The Committee on Education and Public Works

1 COMMITTEE REPORT 2 May 15, 2003 3 4 S. 581 5 6 Introduced by Senator Hawkins 7 8 S. Printed 5/15/03--H. [SEC 5/19/03 10:05 AM] 9 Read the first time April 22, 2003. 10 11 12 THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND PUBLIC 13 WORKS 14 To whom was referred a Joint Resolution (S. 581) to name the 15 new National Guard Armory located on the University of South 16 Carolina-Spartanburg Campus the “Darwin H. Simpson University 17 Readiness Center”, etc., respectfully 18 REPORT: 19 That they have duly and carefully considered the same and 20 recommend that the same do pass with amendment: 21 22 Amend the joint resolution, as and if amended, by deleting 23 SECTION 1. A. and inserting: 24 /A. The National Guard Administrative Complex of the 25 National Guard Armory located on the University of South 26 Carolina-Spartanburg Campus is dedicated in honor of Major 27 General “Darwin H. Simpson” in recognition of Major General 28 Simpson’s passionate pursuit and tireless efforts in the creation, 29 funding, and implementation of this important National Guard 30 Armory./ 31 Renumber sections to conform. 32 Amend title to conform. 33 34 RONALD P. TOWNSEND for Committee. 35 36

1 [581-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A JOINT RESOLUTION 11 12 TO NAME THE NEW NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY 13 LOCATED ON THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA - 14 SPARTANBURG CAMPUS THE “DARWIN H. SIMPSON 15 UNIVERSITY READINESS CENTER” IN RECOGNITION OF 16 MAJOR GENERAL SIMPSON’S PASSIONATE PURSUIT 17 AND TIRELESS EFFORTS IN THE CREATION, FUNDING, 18 AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS IMPORTANT NATIONAL 19 GUARD ARMORY. 20 21 Whereas, Major General Darwin H. Simpson, a native of Arkansas 22 and a resident of South Carolina for over twenty-five years, 23 received a B. S. Degree in Chemistry from the University of 24 Arkansas at Little Rock and his Masters of Business 25 Administration from Pepperdine University; and 26 27 Whereas, before his recent retirement, General Simpson headed-up 28 operations of Van Waters and Rogers, later know as VOPAK 29 USA, and currently UNIVAR, world-wide chemical distributors; 30 and 31 32 Whereas, the General serves on the Board of Directors of Freeman 33 Gas Company, is a Trustee of Wofford College, and a member of 34 the Rotary Club. He is also involved in numerous other 35 community activities and is a member of First Presbyterian Church 36 of Spartanburg; and 37 38 Whereas, Major General Simpson, a graduate of the United States 39 Army Command General and Staff College and United States 40 Army War College, has served with the United States Army 41 National Guard for thirty-eight years; and 42

1 [581] 1 1 Whereas, he has commanded a signal battalion in Camden, South 2 Carolina, and the 228th Signal Brigade in Spartanburg, South 3 Carolina, and currently serves as the commanding general of the 4 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Anderson, 5 South Carolina. He was mobilized with his unit for active duty on 6 November 11, 2001, and served on active duty until January 15, 7 2002; and 8 9 Whereas, as Commander of the 228th Signal Brigade headquartered 10 in Spartanburg County, Major General Simpson conceived the idea 11 of building a new armory and was both instrumental and 12 indispensable in the creation, funding, and implementation of the 13 National Guard Armory on the University of South Carolina - 14 Spartanburg Campus; and 15 16 Whereas, Major General Simpson worked closely with noted 17 architects of the McMillan Smith Partners Architectural Firm and 18 provided essential guidance on the initial architectural concept for 19 the new armory, spending numerous hours pouring over plans and 20 designs; and 21 22 Whereas, Major General Simpson was diligent and dedicated to 23 securing the funding for the new armory, and through his tireless 24 efforts working with members of the South Carolina Congressional 25 Delegation and members of the Spartanburg County Legislative 26 Delegation, Major General Simpson secured a remarkable nine 27 million dollars to fund this worthy National Guard project. He 28 spent countless hours lobbying to obtain the needed funding, 29 exhibiting a passion for this project and a unique understanding of 30 its importance to the national defense, the State of South Carolina, 31 and the people of Spartanburg County; and 32 33 Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly 34 find it fitting and proper to pay tribute to Major General Simpson’s 35 vision, leadership, and passionate pursuit of this significant project 36 from conception to completion by naming this new armory in his 37 honor. Now, therefore, 38 39 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 40 Carolina: 41 42 SECTION 1. A.The National Guard Armory located on the 43 University of South Carolina - Spartanburg Campus is named the

1 [581] 2 1 “Darwin H. Simpson University Readiness Center” in recognition 2 of Major General Simpson’s passionate pursuit and tireless efforts 3 in the creation, funding, and implementation of this important 4 National Guard Armory. 5 B.The Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina, 6 the Chancellor of the University of South Carolina - Spartanburg 7 Campus, and the South Carolina National Guard shall ensure that 8 the proper signage and other designations are provided to carry out 9 the provisions of this section. 10 11 SECTION 2. This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by 12 the Governor. 13 ----XX---- 14

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