Five to be inducted into Richland One Hall of Fame
November 2, 2017
Richland One will induct five new members into the school district’s Hall of Fame in January, district officials announced November 2.
The Richland One Hall of Fame was created to recognize graduates of Richland One schools and other persons throughout the district’s history who have made significant contributions to Richland One, their communities, their professions and society as a whole.
Induction into the Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed upon individuals by the Richland One Board of School Commissioners. Seventy-six men and women have been inducted since the Hall of Fame was established in 2004.
Richland One will induct five new members into the district’s Hall of Fame in January. Pictured at the November 2 news conference are (from left) Brigadier General (Ret.) John M. Motley, Jr.; Johnnie Mae Rich-Butler, mother of Hall of Fame induction class member Carey D. Rich, Sr., who was unable to attend; Ruth H. Black; Regina Hampton Brown; and Colonel (Ret.) Walter L. Watson, Jr.
The 14th Annual Richland One Hall of Fame Induction Gala will be held Saturday, January 27, 2018 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. The red carpet reception will begin at 5:00 p.m. and the program/dinner will begin at 6:00 p.m. Additional details about the gala, including ticket information, will be announced later.
The five members of the 2017 Richland One Hall of Fame induction class are:
- Ruth H. Black, a retired educator who integrated the Columbia High School faculty in 1968 and touched the lives of hundreds of students as an English teacher and mentor who was known for her compassion, caring and humanitarianism;
- Regina Hampton Brown, a 1983 graduate of Columbia High School and manager of community and governmental relations at Palmetto Health who has led the recruitment efforts of Palmetto Health team members and community members volunteering in Richland One schools, including serving as Lunch Buddies to students, since 1997;
- Brigadier General (Ret.) John M. Motley, Jr., a 1969 graduate of Lower Richland High School and former Assistant Adjutant General-Air with the South Carolina National Guard who currently serves as the director of the Department of Defense STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education program STARBASE Swamp Fox at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover, South Carolina;
- Carey D. Rich, Sr., a 1990 graduate of C.A. Johnson High School who was a star basketball player at C.A. Johnson and the University of South Carolina and currently serves as recreation superintendent with the City of Columbia’s Parks and Recreation Department; and
- Colonel (Ret.) Walter L. Watson, Jr., a 1967 graduate of C.A. Johnson High School and a retired Richland One JROTC instructor whose distinguished Air Force career includes being the first and only African-American to qualify in the SR-71, a super-secret reconnaissance aircraft that set altitude and speed records that still stand today.
For more information about the Richland One Hall of Fame, go to www.richlandone.org or contact Karen York in the Richland One Office of Communications at (803) 231-7504.
