Noted explorer inducted into Camden HS Hall of Fame

By Alex Junes-Ward

Tom Mullikin, a career attorney, military officer, and global expedition leader, was inducted into the Camden High School Hall of Fame during ceremonies at 833 South Broad, Nov. 7.

“This was a tremendous personal honor for my family and me,” said Mullikin. “And it was particularly special for me to be among six other inductees – all accomplished in their respective life’s work and all fellow Camden High School graduates – for whom I have such great admiration and respect.”

Mullikin, a former U.S. Army captain who retired from command of the S.C. State Guard last year (at the rank of major general), today leads the gubernatorially established S.C. Floodwater Commission and holds professorships at Coastal Carolina University and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (in Ecuador) among other professional endeavors; was inducted along with William P. “Buster” Beckham, Jr.; William “Bill” Chivers (posthumously); Joanie Lawson; Jack Smyrl (posthumously); Toni Whitaker; and Barbara Wilkes.

The annual Hall of Fame ceremony was sponsored by the Camden High School Improvement Council.

The Camden High School Hall of Fame is the second Hall of Fame Mullikin has been inducted into this year. In May, he joined the ranks of the some of the state’s and nation’s most elite martial artists as a member of the S.C. Black Belt Hall of Fame.

The 2019 Camden High School Hall of Fame inductees [pictured L-R] are Whitaker, Lawson, Mullikin, Smyrl (his posthumous award was accepted by Betty Smyrl); William Chivers (his posthumous award was accepted by Pearl Chivers); Wilkes; and Beckham.

– Alex Junes-Ward is a South Carolina-based freelance writer.