolina®
In acknowledgement of their role in South Carolina’s past, present and future culture and economy, OneSouthCarolina integrated experiences that showcased the state’s unique arts and foods traditions.
South Carolina Traditions III, curated by the South Carolina Arts Commission, features demonstrations and sales by award-winning traditional artists connected to South Carolina’s rich cultural heritage. Featured artists who were present at the event include:
Mac Arnold, blues musician, Pelzer, is a renowned blues musician and recording artist whose love of the blues began at the age of ten when he learned to play his brother’s homemade guitar. His musical resume grew with his high school band, J Floyd and the Shamrocks, who often had guest pianist, James Brown, lend his talent to their performances. Mac’s passion for music led him to pursue a professional music career in Chicago with artist and saxophonist A.C. Reed.
Zelda Grant, textile and fabric artist, crafter and photographer, Georgetown, was to be one of the featured artists at OneSouthCarolina 2014. Grant was sick at the time of the event and later died on March 6. Born in 1953, Grant was one of four generations of Gullah heritage in Georgetown, and was a self-taught fabric artist, crafter and photographer, using repurposed dresser scarves, socks and clothing giveaways for her artistic creations.
Jonathan Green, artist, Charleston, was born and raised in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, Jonathan Green is considered by many art critics and reviewers as one of our nation’s most outstanding African-American artists and as a master in the visual capture of Southern culture and traditions. While his work has ranged in styles, his best-known approach to painting may be termed “narrative realism.”
Carlton Simmons, blacksmith, Charleston, is a nephew of famed Charleston blacksmith Philip Simmons, who was the most celebrated of the Charleston blacksmiths of the 20th century. Carlton went into the blacksmith shop at the age of 13, the same age his uncle Philip began his noted career. During the years he worked as a team with his uncle and cousin, Carlton participated in the fabrication of many of the iron gates, fences, balconies, and window grills that the Simmons Blacksmith Shop is known for and that beautify many areas of Charleston.
Michael Smalls, sweetgrass basket maker, Bluffton, continues one of South Carolina’s signature traditional arts as a seventh generation sweetgrass basket maker. Strongly committed to preserving this art, Smalls learned the basics of “sewing” baskets at the age of eight from his great-grandmother Lucinda Pringle, who was the daughter of a slave at Laurel Hill Plantation in Charleston County. Smalls’s work has appeared in the annual Mount Pleasant Sweet Grass Basket Festival and at Columbia’s McKissick Museum’s basket day festival at the University of South Carolina.
Thomas Williams, cane-maker and woodcarver, McClellanville, makes some of the most beautiful and distinctive hand carved cypress knees, lamps, and tables, walking canes and walking staffs in South Carolina. He is continuing in the tradition begun by his father, who began carving in the late 1930s. The craft was handed down to Thomas’s older brother, CeCe Williams, and finally to Thomas, who has been carving for more than 22 years.
Speakers in order of appearance
Mark Quinn
Director of Public and Member Relations, The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina
Mark Quinn is director of Public and Member Relations at The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina and has had a long career as a professional journalist in South Carolina. Quinn worked in television journalism for more than 16 years, 13 of which were spent in Columbia, South Carolina.
Ken May
Executive Director, South Carolina Arts Commission A panelist, presenter, consultant, and facilitator for local, state, and national arts organizations, Ken May is executive director of the South Carolina Arts Commission, where he has served in several positions since 1985. He has been a panelist and site visitor for the National Endowment for the Arts and is a regular guest lecturer in the arts administration program at the College of Charleston.
Kerri Forrest
Director of Institutional Advancement with the American College of the Building Arts
Kerri Forrest, Emmy award-winning journalist and Charleston native, covered politics for MSNBC, NBC NEWS and CBS NEWS for 16 years. During that time, she produced for Equal Time, Hardball with Chris Matthews, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, and CBS The Early Show. Forrest returned to Charleston in 2010 and has become involved in a number of nonprofit and civic endeavors around the city.”
Cate Ryba
Executive Director, HUB-BUB
Cate Brandt Ryba is the Executive Director of HUB-BUB, a nonprofit whose mission is to build community through dynamic arts and ideas in downtown Spartanburg. She is also a Spartanburg City Council representative. Cate holds a BA in Studio Art from Wellesley College and a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning and a Certificate in Urban Design from the University of Pennsylvania.
Speakers in order of appearance
Juan Johnson
President, Diversity Leadership in Action; DLI Creator and Facilitator
Juan Johnson is president of Juan Johnson Consulting and Facilitation, a firm he launched in 2006 after concluding an extraordinary 21-year career with Coca-Cola Company and is facilitator of the South Carolina Diversity Leaders Initiative.
Don Gordon
Executive Director, The Riley Institute at Furman Don Gordon has been the Executive Director of the Riley Institute at Furman since 1999. Prior to that, he served as Chair of the Department of Political Science and Director of Furman’s award-winning study away programs in East and Southern Africa.
