Five outstanding Bamberg County citizens have been nominated for the 2007 “Waddy Thompson” Bamberg County Citizen of The Year Award. Previous COTY winners have selected one of these individuals to become the 33rd winner of this award. The following nominees will be recognized at the Bamberg County Chamber of Commerce annual banquet on Thursday, October 30, 2008, 6:30 p.m. at Denmark Technical College.

Miriam “Mikki” Ehrhardt Murden

Miriam ‘Mikki’ Ehrhardt Murden is the great granddaughter of the founder of Ehrhardt, Conrad Ehrhardt. The 74 year old says “I love Ehrhardt. I have roots here and this is my home.” For years, Murden and her daughter Marilyn Prevatte, voluntarily maintained the upkeep of the Ehrhardt Cemetery. They (Murden and her daughter) would mow the grass, edge and trim the hedges for the entire cemetery on a monthly basis. A couple of families maintained their own lots.

Occasionally, someone would make a small donation for some of the related expenses. But for the most part, Murden and her daughter furnished their own equipment and paid for all the expenses. When asked why she did this, Murden said, “People were talking about how bad the cemetery looked and wondered why nothing was being done about it. I just decided to be the one to do something about it and that is how I got started with taking care of it.”

At the age of 66, knowing that she would not be able to do this much longer and being very concerned about the cemetery’s maintenance, she decided to take it upon herself to see about long term care for the upkeep of the cemetery. In March of 2001, she approached the Ehrhardt Cemetery Committee members, James Breland and Jerry Varn, and talked to them about the upkeep of the cemetery. They immediately put her on the committee and made her secretary.

After the first meeting, everything started to fall into place. She began researching the records to locate the names and addresses of all the families of those that were buried in the cemetery. After doing this, she sent letters to the families and in the first year alone, $17,000 was raised for the Ehrhardt Cemetery Maintenance Fund.

Every year Murden sends out letters requesting funds for the Cemetery Maintenance Fund. She has since raised $56,000 in funds that are invested in bank CDs and the interest alone will pay for the upkeep of the cemetery in the future.

This is just one of the many things that she has done for the community of Ehrhardt. She has spent most all of her life volunteering in various capacities such as Meals on Wheels, President of the Lioness Club, Schuetzenfest activities, Poll Manager during elections, community fundraisers and is currently serving on the Palmetto Park Committee in Ehrhardt.

Henry C. Maynard

Affectionately known as the “Mayor of the Midway community”, Henry C. Maynard is a native of Bamberg and is a lifelong member of the Mount Carmel United Methodist Church of Bamberg. He spent most of his adult life working in New York. Upon retiring, he returned to Bamberg, South Carolina where he worked diligently to try to help improve his church and community through various organizations. He was appointed to the OCAB board to represent Bamberg County. While serving on the OCAB board.

Maynard was instrumental in securing the land for the Ujima Village and the Bamberg Head Start Center. Both of these programs have major impacts in our community. Maynard has also worked faithfully with the National Youth Sports Program that was connected with South Carolina State University and Voorhees College. He was responsible for providing transportation for children and youth for the program between 1988 and 2000.

Maynard was also instrumental in assisting the Midway community with securing rust free water for their small rural community.

Harvey Kling

Mr. Harvey Kling has been given the nickname "Mr. Red Cross" by many who know him. Kling arrived in Bamberg in 1990 and was quickly given the task of reviving the Bamberg County Chapter of the American Red Cross. He still serves as the executive director. Kling, a World War II veteran, was a member of a World Series Cincinnati Red's baseball team and earned a championship ring.

He is an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church where he is involved in several church organizations. Kling is also a member of the Lions Club, the Masons, The Bamberg Job Corps Community Relations Board, the Old Friends Golf Tournament Committee and the Bamberg County Development Board.

Because of his hard work, dedication and countless hours to the Red Cross, he has received personal congratulatory letters from former presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush. He has also been recognized by the late Senator Storm Thurmond former Senator Fritz Hollings and former Governor Jim Hodges. Kling was also awarded the Order of the Silver Crescent, the highest award to a citizen of South Carolina by Governor Mark Sanford.

Robert "Bob" Hurst Jr.

Bob Hurst is president and CEO of Phoenix Specialty Incorporated of Bamberg. He is involved in many worthwhile projects in Bamberg County. Many have been completed while others are ongoing.

Along with his wife Cindy, a couple of decades ago, Hurst was very instrumental in developing what is now the Bamberg County Soccer League. Hurst was and is still involved in a number of community activities. Some years ago, he was very involved with the Denmark Community Theater and the Denmark Dogwood Festival. He supports the MAMMAS Animal Shelter that is located in Bamberg County.

Under the umbrella of his business, Hurst has made major improvements to two community parks in Bamberg and Denmark. His company has also donated thousands of dollars to the Bamberg County Relay For Life fundraising event.

Hurst is responsible for several educational programs in county schools such as "Phoenix Bucks" that allows students to earn "school supply money" through school programs that can be exchanged at school canteens for school supplies.

Hurst also supports local booster clubs, the Bamberg County Hospital and Nursing Center Board, scholarship programs and several other important community projects. He serves as the treasurer for the Christ Episcopal Church and has been told that the position is his for as long as he wants it.

Coach David Horton

"Coach Horton has helped many boys in our community by teaching them to value sportsmanship and citizenship. His example has led a number of teenagers to become better leaders in our community and county," said Buddy Sandifer.

With 787 wins and 238 losses, Horton is the most-winning baseball coach in South Carolina. He coached teams that won the state for eight consecutive years. That accomplishment tied the national record. Horton went on to coach teams that won five additional state titles.

Horton was named State (South Carolina) Coach of the Year in 1979, 1982, 1993, and 1997. He served as the South's head coach in the state's first North/South All-Star baseball game. Horton also received many National and State awards through the years.

In 1998, Horton was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In 1982, the baseball field at Bamberg-Ehrhardt was named the David Horton Field. In 1994 the citizens of Bamberg erected a bronze plaque listing his accomplishments on the field.

Ehrhardt native, Lonnie N. Carter will be the keynote speaker for the event. Carter is president and Chief Executive Officer for Santee Cooper, South Carolina's state owned electric utility company. The Santee Cooper Board of Directors named Carter the company's eighth Chief Executive Officer on January 26, 2004. He joined Santee Cooper in 1982 as an employee in the controller's office. Since that time, he has held various positions including Manager of Corporate Forecasting, Vice President of Corporate Forecasting and Senior Vice President of Customer Service.

Chamber president Ronny Maxwell said, "We are looking forward to good community support for all five of our nominees and our keynote speaker. Each of the nominees deserves to win. I know the selection committee had a tough time choosing a winner."

Maxwell said he encourages everyone to purchase tickets early. "Seating is going to be limited to 150 people and tickets will not be sold at the door," said Maxwell.

Banquet tickets are on sale until October 28th at all town halls, chamber businesses and at the Chamber of Commerce office. Tickets are $20.00 each The banquet is being sponsored by Denmark Technical College Southern Carolina Alliance and AT&T. Call the Chamber at 245- 4427 for additional information.