J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Award Winners

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James R. Frazier, President
Horry County
Michael B. Cone
Executive Director
August 14, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Upon Request, Photos Will be Provided by E-Mail
CONTACT: STUART MORGAN
PUBLIC INFORMATION DIRECTOR
ABBEVILLE COUNTY WINS
SCAC’S 2014 J. MITCHELL GRAHAM MEMORIAL AWARD
Abbeville County won the 2014 J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award at the 47th Annual Conference of
the South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC), held Aug. 3–6. The J. Mitchell Graham/Barrett
Lawrimore Memorial Awards Competition was held from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3.
Abbeville County won the J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award Competition’s top award for
implementing the first Community Paramedicine Pilot Program in South Carolina. The program works with
non-governmental, private sector, and faith-based organizations to identify resources that help citizens with
non-emergent healthcare needs. The ultimate goal of the program, which reduces inappropriate utilization of
scarce rural healthcare resources, is to help citizens lead healthier and more productive lives.
“The program trains paramedics within the EMS network to serve as community paramedics, so they can
provide first line health care support to citizens with chronic conditions such as diabetes, and thus intervene
before emergencies arise,” said Dr. Robert H. Becker, the head judge for this year’s competitions when
presenting the J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award Tuesday evening, Aug. 6, during SCAC’s Annual
Conference Banquet.
“The program, which currently has 53 patients enrolled, has dramatically cut hospital readmissions and
reduced the number of high repeat visits to the community’s emergency room,” Dr. Becker added. “The
program has also been effective in enrolling qualified citizens in the federal Medicaid program, thus reducing
the extent of bad debt and non-recovered expenses incurred by the hospital and county. The quality of this
program has already been recognized by the Duke Endowment, which awarded the program one of its
prestigious rural health care grants.”
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
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for the J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award and make 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
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY (UNDER 50,000 POP.)
Anderson, Orangeburg and Chesterfield counties won Honorable Mentions.
In the largest category for counties with populations over 150,000, Anderson County won an Honorable
Mention for serving as a test community for SafeTown — a platform developed to interface with public safety
software that allows dispatchers, incident responders (law enforcement, fire, EMS), correctional officers and
the public to collaborate and share information.
Anderson County is the first county in the nation to implement the platform and the only county in the
South Carolina to hold the designation, SafeTown.
“Since implementing an innovative, interactive software platform, Anderson County has launched an
aggressive program to fully utilize the new software,” Dr. Becker said. “The program, which includes
developing household profiles, allows citizens to upload critical information about their households that can
be used in emergency situations.”
So far, more than 20,000 household profiles in Anderson County have been entered.
“The county issues regular crime alerts,” Dr. Becker said. “So, when sirens or emergency vehicles are
heard, the software explains what’s happening.”
Anderson County partnered with the PulsePoint Foundation to provide faster response to cardiac arrest
situations. The partnership involved training efforts to build a pool of CPR knowledgeable citizens and
emergency defibrillator usage. The county is now engaging local service groups, including the Boy Scouts of
America, to work with neighbors and to expand household profiles, especially among the elderly and within
special needs households.
In the category for counties with populations between 50,000 and 150,000, Orangeburg County won an
Honorable Mention for using a capital project sales tax to leverage state and federal funds and working with
the Town of Holly Hill and the local school district to rehabilitate and retrofit a long-abandoned middle
school in Holly Hill to serve as a multi-service facility.
Orangeburg County recognized the need to provide government services in Holly Hill, one of the
county’s most populated communities located 40 miles from the county seat (Orangeburg) in the outer-lying,
eastern part of the county.
“The school’s gym — which was condemned and had to be demolished — had strong, historic ties to
members of the local community,” Dr. Becker said. “But through meetings, site visits and public gatherings,
the need for the project and support for changes to the remainder of the school building gained energy.
“The county then built a facility that will function well into the future, and the community has a gained a
needed service center,” he added. “Historic ties to the community have been incorporated at the site through
signage and displays.”
