Dedication of Veterans Panel in Hartsville

 

A great community event in Hartsville, South Carolina, this past Sunday, as the third wall of the Veteran's Memorial was dedicated. The Veterans Memorial, one of the largest in South Carolina, is located at Burry Park in downtown Hartsville. It is a memorial to all veterans as well as active military personnel. More than 200 people braved the Sunday afternoon heat to be part of this dedication. The Memorial itself was dedicated on November 11, 2010. The 246th Army Band was a highlight of the event. David L. Allen, a veteran of World War II gave the Keynote, a great discussion of Patriotism. I enjoyed this event for several reasons and primary among them is the way events like this help bring the community together.

Believing in your community is fundamental to building your community

The past few days there has been some news about a variety of things taking place within the city that show leaders are moving to affect change that they believe will be important to moving us forward as a community.

For example, last night the Hartsville City Council took some steps to chanhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifge the way citizens need to handle the recycling and garbage -- they are hoping to eliminate the "Yellow Bag" program in the city of Hartsville.

This has been on the Mayor's agenda since he started running for the job. His talks with citizens reinforced his idea of the need to get rid of the Yellow bags because he found so many people who find them so aggravating. But, as the Mayor found out when he began his attack on this issue -- nothing is as simple as it seems.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

The result of the focus on "yellow bags" is a partnership that has come about between the City of Hartsville and Sonoco aimed at expanding recycling in the community while adding to the efficiency of recycling and garbage collection. (This is not an issue on which I feel any competence but it is an issue that I think helps exemplify what it takes to affect positive change in a community.)

There are a lot of elements involved in this type of change and to affect change of this scope it takes people from differing areas demonstrating belief in process, demonstrating belief that others will cooperate, demonstrating belief thttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhat the community is worth investing in with time, talent and treasure. Sonoco uses recycled materials for lots of their products and they became willing to collaborate. The mayor and city council members began to see how doing things a bit differently might result in doing things even better. The new city manager helped lots of people look at more than just the immediate issue and on Monday night a major step was taken to eliminate the aggravating yellow bags. While this issue may not yet be totally resolved, it is on example of how believing you can make a difference can result in actually making a difference. Rich Harwood, of the Harwood Institute, who often discusses community building does a good job of discussing this question of belief in his current blog.
The following is a paragraph from this blog and I find it important because without people reaching out to one another and beyond their initial reaction to an issue, nothing can be accomplished. This is what Rich Harwood writes: "The restoration of belief in ourselves and in one another is pivotal to all our efforts to make a difference in communities. Without such belief, we may hold back from doing what we know is required to bring about change; we may choose not to reach out and forge key relationships with others; we may step back just when we need to step forward."

In Hartsville we have a strong need to continue stepping forward!

Disasters need philanthropic response

A news release from the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation underlines the idea that community foundations can often be excellent places for your donations to areas hit by disasters. The following release was posted today, May 5, by Susan Bankston of the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation that serves the seven counties of the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina:

Disaster Relief Funds in Alabama and the Pee Dee Region

The tornadoes in the southeast last week left hundreds of individuals homeless and helpless. Volunteers and donations began pouring in within 24 hours to offer assistance and comfort to those affected by the devastation. The Pee Dee Disaster Relief Fund of the Eastern Carolina Community Foundation (ECCF) was established for just such a purpose when natural disasters strike the Pee Dee region. When tornadoes damaged homes in Darlington in 2010, a grant of $3,500 from this fund was matched by the City of Darlington and used for roof repairs on several homes.



Local community foundations are a natural fit for such responses. Should you wish to respond to the need in Alabama, The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham has established the Alabama Tornado Recovery Fund to accept gifts that will in turn be used throughout the state in the regions impacted by the April 27 tornadoes. They will work to effectively deploy the resources that will be needed for long-term recovery. The Alabama Tornado Recovery Fund at The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham follows a model used by community foundations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. You can link to their homepage at www.foundationbirmingham.org. Please consider a gift to the ECCF Pee Dee Disaster Relief Fund so that we are poised to respond when natural disaster relief funds are needed in our own communities. Further information is available at our website www.easterncarolinacf.org or by calling 843-667-1131.

