Marjorie Amos-Frazier Award Draws County and Statewide Attention
June 28, 2011
CHARLESTON, SC – June 28, 2011 – A June 16, 2011 historic vote by Charleston County Council approved placing the Marjorie Amos-Frazier Pacesetter Award on the rotunda just outside Council Chambers. The vote came exactly a week prior to the anniversary of Amos-Frazier’s June 23, 2010 death. Amos-Frazier was the first woman elected to Charleston County Council in 1974 and the first woman, black and non-legislator elected to the SC Public Service Commission in 1980. Charleston’s West Ashley Democrats first presented the award last September.
At the time of Amos-Frazier’s passing, Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. called her “A towering force in the Charleston Community.” US Congressman James Clyburn stated: “Her legacy is great and her influence lives on in those of us who benefited from her tutelage.”
The award is presented annually to a recipient for their lasting civic and humanitarian contributions without regard to political affiliation. Kaye Lingle Koonce, retired general counsel and senior vice president at Trident Technical College, chairs this year’s award selection committee that also includes:
- Honorable Colleen Condon, Charleston County Councilwoman
- Herb Frazier, Author and Public Relations Manager, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
- F. Renee Gaters, Esq., Law Offices of F. Renee Gaters, LLC
- Honorable Jim Hodges, Former Governor, State of South Carolina
- Vertelle Kenion, Amos-Frazier Family
- Montez C. Martin, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Charleston County Housing and Redevelopment Authority
- Carolyn Murray, News Anchor, WCBD TV-2
- Robert N. Rosen, Esq., Rosen Law Firm, LLC
- Mary Ann Sullivan, Executive Assistant to the Mayor, City of Charleston
- Barbara S. Williams, Editor Emeritus, The Post and Courier
I am confident that our selection committee will name a recipient who will reflect this great stateswoman’s legacy of public service and as a trailblazer Koonce said. Plans are underway for the award’s second annual presentation at the Blue Jamboree, a community celebration co-presented by the Charleston County and State Democratic Parties and West Ashley Democrats. Blue Jamboree is tentatively slated for Saturday October 22, at the Charleston Maritime Center in downtown Charleston.
The Amos-Frazier Award Installation Ceremony and Reception will be held at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 29, at Charleston County Council Chambers, 4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston, 29405. Some ceremony participants include: County Council Chairman Teddie Pryor and Councilman Vic Rawl, North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey, Rev. Nelson Rivers III, civic leaders Ginny Deerin and Elease Amos-Goodwin and vocalist D’Jaris Whipper-Lewis. The June 29 event is admission free, open to the public and sponsored by [email protected].
