Brookgreen Garden's Ron Daise Elected Chairperson of Federal Commission

PAWLEY’S ISLAND, SC – February 29, 2012 – Ronald Daise, Brookgreen Garden’s Vice President for Creative Education, was named Chair-Elect of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, upon election during its meeting in Jacksonville, FL on February 24.  He will begin office at the 2nd quarterly meeting in June.

“The Corridor’s Management Plan will soon be ready for public review,” Daise said.  “It has been a long process, but we have been guided by public feedback about how this unique and significant National Heritage Area should be managed.  

We invite potential Stakeholders and Partners to join with us to celebrate and preserve a living culture that has impacted the world community.”  The Management Plan will be submitted in late summer to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior for approval.

Designated by Congress in 2006, the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor extends from Wilmington, NC to Jacksonville, FL. It is home to one of America’s most unique cultures, a tradition first shaped by captive Africans brought to the southern United States from West Africa and continued in later generations by their descendents.

A native of St. Helena Island, SC, Daise, along with his wife Natalie, starred in Gullah Gullah Island, the award-winning Nick Jr. TV show of the 1990s.  He has served on the Commission in several capacities since its inception in 2007.  He is Chair of the Commission’s Management Plan Review Committee and Marketing Committee and Co-Chair of the Partner Packet/Partnership Subcommittee. 

An author and performing artist, Daise presents a weekly Gullah/Geechee Program Series on Wednesdays at Brookgreen Gardens.