Susan B. Bankson

Executive Director

Eastern Carolina Community Foundation

234 West Cheves Street

Florence, SC 29501

843-667-1131

susan@easterncarolinacf.org

Full disclosure -- I have been on the board of the ECCF just about since the founding though my term ends at the end of May.

Some communities are not surviving, let alone finding ways to thrive

We are facing some uphill battles in the Hartsville, S. C. area as we work to grow our community but as this article on Yahoo emphasizes, things could be a great deal worse, as they are for the communities cited.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

One thing that should become apparent from an article like this is that we cannot lose focus on our need to grow and our need to continue investing in our community. We can become the preferred community of the Pee Dee Region. It will take looking beyond how we do things now to how we might approach these things tomorrow. It will take a vision that community appearance does matter. It will take realization that all of us, those with children and those whose children have grown must ensure we have the educational system that we want for our kids available to all the children. We must realize thajavascript:void(0)t sometimes it takes investment to get a return on investment. None of these ideas come easily when the economy is shaky, when headlines -by their very nature - must point to the problems.

Yet, we have to focus day after day after on building a stronger, even better community because it is that kind of laser intensity that can make surviving become thriving. Lots of people drive into Hartsville every day to work. The ideal would be that lots more people drive home to Hartsville every day after work.

Community Building takes many forms

On Tuesday, March 15, volunteers for the American Red Cross were manning phones at WIS-TV in Columbia, SC to help raise funds for the disaster in Japan. The phone lines were opened about 4:30 in the morning as WIS provided air time to help make viewers aware of both the need for funding and the opportunity of calling the phone bank based at the station. There was a strong outpouring of support. The Japanese Red Cross is a very strong organization and they requested help in the form of money because they did have the volunteers and supplies to help the devastated areas but the need for money becomes to fund this type of relief is great. The Japanese had come to the aid of the American Red Cross several times including September 11 and Katrina. Community outreach is often part of community building.

Mayor's State of the City Well Received

Mayor Mel Pennington gave a State of the City address to a crowd of close to 400 people (estimate) in the Watson Theater of the Coker College Performing Arts building on Monday, March 7. The audience was enthusiastic as the Mayor called on everyone to join hands to make this small city even greater than it is. I did see Harold Bledsoe recording the talk and that means you will be able to listen on his local Hartsville radio station.

The Mayor told those in attendance that he knew by their presence that they were interested in building an even better community and he said their efforts will be received with enthusiasm. The major thrust of his message was that a good needs everyone to pull together to become a great community and that is his vision for Hartsville. The Mayor told the audience that he thinks accountability like a State of the City is important and he wants to ensure the transparency of the city's activities as we embark on the vision of becoming a model not just for the Pee Dee but the entire state of South Carolina.

Following the Mayor's State of the City there was reception for citizens to welcome and meet Natalie Ziegler, the city manager. Those in attendance showed their appreciation for the Mayor's address with a standing ovation and many stayed around to discuss the event for sometime after the talk.

"It was just too ugly..."

On my way to the State of the City talk by Mayor Mel Pennington I happened to notice a woman at the side of the bike trail on Dunlap Road cleaning up a mess of plastic bags. Those bags had been there for a couple of days -- figured they came off a vehicle driving by. There were a lot of them and they were ugly. "I was sick this weekend so I could not get out and clean those things up. They were ugly and they filled up this entire bag (a very large trash bag.) I just couldn't stand them there," she said as she began walking back across the road to her home.

Okay, so what is the state of the city. Based on this one incident it is positive and moving up. Of course someone did dump a mess (and that is pretty darn negative, tacky and illegal) but there was a neighbor who took things into her own hands, cleaned the mess and said effectively -- NOT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. When Flossie Hopkins way Mayor of Hartsville, she would say we have a city where people do complain but they will then join forces to help solve the problem. We may hear more from Mayor Pennington about that in the Watson Theater on the Coker College campus,and as I headed to the talk, I was able to witness some very hard evidence of one person making a REAL difference. I appreciate her effort! Because that pile of trash was TOO UGLY.