David Brancaccio
Reporter, Anchor, Speaker, and Storyteller
Specializing in telling stories important to our democracy and our economy through the eyes of the real people who live in the cross hairs of crucial issues, David Brancaccio brings an accessible yet authoritative approach to investigative reporting and in-depth interviewing. He has earned the highest honors in broadcast journalism, including the Peabody, the Columbia-duPont, the Emmy, and the Walter Cronkite awards.
Johnathan Green
Artist Born and raised in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, Jonathan Green is considered by many art critics and reviewers as one of our nation’s most outstanding African-American artists and as a master in the visual capture of Southern culture and traditions. While his work has ranged in styles, his best-known approach to painting may be termed “narrative realism.”
Anita Zucker
Chair and CEO, The InterTech Group, Inc. Anita Zucker, philanthropist and civic leader, is chair and chief executive officer for The InterTech Group, Inc. An elementary school teacher for more than ten years, Zucker is a champion for education. She has served as chair of many education-related boards including the Advisory Board of the Charleston Area HUB for Math, Science, and Technology; the Trident Technical College Foundation Board and Executive Board; the South Carolina Network of Business Partners for Education; and the College of Charleston’s Board of Governors of the School of Business.
Jim Reynolds
Chief Executive Officer, Total Comfort Solutions Jim Reynolds is Chief Executive Officer of Total Comfort Solutions, a leading provider of mechanical services and environmental solutions to commercial, industrial, medical and institutional facilities in South Carolina. Jim is a graduate of Davidson College and earned an MBA from the University of Virginia. Following a ten-year career with the Coca-Cola Company in Boston and Atlanta, he returned to Columbia to become a partner in Total Comfort Solutions and Comfort Services.
William (Bill) Barnet, III
CEO, Barnet Development Corporation Bill Barnet is the former mayor of Spartanburg and is CEO of Barnet Development Corporation. Previously, he acted as the CEO of William Barnet & Son, Inc., a family venture founded in 1898 that manufactures, trades, and processes a wide variety of synthetic products for the fiber, resin, and textile related industries. A write-in candidate for mayor of Spartanburg in 2001, he served as mayor from 2002 – 2009.
Harris E. DeLoach Jr.
Chairman and former CEO, Sonoco Harris DeLoach, chairman and former CEO of Sonoco, joined Sonoco in 1986 as vice president of administration and general counsel. In 1990, he was named vice president of Sonoco’s High Density Film Products Division, and in 1993 vice president of Film, Plastics and Special Products before being promoted to group vice president in October of that year.
Russel W. Booker
Superintendent, Spartanburg County School District Seven
As superintendent of School District Seven, Booker has guided the district and community through a bold, comprehensive restructuring and transformation initiative that has positioned the district for future growth and innovation. The district recently launched a technology initiative (7Ignites) that has placed a personal mobile learning device in the hands of every student in grades 3-12.
Rainey Knight
Consultant, South Carolina Education Oversight Committee and former Superintendent, Darlington County Schools Rainey Knight, recently retired as superintendent of Darlington County Schools, has worked in public education for 36 years. She is currently providing professional consulting services to the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee, focusing on dropout recovery and development of district-level reading plans. Knight served as superintendent of Darlington County Schools for fourteen years, where she was responsible for the overall operations and management of the school district.
Sherrie Snipes-Williams
Chief Executive Officer, Charleston Promise Neighborhood Sherrie Snipes-Williams is CEO of Charleston Promise Neighborhood (CPN), a new and progressive nonprofit organization inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone. CPN is working to create a seamless continuum of wrap-around prenatal-to-college services, focused on improving parenting, education, employment, housing, healthcare and community engagement in a 5.6 square mile area of Charleston County.
Karen Woodward
Superintendent, Lexington County School District One A superintendent for 29 years, Dr. Karen C. Woodward has led Lexington County School District One for the last 13 years. She has been the recipient of numerous local, regional and national honors and awards including National Superintendent of the Year finalist, South Carolina Business Woman of the Year, a national Tech Savvy Superintendent and a 2014 finalist for AASA’s Women in School Leadership Award. Dr. Woodward’s career has focused on advocacy for children and on service to the community.
Speakers in order of appearance
The Honorable Charles Bolden, Jr.
Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden, Jr. (USMC-Ret.), Administrator of NASA, is a South Carolina native who graduated from C. A. Johnson High School in Columbia in 1964. A former Marine and astronaut, General Bolden was appointed by President Obama in 2009 to become the 12th Administrator of America’s national space agency.
Speaker Videos
Friday, February 28, 2014
Looking Back and Moving Forward: OneSouthCarolina 2012 and 2013
Jacki Martin, Associate Director, Riley Institute at Furman
Saturday, March 1, 2014
A Tale of Three Cities: How Experiments in Education, Entrepreneurship and
Healthcare are Bridging Divides
David Brancaccio, Reporter, Anchor, Speaker and Storyteller
Conversation with David Brancaccio and Linda O’Bryon, President and Chief Executive Officer, South Carolina ETV
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Standing on the Ground, Reaching for the Stars: How My Home State Can Succeed in the Knowledge-Based Economy
The Honorable Charles Bolden, Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration