Monday, Jun. 08, 2009

Rantin: Attendance wins seniors free rides

Three Midlands high school seniors recently received a prize-winning reminder of the value of perfect attendance.

Taylor Patterson of Columbia High, Demertia Williams of Newberry High and Gordan Geddings of Lakewood High in Sumter each received a 2009 Chevy Cobalt as part of the Chevy Drive for Perfection program, which recognizes students who did not miss a day during the 2008-09 school year.

The three students were selected from hundreds of eligible seniors with perfect attendance from nearly 60 area schools. The trio had to endure an hour-long elimination drawing, with all the other students, at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

“I’ve been wanting a car for a long time, and God answered my prayers,” said Patterson, who was recognized at the recent Richland 1 board meeting, to which she drove in her new wheels.

The Chevy Drive for Perfection initiative was presented by Chevrolet dealers along with the S.C. Department of Education. Love Chevrolet in Columbia, Herndon Chevrolet in Lexington and Jones Chevrolet in Sumter provided the three cars.

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Terry R. Chapman, director of finance of the S.C. State Fair, has been named a certified fair executive by the International Association of Fairs and Expositions.

The certification is based on a score card of management skills, education and leadership.

Chapman was one of 12 fair executives who qualified for the distinction this year from the more than 3,200 organized fairs in the United States and Canada. She was honored in April during the annual IAFE Spring Management Conference in Seattle.

The Lexington resident came to work at the fair in 1989 part time in the entry department and was hired full time in 2002 in the financial office. She previously served as a business associate at the University of South Carolina, where she retired after 28 years.

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A Columbia police officer recently distinguished himself among the state’s top officers during training at the state’s criminal justice academy.

Officer Walter B. Parker received the J. P. Strom Award during graduation ceremonies at the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy. The award is given to the graduating class member who has achieved the highest grade-point average during the nine-week basic training program.

Parker graduated from the academy’s Basic Law Enforcement Class 537 and was presented with the award by Columbia Police Chief Tandy Carter.

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