The Walterboro Civitan Club held its September 25th meeting at Dukes Barbecue. The meeting was called to order by the ringing of the bell. Paul M Capers, Civitan President, led the meeting with the recitation of the Civitan Creed, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Invocation.
The meeting began with a brief presentation from Sue Keith about the Legislative Delegation meeting on September 29th. Keith spoke about the importance of attending the meetings. The delegation heard presentations from local officials, made an appointment to the Board of Elections and Voter Registration, and voted on the PARD (Parks and Recreation Development Fund) Grant. This grant supports recreational development in South Carolina.
Steve Atherton attended the meeting and gave a short introduction about himself and his new law firm. Atherton opened his firm earlier this month.
The highlight of the meeting was the announcement of the Dr. L Michael Padgett Scholarship for Clemson University. Padgett, a longtime Civitan was instrumental in creating and distributing the “World’s Largest Pot of Rice” at the Colleton County Rice Festival. The enormous project has raised over $300,000 dollars over the years to aid education in the Colleton County Area. Dr. Padgett was a 1975 graduate of Clemson University, following the footsteps of his father, Cy, a Clemson alumnus. He created a path for his children, Ashleigh and David, to attend the University. Dr. Padgett was a proud Clemson supporter, and his favorite times were spent in Clemson cheering for the Tigers with his family and friends. He was also an IPTAY member. The Dr. L. Michael Padgett Scholarship will be available to Colleton County residents attending Clemson University in the 2026-2027 school year.
With more than 30,000 members worldwide, Civitan International is a global organization dedicated to serving the local communities of its members.
Using the structure of building local clubs, Civitan equips its members to address local needs with local solutions.
Civitan is the only service organization dedicated to serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). This long-standing focus began as a local project in Baltimore in the 1940s when Civitan began funding specialized teachers in schools. In 1956, Civitan membership unanimously adopted service to I/DD as the major project focus of the international organization. Today, Civitan supports the Civitan International Research Center in Birmingham, Alabama where more than 100 researchers work on diseases that impact the lives of 1 in 6 people worldwide.
