For 25 years of service on the Bamberg Board of Public Works and City Council, Carl Kilgus, Sr. was honored with a drop-in service Thursday, May 26th with wife Betty.

Kilgus became a member of the Board of Public Works in 1996 after the demise of Board member Dr. Robert Foster when then Bamberg Mayor Virgil Hicks asked him to serve in Foster’s place. He served until 1997. After Board member James Dempsey chose not to run again for public office, Kilgus ran for the slot and has remained on the Board from 1999 to the present. “There was always something I wanted to accomplish,” Carl said.

Carl has given a large part of his adult life to the city and county of Bamberg for more than a half-century.

As owner and publisher of the long-standing newspaper, The Advertizer-Herald, he served the community for nearly 40 years.

An avid “ham” radio operator, Carl has been associated with amateur radio and the E.A.R.S. (Edisto Amateur Radio society) club for almost 50 years. A few years ago, Carl, in association with ham operator Leonard Cone and coordinated with the Director of Bamberg Emergency Services Sharon Hammond, formed and continue to work with the Amateur Radio Emergency Services Communication network, a vital link to the county in disaster preparedness.

Carl has been and is still a strong supporter of the Bamberg Fire Department and was a volunteer firefighter for 30 years. Also an active supporter of the South Carolina National Guard, he was a member of the Bamberg unit for 12 years, attaining the rank of Sgt. 1st class, but had to resign “because of important business reasons.”

“Carl has always had Bamberg as a priority in his life,” was often stated during the walk-in May 27.

Carl and his wife Betty will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in June of this year.