2007-2008 Bill 1255: Travelle Wharton - South Carolina Legislature Online

1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 117th Session, 2007-2008 3 4 S. 1255 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 Concurrent Resolution 9 Sponsors: Senator Anderson 10 Document Path: l:\council\bills\gm\24147ab08.doc 11 12 Introduced in the Senate on April 2, 2008 13 Introduced in the House on April 3, 2008 14 Adopted by the General Assembly on April 3, 2008 15 16 Summary: Travelle Wharton 17 18 19 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 20 21 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 22 4/2/2008 Senate Introduced, adopted, sent to House SJ-2 23 4/3/2008 House Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence HJ-11 24 25 26 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 27 28 4/2/2008 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 10 11 TO RECOGNIZE TRAVELLE WHARTON AS ROLE MODEL 12 AND HERO TO THE GREENVILLE COMMUNITY AND 13 BEYOND, AND TO COMMEND HIM FOR HIS 14 PHILANTHROPY AMONG THE YOUTH OF SOUTH 15 CAROLINA. 16 17 Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly 18 are pleased to acknowledge the contributions of Travelle Wharton 19 to his community and express their appreciation to him for the 20 example he brings to the young people of our State; and 21 22 Whereas, born to Glenn and Lois Wharton on May 19, 1981, this 23 diminutive baby of five pounds, eight ounces has become one of 24 the most formidable tackles in the National Football League; and 25 26 Whereas, Travelle Wharton possessed one of life’s richest gifts in 27 a father who taught his children that success comes only through 28 hard work, and this middle child applied that lesson to obtain his 29 outstanding success; and 30 31 Whereas, remembering his beginnings with recreational football 32 leagues in Greenville’s Woodside Mill Community Park, he 33 considers himself blessed to have had early coaches who took time 34 to teach him the true fundamentals of the game in which he would 35 excel; and 36 37 Whereas, he always performed above his peers, and, recognizing 38 his ability, high school varsity football coaches tried to advance 39 him to the team as early as the eighth grade; and 40 41 Whereas, throughout high school, Travelle Wharton played both 42 offense and defense with equal skill and was named in his senior

1 [1255] 1 1 year to the Shrine Bowl, an all-star game for the best players in 2 North and South Carolina; and 3 4 Whereas, Travelle Wharton gave careful thought and prayer to the 5 college football recruiting offers that poured in and chose to play 6 in his home State at the University of South Carolina; and 7 8 Whereas, when he was on the cusp of being chosen as a starter in 9 his freshman year, a glitch in his high school transcript 10 necessitated his return to high school for a course in order to meet 11 an NCAA requirement. As a result of this personal setback, he has 12 always emphasized education first and sports second; and 13 14 Whereas, after completing the needed high school requirement, he 15 returned to the University of South Carolina the following year as 16 starting left tackle, during which season he allowed the only 17 quarterback sack of his college career; and 18 19 Whereas, because he kept the perspective in college that God 20 should be first in his life, family second, and education and 21 football next, he successfully weathered difficult times, such as the 22 death of his dear grandmother during football season and the later 23 death of his father, who had always been his best friend and 24 teacher; and 25 26 Whereas, after he had completed a degree in retail management, 27 the Carolina Panthers drafted him as the ninety-first pick of the 28 2004 National Football League draft. Following two successful 29 seasons, he suffered a season setback in the first game against 30 Atlanta in 2006 when he tore two ligaments, but he returned to his 31 starting position at left tackle in the 2007 season; and 32 33 Whereas, in 2007, Travelle Wharton returned the fine example set 34 for him in his youth when he opened the Travelle Wharton Youth 35 Football Camp, which received rave reviews throughout the 36 Golden Strip community in the Upstate; and 37 38 Whereas, two strong supports, faith and family, undergird 39 everything he does. A member of Rocky Creek Baptist Church, he 40 seeks to live out his faith in service to his fellow man, beginning at 41 home, where he enjoys being with his wife, Kashema, and his 42 young daughter, Gabrielle; and 43

1 [1255] 2 1 Whereas, it is with great pleasure that the General Assembly 2 pauses in its deliberations to recognize such an outstanding son of 3 South Carolina as Travelle Wharton, and the members wish him 4 God’s best in all his future endeavors. Now, therefore, 5 6 Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives 7 concurring: 8 9 That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this 10 resolution, recognize Travelle Wharton as role model and hero to 11 the Greenville community and beyond, and commend him for his 12 philanthropy among the youth of South Carolina. 13 14 Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to 15 Travelle Wharton. 16 ----XX---- 17

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