In the category for counties with populations under 50,000, Chesterfield County won an Honorable
Mention for renovating an old, abandoned National Guard Armory to serve as a Sheriff’s Office, and in doing
so, turning a demoralized sheriff’s department staff into a model operation where employees now take pride
in their profession and their department.
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The renovation of the armory was originally estimated to cost $1.7 million.
But using the skills and labor of sheriff’s office staff, relying on existing supplies and equipment, and
purchasing off-the-shelf supplies, the armory was renovated at a cost of only $60,000.
“Chesterfield County faced a series of compounded problems,” Dr. Becker said. “The elected sheriff was
suspended and later indicted, and the governor’s appointed replacement faced a highly demoralized staff who
worked in deplorable facilities.
“When a run-down, abandoned National Guard Armory is your only asset, you really understand the old
adage of ‘when given lemons, make lemonade’,” he added. “The newly-appointed sheriff understood the
value of a mission, and the grit of his staff that turned the armory into a place of pride and accomplishment.”
ABBEVILLE, ANDERSON, BARNWELL AND JASPER COUNTIES WIN
2014 BARRETT LAWRIMORE REGIONAL COOPERATION AWARD
Abbeville, Anderson, Barnwell and Jasper counties won the 2014 Barrett Lawrimore Regional
Cooperation Award for Operation Help Thy Neighbor, which involved helping Barnwell County following
the disastrous winter ice storm, Pax, in mid-February 2014.
“When major emergencies arise, no county can handle a disaster alone,” Dr. Becker said. “Using the
Western Piedmont Regional Emergency Management model as a reference, this geographically diverse group
of counties — Abbeville, Anderson and Jasper — came to the aid of another county, Barnwell, that was hit
with a record ice storm and whose emergency personnel had fought a devastating main street fire less than a
day before the winter storm struck.
“Without a formal agreement, a network of colleagues assembled assets, talented people and able staffs
to overcome the crisis,” he added. “But perhaps more importantly, by doing so they proved that the triumph
of initiative and a little help from friends could create a foundation for well-being should another crisis
occur.”
ENTRIES RECOGNIZED FOR COMPETING IN THE
J. MITCHELL GRAHAM/BARRETT LAWRIMORE MEMORIAL AWARDS COMPETITION
Serving as judges for this year’s competition were: Head Judge — Dr. Robert H. Becker, Fellow and
Senior Scholar, Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Clemson University;
Dr. Kendra Stewart, Professor and Director of the Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Center for Livable Communities,
College of Charleston; and William E. Tomes, Former Director, Governmental Research and Service,
Institute for Public Service and Policy Research, USC.
On Tuesday morning, Aug. 5, during the General Session for SCAC’s Annual Conference, Dr. Becker
presented plaques to representatives of each county that participated in this year’s competition. He briefly
described each of 19 entries as SCAC President Joseph R. Branham (Chester County Council Vice
Chairman) presented the plaques.
The following descriptions are provided only for those entities that did not win:
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J. Mitchell Graham Memorial Award Competition
Aiken County — Aiken County moved into a new state-of-the-art government center to consolidate
services and provide modern conveniences to citizens. The move was a catalyst for change, presenting an
opportunity to improve the county’s branding, behavior, and perspective. As a result, Aiken County adopted a
new seal, a new slogan, new building policies, and an entirely new personnel code.
Charleston County — The Charleston County Summer Youth Employment Program provides an
opportunity for high school and college students to participate in a six-week county professional development
and workplace readiness program. Participants experience tasks and receive training that fosters professional
development and productive work styles. Successful applicants are afforded a variety of job opportunities in
Charleston County offices.
Edgefield County — Edgefield County was named the first ever “Target Zero Hero” by the S.C.
Department of Public Safety after experiencing zero traffic fatalities in 2013. This was the result of a
cooperative campaign involving the county, towns, highway patrol, and non-profit groups to decrease fatalities
by finding funding solutions for increased safety check points and patrols. The county was able to increase the
number of deputies per shift and purchase new pursuit vehicles and advanced equipment.
