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TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR ROBERT F. BOWLES, ADMINISTRATOR OF SALUDA NURSING CENTER, UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AFTER FORTY-FIVE YEARS OF OUTSTANDING SERVICE, AND TO WISH HIM CONTINUED SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
Whereas, the members of the House of Representatives have learned that Robert F. Bowles will begin a well-deserved retirement after forty-five years as the distinguished and highly-regarded administrator of Saluda Nursing Center (SNC), which also included the operation of the Saluda County Ambulance Service; and
Whereas, in the proud tradition of sons of the Palmetto State, he served in the United States Naval Reserves from 1963 to 1970 as a hospitalman, with two years on active duty; and
Whereas, Mr. Bowles earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and major-management from the University of South Carolina in 1970 and became the administrator of SNC; and
Whereas, under his leadership, SNC, a county-owned, non-profit facility, experienced a period of growth and improvements in services to its residents, growing from forty beds, with which it opened in 1968, to one hundred seventy-six beds in 1992; and
Whereas, an addition and remodeling project in 2014 expanded the rehabilitation department, and SNC was renamed Saluda Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. The board honored Mr. Bowles by naming the new therapy gym The Bowles Rehabilitation Department; and
Whereas, in 1978, he published an article in the Journal of the American Health Care Association on Professional Standards Review Organization and worked to eradicate the program while President Reagan was in office; and
Whereas, throughout Mr. Bowles' administration, SNC has been recognized by many organizations as one of the finest facilities in the State and earned note from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for best practices; and
Whereas, included in his prolific service to his profession, he served as a member of the Executive Board of the South Carolina Health Care Association (SCHCA), president of the Central Council of SCHCA, president of the Conference for Hospital Related and Non-Profit facilities, president of the South Carolina Nursing Home Association and currently an active member of its board of directors, chairman of the Non-Profit Nursing Home Committee for Region III of the American Health Care Association, and member of the South Carolina State Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators; and
Whereas, his numerous honors for service include the President's Award from the SCHCA in 1977, the 2003 Warren D. McBride Award for his work to advance EMS in the State, South Carolina Administrator of the Year in 2013 from the South Carolina Association of Nutrition and Food Professionals, Saluda County Farm-City Citizen of the Year in 2015, and the Palmetto Patriot Award presented by Lieutenant Governor André Bauer; and
Whereas, deeply committed to his community, he has served on the board of visitors for Piedmont Technical College, as a president for the Saluda Jaycees, as a member of the Saluda County Chamber of Commerce and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and as a past chairman of the Saluda County Republican Party. Late in 2015, they donated the property from their two small businesses to the Town of Saluda for the enrichment of the town's amenities; and
Whereas, a faithful member of Mt. Pleasant Lutheran Church since 1976, he has served on the church council, finance board, and evangelism board and is the current president of the church's Lutheran Men in Mission; and
Whereas, he and his beloved wife of forty-seven years, the former Ann Rushton, reared two fine children, Robby and Mary Lynn, who have blessed their parents with four adoring grandchildren; and
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is grateful for the years of unparalleled dedication that Robert Bowles has devoted to Saluda Nursing Center and to the well-being of some of our state's most vulnerable citizens, and the members wish him years of enjoyment in his well-earned retirement. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Robert F. Bowles, administrator of Saluda Nursing Center, upon the occasion of his retirement after forty-five years of outstanding service, and wish him continued success and happiness in all his future endeavors.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Robert F. Bowles.
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