The Fourteenth Annual Wilkins Awards Dinner
Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
January 8, 2019
Held on the first night of the legislative session each year and attended by political, community, and business leaders, the Wilkins Awards Dinner promotes citizenship, public service, and bipartisan governing. The Wilkins Awards are named for former Speaker of the S.C. House of Representatives and Ambassador to Canada, David H. Wilkins and honor the leadership, courage, vision, and integrity of one South Carolina legislator and one South Carolina civic leader. View this year’s program
Senator John W. Matthews, Jr. (D-Orangeburg)
2018 David H. Wilkins Award for Excellence in Legislative Leadership
The longest serving African American S.C. state legislator, Senator Matthews is known for his willingness to work with others across the aisle to support progress in education, healthcare and economic development, and he is held in the highest regard by his fellow members of the General Assembly. Currently, he serves on seven Senate committees: Agriculture and Natural Resources; Banking and Insurance; Corrections and Penology; Education; Ethics; Finance; and Interstate Cooperation.
Charlotte Berry, chair of Volunteers of the American Red Cross of Columbia
2018 David H. Wilkins Award for Excellence in Civic Leadership
As national chair of Volunteers of the American Red Cross, as a founding member of Women in Philanthropy, and through service on numerous boards of community organizations, Charlotte has championed the displaced, disenfranchised, and disaffected. Charlotte believes strongly in the importance and efficacy of collaboration, and she has spent a lifetime working with others in service to her community.
Many thanks to our generous sponsors of the fourteenth annual Wilkins Awards Dinner
Benefactor
Partner Sponsors
- BMW Manufacturing Company
- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
- SC Biz News
- Southern Current
- Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System
Friend
- AT&T
- Clemson University
- Charleston School of Law
- The Duke Endowment
- Duke Energy
- Institute for Child Success
- Michelin North America
- MidlandsBiz
- Piedmont Natural Gas
- Prisma Health
- Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties
- South Carolina Council on Competitiveness
- SC Education Oversight Committee
- South Carolina Hospital Association/ MUSC
- South Carolina Primary Health Care Association
- University of South Carolina
Our great thanks to these Sustaining Sponsors, who support the work of the Riley Institute throughout the year
Sustaining Sponsors
- Dick Riley
- Lindsay and Billy Webster