The purpose of CI’s Colleton Leadership Awards is to recognize Colletonians who are making our community a better place to live and look good and create and maintain an active intern program to help preteens to young adults gain experience from experienced professionals. The three awards presented were: the Unsung hero award, the Professional of the Year award, and the Community Champion Award.
The Unsung Award was presented to Ginny Bishop of The Colleton County Chamber of Commerce. This award focuses on the person without the big title but does so much for the organization and gets little to no recognition. This could be a paraprofessional, clerk, board member, or anyone who does it all with little or no pay to accompany their services. Mrs. Bishop is the Business and Communication Specialist at the Chamber of Commerce. She takes care of the business associated with the Chamber and assists Stewart McAdoo (Chamber Director) with performing his duties as well. Ginny is very friendly to everyone she encounters and is willing to aid members of the community.
The Professional of the Year Award was given to Doris Taylor. This award is presented to a leader or member of the community who leads or serves in an organization well. This person takes the community or organization to new heights and displays great leadership ability and has great community influence. Ms. Taylor is a respected professional serving 28 years working at South State Bank. She is currently the Senior Financial Representative/Lender. She has won several “Best of the Best Customer Service Representative” awards from The Press and Standard. Taylor is active in the community and shows courtesy, respect, and kindness to all those she meets.
The Community Champion award went to Travis Godley. This award is given to someone who has served decades or perhaps longer to community causes. The award reveals this person’s commitment to their community. Mr. Godley has volunteered in children’s organization his entire adult life. He has worked with an organization that builds bicycles for children at Christmas in Missouri. As an officer in the Lion’s Club in Ohio he hosted many events to raise money for children’s programs. He has opened his home to foreign exchange students also. In Colleton County Godley was instrumental in supporting and building the Illustrate-A-Book program. He is an active member of the Scouts and supports members of all ages. Godley was also named as the ambassador for Colleton County by the Governor. He has also served three years as an officer in the Elks organization and is President of the Friends of the Colleton County Memorial Library.
