2020 Green Tie Awards Program

Conservation Voters of South Carolina Welcomes You to the 12th Annual

Honoring Conservation Leadership and Achievement

September 22nd 7:30pm

2020 Honorees Senator Tom Young Representative Beth Bernstein Representative John King Marilyn Hemingway

From the CVSC Board Chair

On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of Conservation Voters of South Carolina, I welcome you to the 2020 Green Tie Awards. Today’s celebration looks quite different from the luncheons we have shared together over the last 11 years. Despite celebrating from my home in Darlington instead of the bustling Hall at historic 701 Whaley in Columbia, I am still filled with the same gratitude and excitement for the commitment, tireless energy, and effectiveness of South Carolina’s conservation community. The men and women we honor this evening stand as champions for the progress that we can make to protect South Carolina’s air, land, water, and people when we reach across political, geographic, and racial divides and work together for a common goal – building a safer, healthier, and more prosperous South Carolina for ALL people. We appreciate their work, their leadership, their vision. And, we are confident that their commitment to protecting the South Carolina we love will inspire the leaders of tomorrow to do the same. CVSC is a political, yet uncommonly bipartisan, conservation organization. We educate candidates and the voters who elect them; we hold our elected leaders accountable; and we help unify the voices for conservation across the state, all toward protecting clean water, clean air, abundant wildlife, family farms and forests, and promoting efficient and clean energy. CVSC entered 2020 with a new strategic plan to guide our work over the next four years. We set ambitious goals to reach renewable energy and efficiency targets by 2050, protect 30% of South Carolina’s land and water by 2030, and ensure all citizens have the right and ability to participate in decision-making processes that impact the health and safety of their local communities. At the root of every goal established by the CVSC Boards and staff, our organization’s values guide us: bipartisanship, environmental justice and equity, the advancement of climate solutions, and being an influential voice in the South Carolina Statehouse. 1 Google is proud to call South Carolina

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2 The impacts of COVID-19 have been disruptive to say the least, but the staff have found innovative ways to work towards these goals. This organization, like each of our honorees this evening and every person joining us tonight, has adjusted and pivoted effectively to new strategies. And we all keep pushing forward. This work can only be done with a strong conservation network across the state. Though you cannot physically see the might of this network tonight, you can see in our progress that we stand strong and we stand together for the South Carolina we all love. Thank you for your part in this. As we all revel in conservation successes and leadership discussed tonight, we ask ourselves “how can we keep the momentum or even pick up the pace?” This is the place in which I would normally encourage you to make a commitment to CVSC by completing the pledge card at your seat. Tonight, I ask you to make your commitment by visiting www.cvsc.org/support. Just as your voices and influence create results, your financial contributions to CVSC also make a difference. Help CVSC pursue the vision for a South Carolina that values and protects our waterways, pristine landscapes, iconic shorelines, and the clean air we breathe. Help empower every South Carolinian to have a voice in the decisions that impact their future. And help make our state a place that we can proudly call home. I hope you enjoy tonight’s awards presentation and remember that you are part of what makes the victories, progress, and celebrations possible. Sincerely,

Jennie Williamson Pezé Chair, Board of Directors Conservation Voters of South Carolina

3 4 Table of Contents

Letter from the CVSC Board Chair...... 1 Table of Contents...... 5 Letter from the Education Fund Chair...... 7 Luncheon Sponsors...... 11 Board of Directors and Staff...... 13 2020 Green Tie Award Honorees...... 15

Previous Honorees...... 25

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5 INVESTING IN A BETTER SOUTH CAROLINA.

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6 FROM THE EDUCATION FUND CHAIR

Good evening! Welcome to the 12th annual Green Tie Awards celebration. I graciously thank all of you for tuning in tonight – we are excited to have you here, and we have a lot to celebrate. First, we’re celebrating our 16th year as an organization. Perhaps even more impressive are the milestones and achievements of the past year: • Engaging over 4,000 South Carolinians through webinars, film screenings, and virtual town halls on a wide range of topics, including a film series on the disproportionate impacts of climate change and pollution on black and brown communities • Supporting the bipartisan passage of the Great American Outdoors Act to ensure permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund • Educating South Carolinians across the state about the critical role the PSC plays in our state, and the importance of this year’s elections But more work is ahead of us – we entered 2020 with an incredible amount of momentum for advancing bold, proactive conservation policies. As with many things in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic slowed or stalled many of those efforts. Yet, despite the unexpected challenges 2020 has presented, we must continue the fight to stop offshore drilling, protect 30% of our pristine landscapes and waterways by 2030, and ensure clean, affordable energy for our all South Carolinians. I am confident that, with the support of conservation supporters like you, we will succeed. This evening is a celebration of conservation and of South Carolina’s bipartisan success. In these times of divisive politics, South Carolina can hold its head high and know that, when it comes to conservation, we are an example for the country.

