Tee Hooper, Charles E. Dalton Honored for Their Service on the SCDOT Commission

COLUMBIA, SC – May 22, 2009 – The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Commission on Thursday, May 21, honored two outgoing Commission members, Tee Hooper and Charles E. Dalton, for their service to the state of South Carolina.

Hooper, of Greenville, has served as a member of the SCDOT Commission since April 2003, appointed by Governor Mark Sanford. He served as Commission Chairman from May 2003 until July 2007. 

Governor Sanford attended Thursday’s Commission meeting, surprising Hooper and awarding him the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian honor.

 

 

Commissioner Tee Hooper, left, was presented the Order of the Palmetto by South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford for his service to South Carolina. The award was presented May 21 during Hooper’s last meeting as an SCDOT Commissioner. From left are: SCDOT Commissioner Tee Hooper, Sherry Hooper (his wife) and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. (Photo by Rob Thompson/SCDOT)

 

Sanford noted Hooper’s efforts to help make SCDOT a more accountable state agency and described him as a person of integrity with “incredible intensity and competitiveness.”

Hooper is the chief executive officer of General Wholesale Distributors, LLC, a Trane HVAC distributor in the state of South Carolina, and is also chairman of the board of FGP International Inc., an executive and temporary placement service company, headquartered in Greenville.

Hooper serves on the Greenville First Bank Board, and was formerly a director of Peregrine Energy, Inc., an energy management company. Hooper was the president of Modern Office Machines/ IKON Office Solutions in Greenville, from 1982 through 2001.

Hooper graduated from The Citadel in 1969 with a degree in business administration, and received a master in business administration from the University of South Carolina in 1971. He was elected to The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982 for his achievements in basketball and tennis.

Dalton has served on the Commission and represented the 3rd Congressional District since elected by the Legislative Delegation in March 2008.

“You have been a gentleman in every sense of the word,” Commission Chairman F. Hugh Atkins said to Dalton, thanking him for his service. 

 

SCDOT Commission Chairman F. Hugh Atkins, right, presents a resolution to Commissioner Charles Dalton, left,  for his service on the SCDOT Commission.

Dalton was given the award on May 21 during Dalton’s last meeting as an SCDOT Commissioner. (Photo by Rob Thompson/SCDOT)

 

 

 

Dalton stepped down after a change in residency from Easley to Greenville County, which is in the 4th Congressional District.  He is President and CEO of Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, Inc., a position he has held since 1982 He is a graduate of Clemson University with a BS in Industrial Management.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Electric Cooperatives of S.C., the Board of Directors of the Peoples Bancorporation and the Board of Directors of the Bank of Anderson. Dalton is also a member of the Greenville Rotary Club, the Better Business Bureau of the Foothills, and the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce.  He is Secretary of Clemson University’s IPTAY Board of Directors.

Dalton is a member of the Board of Directors of Cannon Memorial Hospital and is on the Greenville American Red Cross board.  He also serves or has served on numerous other economic development and charitable boards.  A former member of Pickens City Council, Dalton served on the S.C. Highway Commission from 1979-1983, and again from 1987-1991.  He was chairman in 1983 and 1991.