Sanford and S.C. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom will present the money to Beaufort Mayor Bill Rauch at a 10:30 a.m. press conference outside the air station's main gate. Eckstrom is chairman of the governor's statewide military base task force.
Eckstrom said the $50,000 is part of the $575,000 appropriated by the General Assembly this year to fight base closures statewide.
In May, Sanford presented Beaufort, Sumter, Charleston and Columbia with $50,000 each to help the cities protect their installations.
"We wanted to encourage fund-raising at the local level," Eckstrom said. "It was like seed money."
By the end of the month, he said, Columbia, Charleston and Sumter also will receive an additional $50,000 each.
The Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort could be closed as part of the next round of cuts by the U.S. Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure process. Federal officials are expected to close 25 percent of U.S. military installations in 2005, Eckstrom said.
"The cuts are going to be so massive, there is talk that they will shutter some of the bases," Eckstrom said.
By closing but holding onto the vacant bases, the government would deprive local cities of land redevelopment options available to base communities affected by previous base closings.
Collectively, the air station, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Naval Hospital Beaufort are the area's largest employers, contributing an estimated $430 million annually to the local economy, according to a study commission by the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce.
"This shows the governor's support and understanding of the importance of the base to everyone in the state," said Rauch.
Rauch and other members of the chamber's Military Enhancement Committee will use the state money to help pay for a Washington, D.C., lobbyist, as well as trips by local citizens to lobby members of Congress and military officials.
Next Friday, in fact, Rauch will fly to Washington, D.C., to speak to lawmakers on the issue.