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TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR PAUL KIRBY, HOST OF GOOD MORNING LEXINGTON, UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AFTER YEARS OF VALUABLE BROADCASTING TO THE LEXINGTON COMMUNITY, AND TO WISH HIM CONTINUED SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN ALL HIS FUTURE ENDEAVORS.
Whereas, it is altogether fitting and proper that the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina should pause in its deliberations to express gratitude to Paul Kirby for his significant contributions to broadcasting in Lexington County; and
Whereas, born in 1963 to the late S. H. "Chip" Kirby and the late Jackie A. Kirby, Paul Kirby was a 1981 graduate of Chapin High School; and
Whereas, an Eagle Scout and a Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow, a national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America, he has lived in Lexington County most of his life, having grown up in the Chapin area on the banks of Lake Murray; and
Whereas, together with his beloved wife of twenty-nine years, Susan Jones Kirby, he reared three fine biological children: Abby, Kaitlyn, and Savannah. They also reared Shane Rawls and Zack McClure devotedly as their own children. Their children have blessed them with the affection of eight grandchildren; and
Whereas, Mr. Kirby served as a volunteer firefighter at Lexington County's Chapin Fire Station in 1982, became full time for the Lexington County Fire Service in 1983, and transferred later to the South Congaree Station. An EMT and public information officer of the Lexington County Fire Service, he attained the rank of captain and was a certified instructor for the South Carolina Fire Academy and the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, before making a career change in 1997 because of an injury; and
Whereas, for Mr. Kirby's outstanding service, he was honored with numerous awards, including Lexington County Firefighter of the Year, Lexington County's Fire Officer of the Year, and Lexington County's Fire Instructor of the Year; and
Whereas, in the early 1990s, he worked at the South Congaree Fire Station when the first word processor was purchased and he began writing on it for pleasure. After a story Mr. Kirby had written caught the eye of the South Congaree mayor, an advertising executive for Lexington County Chronicle and The Dispatch-News, the paper's editor approached Paul about writing for the publication, and he wrote a weekly column in the paper for the next nine years; and
Whereas, after leaving the fire service, Mr. Kirby started Southern Sitework Suppliers with his wife Susan, and they built it into a successful business until he retired in 2007; and
Whereas, for five years, he wrote for The Messenger, a West Columbia weekly. In 2014 he started the South West Lexington Ledger online news, later renaming it The Lexington Ledger, which covered the whole county; and
Whereas, in 2015, Mr. Kirby began a live-streaming news program called Good Morning Lexington County each weekday morning from 7:00 to 8:30, including personal interviews with people of interest to the citizens of Lexington County; and
Whereas, on May 7, 2021, he retired from Good Morning Lexington County to refocus on The Lexington Ledger's online news, and he plans to spend his retirement enjoying a newly formed micro-farm with his wife and youngest daughter on their farm in Pelion; and
Whereas, grateful for his many years of distinguished service to broadcasting in Lexington County, the South Carolina House of Representatives takes great pleasure in extending best wishes to Paul Kirby as he transitions to a richly deserved retirement and the leisurely pace of the days ahead. 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 Paul Kirby, host of Good Morning Lexington, upon the occasion of his retirement after years of valuable broadcasting to the Lexington community, 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 Paul Kirby.
This web page was last updated on May 13, 2021 at 10:13 AM