Greenwood County — Greenwood County’s old library building was given to the Veteran’s Affairs Office
to determine if it could be redeveloped for veterans’ assistance without becoming a burden to taxpayers. The
structure was successfully modified into a major center for veterans’ benefits and health programs, housing
the county Veteran’s Affairs Office, Lander University’s ROTC, a military museum, the local Veterans of
Foreign Wars, and many other military civic organizations.
Horry County — The abandoned historic Burroughs School in the historic district of downtown Conway
was renovated to house the new Horry County Museum. The renovation has allowed a historic structure with
sentimental value to be saved and has drawn more people to the downtown area. The museum can now
display more of its collection and hold more programs and events to better serve Horry County residents.
Lexington County — Lexington County’s plans for a new 911/Dispatch Operations and Emergency
Center became a much bigger undertaking with the realization that a more robust, secure, and durable facility
was needed to respond to the rapidly increasing service demands. The county’s planning team began a sevenyear journey, culminating in a new 16,526 square-foot, FEMA 361 compliant, and N+1 Redundant facility.
The center opened in September 2013 within budget and on schedule.
McCormick County — As a result of McCormick County’s Enhanced 911 Center Upgrade and
Replacement Project, the county is more effective and efficient in public safety service delivery. The upgraded
system includes improved communication capabilities for dispatchers, incident responders, and citizens. By
enabling 911 callers to send text messages and streaming video of incidents from smart phones, dispatchers
and incident responders will be able to deploy the county’s resources more efficiently.
Richland County — Richland County has taken a holistic approach to revamping the business processes
among multiple departments involved in land development and permitting. Five legacy systems were replaced
by a state-of-the-art GIS based software system, allowing all departments to work together under one
platform. This has allowed Richland County to be at the forefront of new technology, to streamline business
processes, and to provide excellent customer service to citizens.
Saluda County — The Saluda County Development Partnership was created to encourage development
that would create jobs and promote a more diverse economy. While this concept is not new to larger counties
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in the state, it is not common in the smaller, more rural areas. The success of the Saluda County
Development Partnership shows that counties with limited resources can impact the economy and quality of
life of the community.
Barrett Lawrimore Memorial Regional Cooperation Competition
Allendale County and the S.C. National Guard — Until recently, Allendale County’s emergency service
provider was located in different buildings throughout the county. A new $6.5 million state-of-the-art
emergency/readiness center was developed through a partnership between the S.C. National Guard and
Allendale County. A National Guard Armory building was renovated using funds from the S.C. National
Guard and the county’s one-cent sales tax fund.
Charleston County, Local Municipalities, and Fire Districts — Charleston County partnered with local
municipalities and fire districts to create a consolidated 9-1-1 center to process the approximately 287,000
emergency calls generated within the county. Twenty-one agency heads came together to develop an
operational model, while the county took the lead on construction and funding. The new center has helped
improve response times.
Dillon County, Marion County, and Marlboro County — Dillon, Marion, and Marlboro counties
recognized that regional cooperation was important for creating much needed jobs in the three-county region.
Realizing that industrial development in one county has an impact on all three counties, the counties worked
in cooperation to encourage the expansion of Harbor Freight Tools. As a result of the counties’ efforts, the
company added 1,000,000 square feet to its distribution center and will create up to 400 new jobs.
Georgetown County and City of Georgetown — After the City of Georgetown’s historic Front Street was
devastated by fire, the city partnered with Georgetown County and various state and local agencies to
advance recovery efforts. This intergovernmental partnership enabled recovery from the disaster to proceed
more quickly, with less difficulty and expense. It also limited the negative impacts of the fire.
Hampton County and Local Municipalities — The Lowcountry Regional Water System was created
through a joint effort of Hampton County and five of its municipalities to provide sustainable water service
throughout the county. The joint water and sewer system provides service to the Towns of Brunson, Gifford,
Hampton, Varnville, Yemassee, and Hampton County. This regional solution pooled existing assets and
resources to improve system operation, financial viability, and economic development opportunities.
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P.O. Box 8207  1919 Thurmond Mall  Columbia, S.C. 29202-8207
Phone: (803) 252-7255  Fax: (803) 252-0379  E-mail: [email protected]  Website: http://www.sccounties.org
Building Stronger Counties for Tomorrow
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