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8 What makes us unique? What makes us special? It’s the people who have joined us tonight who recognize, understand, and believe that conservation is bipartisan and that it is essential to the economy and quality of life in our state and to those who call it home. We share something beautiful in South Carolina. We know the decisions we make about conservation should be considered outside of the election cycle and, while we may sometimes disagree on where the lines should be drawn for development, or regulations, or policies … we keep our doors open, and we keep the conversation going! So, today we celebrate you and the great state of South Carolina. We truly thank you all for being a part of this celebration and for your support of CVSC and the CVSC Education Fund. Thank you!

Akin Watson Chair, CVSC Education Fund Board of Directors Member, CVSC Board of Directors

www.conserveaiken.org 1-855-ALC-LAND Protecting the places you love

9 10 2020 Green Tie Award Sponsors

JADE OceanaGold Haile Operation

EMERALD Google NextEra Energy Resources

OLIVE Elliott Close – Arnold M. Nemirow The Pump House Restaurant Pacolet Milliken Enterprises

SAGE Blue Granite Water Company Nestle Waters North America Coca Cola Consolidated RES Horry County ReWa* Solid Waste Authority Sonoco* Historic Columbia Foundation Southern Current

SPRUCE Aiken Land Conservancy Robinson Bradshaw Audubon South Carolina Solvent Networks, BlueCross BlueShield of SC* A Division of SCHA Coastal Conservation League Speak Strategic Nelson Mullins Riley & SynTerra Scarborough LLP Tom & Tombo Milliken – Nexsen Pruet, LLC & NAI Columbia NP Strategy Wyche, PA

MINT The Gallivan Group at Joanna Dunn Samson UBS Financial Services, Inc* SC Association for Community Luck Companies Economic Development Kyle Michel Law Firm SC Exteriors Naturaland Trust Timberlake Communications Piedmont Natural Gas Sam and Mary Baskin-Waters* Port City Homes

*Donors to CVSC Education Fund

12 CVSC Board of Directors Jennie Pezé, Chair, Darlington Arnold Nemirow, Vice Chair, Charleston Cynthia Powell, Secretary & Treasurer, Myrtle Beach Paul Agnew, Due West Marian Brailsford, Charleston Sue Doran, Columbia Susan Hilfer, Beaufort Jay James, Darlington Ben Johnson, Rock Hill Kevin Kay, Easley Millie Knowlton, Washington DC Chris Pracht, Anderson Dr. Harry Shealy, Aiken Cody Smith, Columbia Libby Smith, Charleston Akin Watson, Columbia Lara Winburn, Columbia

CVSC Education Fund Board Akin Watson, Chair, Columbia Dr. Harry Shealy, Vice Chair, Aiken Wilkins Byrd, Secretary & Treasurer, Aiken Emma Ruth Brittain, Myrtle Beach Lauren McClary, Mt. Pleasant

CVSC Staff John Tynan, Executive Director Rebecca Haynes, Deputy Director Paul Black, Mobilization & Data Manager Meredith Cook, Development Director Rebecca Geigel, Financial Manager Deitra Matthews, Government Relations Manager Natalie Olson, Campaigns Director Cassie Ratliff, Land, Water, and Ocean Project Manager

13 14 The Senate Conservation Leadership Award Tom Young (R – District 24, Aiken) Representing District 24 in the South Carolina Senate, Senator Tom Young grew up in Aiken and graduated from USC and the USC School of Law. While at USC, Senator Young was Student Body President and received the 1993 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award as the most outstanding graduate in his class. He is a practicing attorney in Aiken. Senator Young is Chairman of the Aiken County Legislative Delegation and served in the S.C. House of Representatives from 2009 through 2012. In the Senate, he serves on the Judiciary and Fish, Game, and Forestry Committees, among others. With a career devoted to public service, protection of South Carolina’s natural resources has been a consistent focus of Senator Young’s work. He has consistently fought for land and water protections by supporting efforts like the Conservation Bank, opposition to Offshore Drilling, and surface water protections. Over his career in the Senate, Senator Young has an 85% lifetime score and a 109% 2019-2020 score on the CVSC Conservation Scorecard. In 2016, Senator Young jumped into a leadership position to pass a three- year moratorium on the use of eminent domain laws for construction of petroleum pipelines by private, for-profit petroleum pipeline companies. At the same time, Young led the fight to enact legislation establishing a petroleum pipeline study committee which met numerous times and concluded their work on December 21, 2017. In 2020, Senator Young’s latest bill, S.1100, would have made it extremely difficult for private, for-profit petroleum pipeline companies to use our state’s eminent domain laws to condemn private property over which they would intend to route a pipeline. Additionally, S.1100 takes great care to protect conserved land, special places, and those lands under a conservation easement. Unfortunately, this legislation did not pass before the 2020 legislative year was cut short. Senator Young is a supporter and negotiator. He will help us work towards the best outcome for South Carolinians. He is thoughtful and dedicated to protecting our air, land, and water. He is proud of his state and of what his District has protected. Senator Young is an avid outdoorsman, and he and his wife, Heather, are timber landowners. They have two daughters, Hailey and Ashley.