State of the City (Hartsville) == ???

Mayor Mel Pennington is working to establish a new tradition for the city of Hartsville, an annual STATE OF THE CITY address by the Mayor. This seems like a really good idea from a community building and community thinking perspective.

1 -- It gives an opportunity for citizens to stop and contemplate the big question of what is the current STATE of the city.

2 -- It gives the Mayor an opportunity to focus on those areas that he or someday she consider most important for positive changes to the state of the City.

3 -- It provides an hour or so to concentrate on the bigger picture of the STATE of the city rather than on all those daily items that generally plague big-picture thinking because they have to be accomplished NOW.

As a blogger what I would like most to accomplish by a post like this is to get responses to the question -- What do you think is the state of the city?

** In a conversation this morning one business owner told me he gets a very real sense that the State of the City is turning in a positive direction. He is feeling like there is forward momentum.

** So, what is it that you are thinking when it comes to the current State of Hartsville?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You get an opportunity on Monday night, March 7 at 6 p.m. to hear Mayor Pennington discuss this question at the Performing Arts Center on the Coker College campus. Following that presentation there will be a reception for the new city manager, Natalie Ziegler.

P.U.L.S.E. Initiative to Quicken Hartsville's Push for Excellence at all levels of education

Harris DeLoach announces that Sonoco will invest $5 million in an initiative to put Hartsville area schools in competition for best in the state and maybe even the nation.




Caption -- Dr. Robert Wyatt announces a cooperative effort between the Yale Comer Project and Coker College to help make significant strides in elementary schools in the Hartsville area.




Caption -- People from many areas of the Hartsville community were on hand at Thornwell Elementary School on Monday (Feb. 20) to hear the major announcement of the PULSE initiative.



Sonoco announced this morning a major investment in an initiative called PULSE whose aim is to expand opportunities for excellence in the Hartsville area schools. This initiative is a major five million dollar investment and a combined effort of the Darlington County School District, Sonoco, Coker College, the Governor's School of South Carolina and the Comer Project of Yale University. It is an exciting innovation for Hartsville whose aim is to put Hartsville on the map when it comes to excellent schools in the State and in the nation.

The following news release comes from Coker College but you will also find a release from Sonoco that discusses their $5 million, five-year investment in this major program to push for Excellence in the Hartsville Schools.

Public-Private Partnership to Implement Comprehensive Scholastic Excellence Program in Hartsville, S.C., Public Schools

Darlington County School District, S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics,
Coker College and Sonoco Join Forces to Launch New PULSE Program

Yale University’s Child Study Center to Join Initiative with Pilot School Development Program in
Four Hartsville Elementary Schools

Sonoco to Support Programs with $5 Million Grant

Hartsville, S.C. – An unparalleled public-private partnership has been formed to implement a comprehensive scholastic excellence program in Hartsville public schools that will expand curriculum opportunities and further improve student achievement through collaborative academic and social development initiatives.

The PULSE (Partners for Unparalleled Local Scholastic Excellence) Program is a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership involving the Darlington County School District, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM), Coker College and Sonoco. Sonoco will fund the initiative through a $5 million grant that will be paid over five years.
“The P.U.L.S.E. program will set the standard for public school education in South Carolina. Through the opportunities and promise of this new initiative, the Darlington County School District can and will be
counted among the very best school districts our state has to offer,” said Dr. Rainey Knight, superintendent of education, Darlington County School District.


Yale’s Child Study Center to Help Create Pilot Elementary Student Development Program
A key component of the Hartsville PULSE initiative will be the implementation of a pilot School Development Program (SDP) at four Hartsville elementary schools that is focused on improving academic achievement and personal development. The program will be created with the assistance of Yale University’s Child Study Center Comer School Development Program, which was founded in 1968 by Dr. James P. Comer, Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry and associate dean of the Yale School of Medicine. The nationally recognized Comer SDP model has been successfully implemented in hundreds of schools in more than 20 states, the District of Columbia, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, England and Ireland. The pilot program will begin in the 2011-2012 school year in Hartsville’s Thornwell School for the Arts, Washington Street Elementary, West Hartsville Elementary and the Southside Early Childhood Center.

