2009-2010 Bill 1320: Jack Thompson - South Carolina Legislature Online

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 118th Session, 2009-2010 3 4 S. 1320 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 Senate Resolution 9 Sponsors: Senator Elliott 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\rm\1171cm10.docx 11 12 Introduced in the Senate on March 25, 2010 13 Adopted by the Senate on March 25, 2010 14 15 Summary: Jack Thompson 16 17 18 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 19 20 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 21 3/25/2010 Senate Introduced and adopted SJ6 22 23 24 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 25 26 3/25/2010 27 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A SENATE RESOLUTION 10 11 TO HONOR PHOTOGRAPHER JACK THOMPSON OF 12 MYRTLE BEACH FOR HIS NEARLY SIXTY YEARS OF 13 CAPTURING THE HISTORY OF MYRTLE BEACH ON FILM 14 AND IN PRINT. 15 16 Whereas, premier photographer Jack Thompson, who began taking 17 pictures of Myrtle Beach in 1951 when he was thirteen, is 18 considered the keeper of the Grand Strand’s photographic history; 19 and 20 21 Whereas, his mark is everywhere, a fact that has often given him 22 the name of “Mr. Myrtle Beach.” He willingly shares the stories 23 behind every picture he has taken, such as the one of the 24 saxophoneplaying girl on the beach, shot for the 1992 South 25 Carolina Jazz Festival, or the one of the Reverend Billy Graham, 26 who came to Myrtle Beach after Hurricane Hugo; and 27 28 Whereas, perhaps even more familiar to many Myrtle Beach 29 aficionados are the hundreds of thousands of photos Jack took of 30 Grand Strand visitors in the “Myrtle Beach Jail”; and 31 32 Whereas, as a teenager in the early 1950s, Jack hitchhiked to 33 Myrtle Beach from his home in Greenville with two friends, 34 Carroll Campbell and Fred Collins; and 35 36 Whereas, while his friends went to get something to eat, Jack went 37 to the souvenirphoto area at the Pavilion and asked for a job. He 38 got it, and that small beginning, taking pictures of tourists posing 39 at a cutout of a crescent moon, eventually blossomed into a 40 lifelong career. Jack opened his own studio almost half a century 41 ago not very far from the Pavilion, where it all started; and 42

[1320] 2 1 Whereas, a sample of his extensive pictorial collection is 2 documented in his most recent book, Memories of Myrtle Beach; 3 and 4 5 Whereas, he also founded Myrtle Beach’s first news magazine, 6 Insight Into the Grand Strand, followed by the area’s debut golf 7 magazine, Grand Strand Golfer. Other books he wrote and 8 photographed include Reflections in Time and Growing Up With 9 Shoeless Joe, coauthored with his brother, Joe Thompson; and 10 11 Whereas, Jack has held numerous exhibitions of his work, such as 12 Photographic Reflections of Old Myrtle Beach at Coastal Carolina 13 University’s Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery, and he chaired 14 the All Aboard Committee, credited with restoring the old Myrtle 15 Beach Train Depot; and 16 17 Whereas, for his contributions in documentation and preservation, 18 among many other things, he was awarded an honorary doctor of 19 fine arts degree from Coastal Carolina University, as well as the 20 American Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award, bestowed 21 by local affiliate Coastal Advertising and Marketing Professionals; 22 and 23 24 Whereas, the members of the Senate, united in admiration for 25 Jack’s photographic excellence and dedication to recording the 26 history of his beloved Myrtle Beach, wish to express their 27 gratitude for his life’s work and extend best wishes for much 28 continued success and fulfillment in years to come. Now, 29 therefore, 30 31 Be it resolved by the Senate: 32 33 That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, 34 honor photographer Jack Thompson of Myrtle Beach for his nearly 35 sixty years of capturing the history of Myrtle Beach on film and in 36 print. 37 38 Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to 39 Jack Thompson. 40 XX 41

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