15 Many thanks to the 2020 Green Tie Award honorees for supporting a clean energy future for all South Carolinians!

www.southerncurrentllc.com 16 The House Conservation Leadership Award Beth Bernstein (D – District 78, Richland) Raised in Columbia, Representative Beth Bernstein grew up in the same community in which she lives today. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia in 1991 and earned a law degree from the USC School of Law in 1994. Upon graduating from law school, she began practicing law with her father and brother, Lowell Bernstein, and formed what is now known as Bernstein and Bernstein, Attorneys at Law. Representative Bernstein is the recipient of the John W. Williams Distinguished Service Award, a member of the 2015 Class of Liberty Fellowship, and a 1998 Graduate of Leadership Columbia. In 2006, she was selected as one of Columbia’s “Top 20 under 40.” Representative Bernstein has served District 78 since 2013. She has a 95% lifetime score and a 109% 2019-2020 legislative session score on the CVSC Conservation Scorecard. Representative Bernstein is someone you want in your corner. She is a steadfast environmentalist. She has championed clean air and water, vehemently opposed the ban on plastic bag bans bill in the House, and, although not a coastal legislator, has been an active supporter of efforts to stop offshore drilling. She worked to reauthorize the Conservation Bank and was a founding member of the Energy Caucus, working with fellow legislators to pass clean energy reforms in 2019. She will study a bill and do the work to prepare for a floor fight in the House. Her experience as an attorney has been particularly useful in fights to prevent rollbacks to core environmental protections, demonstrating time and time again that she is a lawmaker and a resource we can depend on. For example, while the conservation community fought to save the automatic stay, Representative Bernstein did the hard work in the Judiciary subcommittee with Representative John King to slow down the bill. Time and time again, she has gone to the well and worked across the aisle to push back on bad legislation, like the attempt ban the use of home rule for plastic bag ordinances. She also has celebrated efforts locally to do the right thing – like the passage of a local plastic bag ordinance in the Town of Arcadia Lakes. Representative Bernstein is there every step of the way. Representative Bernstein lives in Columbia with her husband, Rip, and their two daughters, Caroline and Isabel.

17 Amazingly

Upscale Restaurant Overlooking the Catawba River 575 Herrons Ferry Rd., Rock Hill (803) 329-8888 18 The House Conservation Leadership Award John King (D – District 49, York) Born in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Representative John King received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Morehouse College. He went on to receive an Associate of Applied Science degree in Funeral and Mortuary Science from Gupton Jones College of Funeral Service in 1998 and his Master of Education degree in 2006 from Strayer University. Representative King is the former Chief Minority Whip for the South Carolina Democratic House Caucus, a former member of the Chester County Council, and the former Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus. He currently serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Clinton College and is Director of Christopher King’s Funeral Home. Serving in the House since 2009, Representative King is one of the most energetic and honest supporters we have in the House. He has an 85% lifetime score and a 106% on CVSC’s 2019-2020 Conservation Scorecard. He fights for clean air and water and supports efforts to protect our rights to a clean environment, including the Environmental Bill of Rights introduced and championed by the late Representative Joe Neal. With a decade of service to the State under his belt, Representative King is an ally and conservationist we can count on. He is a fierce defender of doing the right thing, and he will always tell you exactly where you stand with him. The honesty, passion, and perspective that Representative King brings to the conservation movement’s work in the State House has been key to our success. For example, when he learned about the impact that a rollback of the automatic stay would have on South Carolinians’ ability to protect themselves from polluters, he jumped into action. He worked with Representative Bernstein in Judiciary sub-committee to slow down the auto-stay bill and attempted to amend it. And, from his experience with a hazardous waste incinerator in Rock Hill, he knows the impact that bad industry practices can have on communities and will fight tirelessly to protect them. Representative King diligently works to educate other legislators about our priority issues, regularly whips votes in support of conservation, and takes the time to connect CVSC with other members of the House and share how Conservation Voters can help with issues facing their district. Representative King lives in Rock Hill, where he is a member of Freedom Temple Ministries. 19 20 The Harriet Keyserling Conservation Advocacy Award Marilyn Hemingway A native of Georgetown, Marilyn Hemingway’s ancestral roots extend from Horry to Beaufort Counties and include a long line of civic, educational, and political family achievement embedded in the traditions of the Gullah Geechee community. Ms. Hemingway earned her Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of South Carolina and is a certified Impact Economics Consultant (College of Charleston) and a registered fundraiser with the state of South Carolina. Ms. Hemingway founded the Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce, a business membership organization whose mission is to raise global awareness, profitability, and sustainability of African American businesses in the Gullah Geechee community, and currently serves as its CEO. In this role, she is a passionate advocate for clean, affordable energy for all and a force in the fight against offshore drilling, testifying in front of the South Carolina Legislature and local government bodies on these and other environmental issues impacting the Gullah Geechee community. Through her tireless efforts, Ms. Hemingway empowers marginalized communities – those disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change – to be part of the solution. She created the “Agenda for Action” to raise awareness of clean, renewable energy opportunities and to lift the voices of low-income communities and communities of color so they are heard during the policy-making process. She presently serves as co-chair of the Environmental, Energy and Climate Justice committee of the SC Conference of the NAACP and as 2nd Vice President of the Georgetown NAACP Branch #5520. Ms. Hemingway loves her family and community and always finds time to help others in need. She is the daughter of the late Peter H., III, and the late Mattie Daniels Hemingway. She is the granddaughter of Mr. Peter Hemingway, II, and Mrs. Pauline Dunmore Hemingway Lawrence, and Rev. Dr. George Goings Daniels Sr. and Mrs. Wilhelmina Mays Daniels.