In future years, professional development programs for educators and multiple service-learning activities offered at Coker College via the growing Yale-Coker partnership will play a vital role in the continuing process of improvement in Hartsville.

“Development and learning are inextricably linked, but traditionally development is not intentionally addressed,” said Dr. Comer. “The School Development Program enables educators, parents and families, and community partners to support development, integrate learning, and as a result, improve academic and behavioral outcomes.”

Governor’s School, Coker College to Provide Curriculum Excellence Program
The second PULSE initiative is focused on expanding scholastic learning opportunities for eligible students in Hartsville’s secondary and high schools through collaborative teaching programs from the Hartsville-based GSSM and Coker College.

As an example, GSSM instructors will provide qualified Hartsville public school students with enhanced science, math and language classes, such as organic chemistry, advanced physics and Mandarin Chinese.

Coker College, a leading liberal arts private college also based in Hartsville, will provide college credit courses to eligible high school students in such programs as art, design, music, theater and dance.

“GSSM is a statewide residential high school for academically talented students that just happens to be located in Hartsville. As a result, there is no place we would rather make a positive educational impact than right here in our own backyard,” says Dr. Murray Brockman, GSSM president. “As a national leader in science and math education, we are excited beyond words to help implement a program that will advance the students of Hartsville in a way that exposes them to new opportunities and inspires them to reach their full potential.”

Brockman adds, “PULSE will be available to every student who meets the academic requirements, regardless of financial means, and it complements both local and statewide outreach programs already under way. Hartsville schools and our community’s commitment to education will look dramatically different in the next five years thanks to PULSE.”

“Students who aspire to scholarship at the highest levels can look forward to participating in intellectually enriching experiences in the fine arts under the mentorship of Coker’s distinguished faculty and in our unparalleled facilities, including the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center, a jewel of Hartsville named for South Carolina’s ‘First Lady of Letters,’” said Coker College President Robert Wyatt.

“And, as pleased as we are to welcome our community’s young women and men into Coker’s classrooms, we are humbled by the knowledge that working with Hartsville’s brightest young minds and with one of our nation’s strongest corporations will inspire us to strive for greater achievement as well,” he said.


Sonoco’s Targeting Education Improvement in its Hometown
Primary funding for the PULSE programs will come from a $5 million grant made over five years from Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies. Founded in Hartsville in 1899, Sonoco employs nearly 1,800 workers and has more than 750 retirees and their families living in the Hartsville area.

“We have always had a strong commitment to improving education in communities where we operate, particularly in our hometown,” said Harris DeLoach, Sonoco chairman and chief executive officer. “We believe we must continue to work with our public schools, as well as other centers for learning, to improve local educational excellence to ensure we have the workers we need to be competitive over the next century.

“In addition, we must do all we can to make Hartsville attractive to the others recruited to build our company and other businesses in the area. South Carolina, Hartsville and area businesses will not be able to grow without continued investment in education and economic development. That is why we are making this commitment to our public schools. Together we will all prosper.”

###

About Coker College
Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the “Best Colleges” in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach. For more information, visit www.coker.edu. For more information, contact Barb Steadman, Media Relations Director: bsteadman@coker.edu or (814) 397-9959

Major fire brings out best in community

caption -- Governor Haley talks about the response to the dramatic fire with Mayor Mel Pennington with Representative Jay Lucas, the chief of the Hartsville Fire Department and others who represent agencies helping to battle the blaze and its impact.



caption -- City, county, state and plant officials watch as the fire crews battle hot spots and the clean up of the fertilizer site is underway on Wednesday afternoon in Hartsville.



caption -- The disaster crew from the Red Cross was on hand for a few days helping to feed the many emergency responders who arrived in Hartsville to battle the fertilizer plant fire. This crew was from Horry County.


