Barnwell County wins SCAC’s 2015 J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award
August 17, 2015
GREENVILLE, SC – Barnwell County won the 2015 J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award at the 48th Annual Conference of the South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC), held Aug. 2–5. The J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition was held on Aug. 2. Barnwell County won the J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award Competition’s top award for constructing “The Power Wagon” — a small, towable trailer that can operate in the field during emergencies to charge emergency communication tools, boost cell phone signals, and allow the public to charge communication devices, including cell phones, where and when needed.
“After the historic ice storm of 2014 and a train derailment in a neighboring county in 2015 threatened the health, safety and well-being of local residents, Barnwell County officials recognized that they needed to find a solution to boost cell phone signals, and to power phones and other communication devices when power is lost for an extended period during major emergencies,” said Robert H. Becker, Ph.D., the head judge of the three-judge panel evaluating entries in this year’s J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition.
“When it became clear that off-the-shelf solutions were not readily available and certainly not as a complete package, they found a solution that is elegant in its simplicity,” Dr. Becker added. “The county’s emergency department and the county’s career center undertook the task to plan, design and build The Power Wagon — a mobile charging unit, which is completely self-contained, that can operate in the field in blackout conditions. The program to construct the unit — consisting of students at the career center who served as integral members of the project team along with teachers and county personnel — is so replicable.”
Each year during the J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award Competition, county entries are grouped in the following categories: counties with populations under 50,000; counties with populations between 50,000 and 150,000; and counties with populations greater than 150,000. Counties in all categories compete equally for the J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award and provide 10-minute presentations before a panel of judges during the competition.
Honorable Mentions Awarded to Anderson County
(Over 150,000 Pop.), Orangeburg County (50,000 to 150,000 Pop.) and
Jasper County (Under 50,000 Pop.)
Anderson, Orangeburg and Jasper counties won Honorable Mentions.
In the largest category for counties with populations over 150,000, Anderson County won an Honorable Mention for creating a regional economic engine for the Upstate by using funds from different sources to construct Green Pond Landing & Events Center on Lake Hartwell.
Sport fishing, especially tournament competitions, attracts large audiences and international notoriety. Much like champion-quality golf courses, they also attract visitors and in-migrant retirees.
For example, Green Pond Landing & Events Center held its Grand Opening event, the 45th Bassmaster Outdoors Expo, from Feb. 20 to 22 — the World Series of competitive fishing — that is estimated to have had an economic impact of $23 to $24 million for the Upstate. (Tournament weigh-in and expo were held in Greenville). With more than 17 fishing tournaments already on the books through mid-2016, and the lure such tournaments garner for aquatic-based businesses, destination tourism and retirement/second home expansions, the facility is expected to become the tipping point in the development of Lake Hartwell, the region’s freshwater resource.
In the category for counties with populations between 50,000 and 150,000, Orangeburg County won an Honorable Mention for providing broadband service to a rural population in a very large area of the county that had not been served by private industry.
House Bill 3508, which prevented government from entering the broadband business in competition with private providers, became a hurdle for the county’s project to extend broadband service.
In the category for counties with populations under 50,000, Jasper County won an Honorable Mention for addressing fire service problems often seen in rural areas and finding solutions to save county residents a significant amount of money.
