Remarks By Governor David M. Beasley

Women of Achievement Awards Ceremony

March 5, 1998

Note: The Governor sometimes deviates from text.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker and thanks to the Commission on Women for hosting this event.

It's great to be here today to recognize some of the strongest, most influential leaders in all of South Carolina: all of whom just happen to be women.

Women's History Month is an opportunity for us to reflect not just on challenges met by women of the past, but also to salute the many achievements of women today.

And we have six outstanding ladies here who embody all the strength, sacrifice and service that is the trademark of South Carolina's women: women like Dr. Mamie Dupree, the principal of my alma mater, Lamar Elementary School. If she'd been there when I was a student there, I'd know she was one tough lady!

But both she and Wilhelmina Johnson have devoted their lives to educating children and pointing them down the roads to success.

Holly Young-Happel (HAP-ul) is using her knowledge in Asian studies to make the Nan Ya plastics plant in Lake City a success.

Kristi King and Pastor Martha Evans are rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in the lives of those less fortunate.

And Deborah Kemp, who once counted herself among that group...as a high-school drop-out and single mother on welfare...has overcome the odds. And now she's a homeowner and a respected respiratory therapist.

South Carolina's story has been written by courageous, pioneering women like these we honor today...women who represent the best, most generous, most capable and the most inspiring that South Carolina has to offer.

I actually live with another great woman who isn't getting an award today, but should be! I hope you don't mind if I brag on my wife, Mary Wood Beasley, for a moment; because even though she may not be from South Carolina, she's given more to this state
than just about anybody I know.

She's been an advocate for the poor, a leader on women's health, a voice for the children of South Carolina. And of course, she's been the best friend and mother I could ever ask for.

I'm thankful for the invaluable contributions of my own wife...and of all the mothers, wives, teachers, business leaders and activists who are leaving their mark on every facet of life in this state.

Mary Wood has also been the inspiration, as well as partner, in making the family the foundation of every policy within this administration.

While we serve this state, it's our goal to promote the integrity and the autonomy of the family, in word and in deed.

So we've worked to empower parents with tools to be self-sufficient, by cutting taxes to give families more take-home pay and by helping create new and better jobs.

We got rid of policies that tore apart families and replaced them with opportunities for families to grow stronger.

We're helping expand families' access to health care and educating parents so they can raise healthier children.

And we're raising the standards in education so our children will be able to capitalize on 21st century jobs...and support their own children one day.

Two of our members of the Commission on Women, Susan Hoag and Clara Heinsohn, also served on our PASS Commission. That's the group that drew up the set of world-class, back-to-basics standards that's become the road map for accountability in our public schools.

Because of their important work, families will soon know exactly what their children are supposed to be learning, what the teachers are to be teaching and how their schools are performing.

And when our energy is focused on excellence, we're going to push our children toward higher and higher marks of achievement.

But the most important way that Mary Wood and I seek to support South Carolina's families is by example, by supporting our own family.

My children don't need a governor and a first lady. They need a mom and dad.

And the greatest gift I can give my children far greater than anything I can buy, or any accomplishment I can earn is to daily demonstrate my love for their mother.

My wife is a woman of achievement, just like these six we recognize today and the countless others who live out the ideals of strength, service and sacrifice every day without fanfare.

South Carolina owes you a debt of gratitude for serving this state so selflessly...and for setting the pace for the next generation of Carolina women to follow.

So today, we'd like to show our appreciation by singling out just a few of our fine women leaders as South Carolina's 1998 Women of Achievement.

(Assist Clara Heinsohn in handing out awards)

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