21 22 Congratulates The 2020 Green Tie Award Recipients

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23 You've been spotted!

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Photo by Spencer Craig

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25 Previous Honorees

Senate Conservation Leadership 2019: Senator John Matthews (D, Orangeburg) 2018: Senator Tom Davis (R, Beaufort) Senator Marlon Kimpson (D, Charleston) 2017: Senator Thomas McElveen (D, Sumter) 2016: Senator Nikki Setzler (D, Lexington) 2015: Senator Brad Hutto (D, Orangeburg) Senator Joel Lourie (D, Richland) 2014: Senator Greg Gregory (R, Lancaster) 2013: Senator Wes Hayes (R, York) 2012: Senator Ray Cleary (R, Horry) 2011: Senator Vincent Sheheen (D, Kershaw) 2010: Senator Chip Campsen (R, Charleston) 2009: Senator John Courson (R, Richland) Senator Phil Leventis (D, Sumter)

House Conservation Leadership 2019: Representative Nathan Ballentine (R, Richland) Representative Mandy Powers Norrell (D, Lancaster) 2018: Representative Peter McCoy (R, Charleston) 2017: Representative Joe Neal (D, Richland) Representative Gary Clary (R, Pickens) 2016: Representative Weston Newton (R, Beaufort) Representative Doug Brannon (R, Spartanburg) 2015: Representative Murrell Smith (R, Sumter) Representative Bill Clyburn (D, Aiken) 2014: Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D, Orangeburg) 2013: Representative Chandra Dillard (D, Greenville) Representative Walton McLeod (D, Newberry) 2012: Representative Paul Agnew (D, Abbeville) Representative Laurie Funderburk (D, Kershaw) 2011: Representative Robert L. Brown (D, Charleston) Representative Mike Pitts (R, Laurens) 2010: Representative Joan Brady (R, Richland) Representative Vida Miller (D, Georgetown) 2009: Representative Bill Herbkersman (R, Beaufort) Representative James Smith, Jr. (D, Richland)

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27 Previous Honorees

Lifetime Conservation Achievement 2019: Dr. J. William F. (Billy) Holliday (Myrtle Beach) 2018: Angela Viney (Spartanburg) 2017: Dr. Dave Hargett (Greenville) 2016: Rudy Mancke (Columbia) 2015: C. Thomas Wyche (Greenville) 2014: Anne Springs Close (Fort Mill) 2013: Richard Watkins (St. Matthews) 2012: The Honorable Ernest “Fritz” Hollings (Charleston) 2010: Jimmy Chandler (Georgetown) 2009: The Honorable John W. Drummond (Greenwood)

The Harriet Keyserling Conservation Advocacy 2019: Peg Howell (Pawleys Island) 2017: Mayor Billy Keyserling (Beaufort) 2016: Frank Holleman (Greenville) 2015: Brad Wyche (Greenville) 2014: Bob Guild (Columbia) 2013: Dana Beach (Charleston) 2011: Jane Lareau (Mt. Pleasant) and Nancy Vinson (James Island) 2010: Harry Dalton (Rock Hill) 2009: The Honorable Harriet Keyserling (Beaufort)

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