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Exceptional. Energetic.
And always working to make Lexington better.
In every great group there are those who do more than the rest. Each year the Greater Lexington Chamber honors a few hard-working people with prestigious awards, many named for the visionary Lexington leaders who came before them. Please make sure to introduce yourself to these extraordinary people when you see them.
2012 Small Business Person of the Year
Mandy Summers, owner of M. Gallery Interiors, is the 2012 Small Business Person of the Year. A certified interior decorator with a degree in international business and political science, Summers opened her urban industrial gallery in the Old Mill just weeks after the 2008 stock market crash. Undeterred, she and her family and friends gutted her new space and created a colorful retail interiors store and gallery for painters, photographers and sculptors.
In her quest to promote the Old Mill and “bring Columbia to Lexington,” Summers has organized art crawls, opened her gallery for charitable events and “Meet the Artist” nights, and is forming a merchants guild. She has donated art and furnishings to numerous non-profit groups for fundraisers, including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, The Children’s Trust of South Carolina, Special Olympics, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and several Lexington schools. She has donated her decorating services to the American Cancer Society’s Dream Homes program and Make-a-Wish Foundation. As a member of the Lexington Beautification Foundation, Summers is helping design a downtown memorial.
A single mother of two, Summers earned her certification in interior decorating from Midlands Technical College. She worked for Chris Metz Interiors before opening M. Gallery Interiors, which now has a waiting list of artists who want to show their work in her space.
H. ODell Harmon REACH Award
Named for an influential Lexington District One school superintendent, The Recognizing Educational and Community Humanitarianism Award was established to honor someone who has made significant contributions to the Chamber, the local educational system and the community. To win the REACH award, recipients must be current or previous Chamber members.
Ted McGee, Jr. has been a community servant for decades. “Never hesitate to give back to the community where you have been blessed” has been his longstanding motto. He’s worked to improve the lives of children at the Carolina Children’s Home, the Shriners’ hospitals for the crippled and burned, the Babcock Center, and Glenforest School for children with learning differences. McGee has helped educate children in Nigeria, and helped organize a Midlands-area program that assists adult students to earn their GEDs in six weeks.
Besides helping the homeless and letting new churches hold services on his property, McGee donated land for Lexington County’s Main Library. A 2011 recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, McGee is Lexington’s 2005 Small Business Person of the Year. His family, McGee Real Estate Company, is a former South Carolina Small Family Business of the Year.
A.L. Harmon Award
Outstanding individual service and support of the Chamber is recognized with the A.L. “Layman” Harman Award. Harman, a Gilbert superintendent and principal, later was recruited to become the Chamber’s director. The recipient of his namesake award is a volunteer who helps the Chamber succeed in its primary mission to promote and serve the business community.
Brian Dodge, general manager of Wal-mart in Red Bank, has been a steadfast contributor to Chamber projects and events. He and his company have supported the Doris Burkett Scholarship Fund, provided items for the annual Oyster Roast and Auction, and donated a television to aid the Chamber’s Helping a Family Within Our Family project. Dodge also supports the Children’s Miracle Network and serves on the Chamber’s Board of Directors.
Ambassador of the Year
Melanie Sandor, AllSouth Federal Credit Union
Sandor accumulated an impressive number of points for her work helping the Chamber. Besides attending a record number of ribbon cuttings, Business After Hours and Breakfast meetings, she made numerous member contacts personally and by phone. Willing to accept last-minute projects, Sandor also helped with the annual Teacher Recruitment Fair, Business Expo, Kid’s Day of Lexington, Small Business Celebration, both Chamber golf tournaments and the Oyster Roast and Auction “down by the river.”
And, as Ambassadors Chair Nancy Hutto put it, “she achieved all of this with a calm demeanor and a smile on her face!”
Chairman's Award
The Greater Lexington Chamber’s Chairman’s Award was established to honor an individual who has made significant contributions to the community as a whole. The recipient doesn’t have to be a Chamber member; however he or she must have accomplished one or more positive things for the local citizenry. The Chairman’s Award is given at the annual Business Meeting in June.
Scott Adams, Vice President and General Counsel for Prysmian Cables & Systems, championed bringing Amazon.com to Lexington County after the SC General Assembly voted down a sales tax collection exemption that would have kept the online retailer here. Adams organized press conferences, and educated citizens and lawmakers about how Amazon could improve the lives of the unemployed in South Carolina. His energy and political know-how led to a dramatic reversal in the statehouse. Thanks to Adams, thousands of unemployed people will have jobs. Adams is the 2010 recipient of the H. O’Dell Harman REACH Award.
Honoray Chairman's Award
Halfacre, president/CEO of the Greater Lexington Chamber and Visitors Center, was recognized with this rare award for his calm leadership during a turbulent year. To make sure the MidState region of South Carolina won’t be overlooked when big businesses consider moving here, he helped form the MidState Chambers Coalition. This group of 19 Chambers from 11 counties will work on regional cooperation and public policy. Halfacre is the group’s spokesperson.
Halfacre also was instrumental in marshaling local business people and citizens to support bringing Amazon.com, with its promised 2,000 jobs, to Lexington County. He worked tirelessly to help get legislation passed that would allow the online retailer exemption from collecting and remitting state sales taxes. After a landslide loss, the legislation later was passed in a landslide victory.
Doris Burkett Scholarship
Pamela "Brooke" Dawkins, a Gilbert High School senior, is the 2012 recipient of the Doris Burkett Scholarship. The daughter of Lisa and Chris Dawkins, Brooke will study nursing at USC Beaufort. Her goal is to be a Nurse Practitioner Oncologist.
Brooke is an active member of the GHS chapter of Health Occupation Students of America. She also volunteers at SC Oncology, Lexington Interfaith Community Services, plays volleyball, and is a member of the National Beta Club. She works at Crossroads Animal Hospital. She's chosen oncology as her field of study because many of her family members have had cancer.