By Wendy Weinhold
Independent-Mail
May 26, 2004

Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed a proposal to give Freedom Weekend Aloft $250,000 in state money late Tuesday, but the state House of Representatives took the first step Wednesday in returning the money to the state budget.

Freedom Weekend Aloft executive director Keri Hall said she hadn’t been notified that the state Parks, Tourism and Recreation Department had allocated $250,000 in funding for the event in the first place. The balloon festival funds were among the more than $36 million Gov. Sanford vetoed shortly before midnight Tuesday.

Wednesday afternoon, the state House of Representatives voted to override the governor’s veto of the two budget items that included the Freedom Weekend Aloft money. The state Senate will consider possible override votes today.

Ms. Hall said the event in previous years has received state tourism funds, and the gifts have ranged between $10,000 and $80,000. She said the vetoed $250,000 would have been the largest state allocation in the event’s 23-year history.

Support from the local and state governments is needed, she said, but the event can’t count on public money; it always needs to plan to be self-sustaining.

"It’s always great to get that type of support, from the city, county or state, but it’s never something we plan on," Ms. Hall said. "The funding would have allowed us to market the event more aggressively, but the loss doesn’t change the outcome of the event."

While Ms. Hall seemed willing to accept the governor’s decision and move on, Anderson County Administrator Joey Preston said he was disappointed to see the governor veto funding for the largest festival in Anderson while supporting state funding for the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston.

"Gov. Sanford states he supports tourism but then vetoes funding for an event that fills every hotel room in Anderson for all of Memorial Day weekend," Mr. Preston said. "The people of the Upstate should be furious."

Wendy Weinhold can be reached
at (864) 260-1248 or by e-mail at
weinholdwm@IndependentMail.com.

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