The following short tribute appeared on the City of Hartsville site and is just one of the many examples of people who demonstrated caring in light of the major fire at the fertilizer plant the other night:

Kudos to those who helped
by City of Hartsville, South Carolina - official site on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 4:14pm

Tragedy sometimes has a way of bringing out the best in people. According to Phil Gardner, Hartsville’s Parks and City Facilities Director, approximately 73 people stayed at the Coach T. B. Thomas Sports Center on Monday night and into Tuesday morning, February 14 and 15. These citizens were evacuated from their homes due to the fire at the former Agrium Fertilizer plant on Prestwood Lake.



In addition to the prompt response by the City of Hartsville and its employees, others in the community showed their concern as well: the American Red Cross was first to arrive at the Coach Thomas Center with cots and blankets, DSS was on hand to assist as needed, and Hartsville Councilmembers Billy Shirley, Bob Braddock and Johnny Andrews gave their full support. Community businesses of J. Michael’s Restaurant, Walmart Super Center, Coker College’s Aramak Restaurant, and McDonalds Restaurant provided various foods and water to the displaced citizens.



The Hartsville community acted quickly to help their fellow man. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the time to become involved!

Valentine's Day -- A wish for a day full of love; what would that mean to you?

A wish for a day full of love; what would that mean to you?AND Happy Valentine's Day to you --

Love of a new day as you watch dawn break this morning while walking toward the East,

Love of the continuation of life as birds of several varieties sang their almost-spring morning songs

Love of something interesting around which to twist the brain as the office door opens

Love of the challenge of healthy living in the spin room and weight room later this day

Love of the excitement that's inherent in the mundane life of a sixty-something -

where the learning of the new and yearning for the more

begins to take on the fascination demonstrated by nine-year olds.

a candy treat, a couple of "love ya" and the day is full of love

Coker Establishes “The Last Lecture Series”

Coker Establishes “The Last Lecture Series”



You go on sabbatical and miss all kinds of things. This will be a very valuable series for Coker College students. It is a really great idea.

Hartsville High Dedicates New Gymnasium

Caption -- Standing ovation for Coach T. B. Thomas and Coach Pat Hewitt





Caption -- Coach Pat Hewitt expressing appreciation for her having the new HHS gym named for her and Coach T. B. Thomas.








Caption -- Members of this year's HHS basketball teams.





The new Hartsville High Gym is named for Coach Pat Hewitt and Coach T. B. Thomas. Both of those coaches are long-time educators and extremely successful, you can say legendary, coaches on the basketball courts of Hartsville. Both Coaches spoke during the dedication and there was both a strong sense of history and a strong sense of personal, God-directed mission in their talks. Here is hoping that someone taped the presentations because when we hear the message of Hope coming from the National level in this country, both Coach Pat Hewitt and Coach T. B. Thomas gave life to that dream of hope in acknowledging how far they have seen this community move in their lifetime careers.

Coach Thomas, for example, was the athletic director, head basketball, football and baseball coach at the former Butler High School. I think he got to Hartsville in around 1951. He joined the Butler High School faculty where he stayed for until his retirement. Coach reminded the audience that his time was a different time. Butler, was one of two high schools in the small city of Hartsville. It was a time of segregation, which, truly, many of the people in the audience for the dedication, would not be able to imagine. But those were separate times. Butler, like Hartsville High, graduated students who have made significant contributions to Hartsville, to South Carolina and to the nation -- and Coach Thomas reminded the audience of that contribution. He also borrowed from Coach Pat Hewitt's talk, when he jokingly said, "Who would have thunk I would be in this position today?" Truly, a great deal has changed since 1967, the last time a new gym was dedicated in the Hartsville schools.

Coach Hewitt, who is possibly one of the most successful women's high school basketball coaches of the modern era, fought other battles. When she graduated from Coker College in the early 1970s women were not supposed to excel at athletics. When she took the job as women's physical education teacher and coach, she was not expected to craft strategies to build state champions. She was only supposed to give the girls a little bit of a physical outlet and maybe a small taste of competition. But, back then, no one want to spend any money on women's sports. In her talk at the dedication she mentioned that she lost a good bit in her early years. She had been bitten by the competition bug early and she did not like to lose. So she studied the game of basketball. Then, she worked with her peers to study more about how to develop girls into excellent athletes. She also did some study of what was called "Title IX" and lobbied hard to get more funds for girls' sports. The fact that her name is part of the new gym's name tells a great deal about her success. At one point in her coaching her girls had won 76 straight games at home. She challenged her team, which has a legitimate chance for State recognition this year, to build on the six wins they already have in their new gym and set an even more impressive record.

Truly, this dedication was an emotion-filled event. It is probably an event that can only be appreciated in a small city like Hartsville, where people do know and do care for each other and their histories and where two coaches can vocally, emotionally and faithfully give credit to their God for whatever success they have experienced in helping to develop the character of the students and players they have touched.

Coach Burry, who is also Dr. Charlie Burry, principal of Hartsville High and a native Hartsvillian, capped the event by dedicating the new gym to STUDENTS. He said this new gym is for the students of today because of what has been built by the students from Butler and the students from Hartsville High. In a very real sense he was dedicating this gym to tomorrow's students, who will most benefit by the character that today's students will build as their legacy.

Sometimes, a gym is much more than a gym, sometimes (and today was one of those times) a gym is a reflection of a community that is built as people join together in a team year, after year, after year.

Hartsvillians Pray for the community

Prayer chain stretched far down Carolina Avenue between Fourth Street and Sixth Street on Sunday afternoon as citizens prayed for the community in light of some horrible criminal incidents. The prayer chain is an example of the strength of word of mouth and social media but more importantly of the desire of people to join in making for a stronger community.

Hartsville perceptions -- the good and the bad

Last week I had the opportunity to speak with the Hartsville Kiwanis Club about the Byerly Foundation. I always enjoy being able to update groups on the Foundation and to also talk about Hartsville as part of that type of presentation. The primary mission of The Byerly Foundation is to help make Hartsville one of the best communities,anywhere, to live and raise families. So, you can see why I talk a great deal about this community in such a presentation.

For this particular talk I thought I would use a couple of minutes for a quick survey and I asked those present to give me their immediate thoughts when "Hartsville" comes to mind. I also asked them for what they perceived as the biggest problems we are facing in our community.

What are the problems?

The number one perceived problem in the Hartsville community in this unofficial poll turns out to be crime with youth gangs mentioned often. There were other issues that were at the top of mind like dilipidated buildings - particularly houses in the South Hartsville neighborhood but also some for shopping areas. The Kiwanians also noted the need to extend the city limits, to improve the entrance corridors, to improve education, and pay more attention to street paving in several areas of the city. One person said the most crucial need in the area was for more jobs. Another wondered what would now become of the Bank of American building since the bank has announced it is moving from the center of town. This summary is not exhaustive but it does give some quick idea of what is on the minds of area residents.

The other list about what comes to mind when you think about Hartsville was a positive list that includes ideas of a little city with a metro environment and progressive people willing to cooperate and collaborate. Several institutions including Sonoco, Coker College, the Governor's School and the Nuclear plant were noted in the poll. Generally these Kiwanians were positive about the resources available to continue building a great community.

What are you thinking about the issues and the resources we have for building our community. Would love to get some comments to begin such a discussion.

Professor Foster urges awareness to complete the revolution

Coker College was back to class on Monday, January 17, 2011, and took some time during the night-class hours to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Professor John Foster borrowed from the school's theme of "Redefining Ready" as he asked faculty and students to pay more attention to the need for continuing the revolutions begun with the words and action of Dr. King and those who joined him in seeking justice, equality, and inclusion in the American Dream for citizens of African descent.

Professor Foster used portions of Dr. King's final sermon about the "Man who slept through a Revolution" to urge continuing action to keep the dream of a country free of racism alive and continuing research, study and discussion so that as we continue to remember what happens when man is more concerned about what he wants and not at all concerned for what his neighbor needs. (I will admit to paraphrasing here and I know Professor Foster would love to discuss the thoughts he shared in the Watson Theater this evening in more depth with any who ask to talk.

MLK Day is about Community Building

PEOPLE TO PEOPLE of Hartsville,SC. put on the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. commemorative service at the First Baptist Church on Monday, January 17. Those in attendance were moved through words and song to look upon Dr. King's legacy as a dream in progress.

From this citizen's perspective, it is uplifting to be reminded of this dream in progress. First Baptist hosted the event this afternoon something that back in Dr. King's days would not have been possible and probably not even imagined. It did not matter the color or the creed -- those who were there were connected by the dream. All of us, from youngest to eldest, have been changed because of Dr. King. As Reginald Alford led GOD BLESS AMERICA at the end you could feel how we can now all truly come together as Americans.

There are still things to be accomplished. It is a dream in progress. That is why there are organizations like People to People of Hartsville, whose mission is to "initiate, encourage and cooperate in efforts to promote multi-racial and multi-ethnic understanding by drawing together individuals , agencies, and organizations committed to working for the betterment of the entire community." If you would like to be part of such an organization, the group meets at Florence Darlington Tec - Hartsville campus on Swift Creek Road the first Monday of every month at 5:30 p.m. Clayton Richardson is one of the forces keeping this group moving forward. You may reach him at 332-3420.

Dr. Luns Richardson, president of Morris College, and native of Hartsville was the guest speaker for the commemoration.

Discussion of the power of words is interesting

There has been a lot of discussion over the rhetoric that has been used over the past several years to tear our country apart. People on both sides pretending that their words were not meant to inspire action. Give me a break. The whole purpose of rhetoric is to inspire action. The problem is that rhetoric can inspire but often times it cannot control. The shooting of Congressional Representative Giffords is horrible and there is no one cause but I think we can all agree the shooter did not just wake up in a social vacuum one morning and decide to kill. He is responsible for his thoughts, his actions and his schema but there were a great many people whose unquestioning self righteousness helped him form those ideas. Those who have rhetorical power should understand this power and take some responsibility for the way their audience understands the words, symbols and frameworks those words help people construct.

This coming week we are honoring a Community Builder whose rhetoric helped to change the direction of our nation. He had the power of rhetoric and he used the power of rhetoric. But, the reason I am using Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example is that the rhetoric of Dr. King stood in direct contrast to the rhetoric of several other major civil rights activists and civil rights opponents. One of the major phrases in the speeches of many who were fighting for civil rights were words to the effect of "by any means possible." The reason white men as well as black men will honor Dr. King this Monday is that he cautioned against such "Means" and allowed people to see another way. His non-violent perspective did not make him popular in many civil rights groups. Contrast Dr. King's "Dream" with what we hear today and you can see and feel how rhetoric can build instead of destroy. On Monday, when we honor Dr. King, there may be more to our celebration that we might at first understand.

Welcome to BCAC

Organizations that help build community can come from all areas of our lives. The Black Creek Arts Council is one such organization and this is the connection to their new web site.




Welcome to BCAC

Thoughts on community building

This semester (from not until May)I am on sabbatical from teaching at Coker College to work and think more about community building ideas. I will be using this blog to surface some of this discussion through the months.

In Hartsville, SC, we are unique in that we have an ongoing process of community building. Sometimes the community building works and sometimes it doesn't. We are a small city that I often describe as cosmopolitan in nature. But our core, our culture, our community is at risk in this changing world.

We have to continue a focus on community building because 1)small communities are not for everyone but to grow and build you have to attract those who will choose small 2)Like so much in our lives the major strength can be a major weakness. We are home to a multi-billion dollar global packaging company that gives us a major cosmopolitan advantage but recruiting to small-town America (Hartsville) is not easy 3)we like a certain standard of life and standard of service from our government but in this age there are not many who enjoy taxing themselves for this quality we expect.

The list could probably go on as to why we need to continue to focus on building. We are good, we have a history of good but I often use the quote from a former boss -- "When you stop getting better, you stop being good."

Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute has devoted his life to helping community builders think about community building. His current blog discusses five major ideas for rebuilding America and I think his blog is worth the read.

His five points are:
1 -- Turn outward toward community.
2 -- Focus on people's shared aspirations, not the community problems.
3 -- Get people doing actual work together.
4 -- Move in a common direction that adds up to something real in the community.
5 -- Tell stories of self trust and hope.

He has a solid grasp on these ideas and anyone thinking of community building should be reading Rich's ideas -- even if you end up not agreeing.