A house RESOLUTION

 

to recognize and honor Hugh Leon McColl, Jr., the former Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, and to commend his generous philanthropy to South Carolina.

 

Whereas, Hugh McColl, Jr., was born in Bennettsville in 1935 to Hugh Leon McColl, a cotton farmer and banker, and Frances Pratt Carroll McColl, an artist, and was reared in a loving home of Scottish Presbyterian descent with a sister and two brothers; and

 

Whereas, a fourth-generation banker, Mr. McColl became active in banking around 1960 and was a driving force behind consolidating a series of progressively larger, mostly Southern banks, thrifts, and financial institutions into a super-regional banking force. The acquisitions and mergers which he oversaw have been described as the most significant banking story of the late twentieth century; and

 

Whereas, he began working part-time at age fourteen for the Marlboro Trust Company and his father's cotton company, McColl Cotton Mills, where he learned to keep books, securing payments, learning double-entry accounting, and driving across North and South Carolina to make deposits; and

 

Whereas, Mr. McColl was elected student council president at Bennettsville High School and class president in 1953, his senior year, and was voted Best All-Round Boy in his senior class. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and joined the United States Marine Corps, serving a two-year tour of duty. After he was honorably discharged, he went to work as a management trainee for American Commercial Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina; and

 

Whereas, in 1959, he married his beloved wife, Jane Bratton Spratt McColl of York, the sister of former Congressman John Spratt. Together they reared three children: Hugh Leon McColl III, John Spratt McColl, and Jane Bratton McColl Lockwood.  His children blessed them with the affection of eight loving grandchildren; and

 

Whereas, Mr. McColl has supported a broad range of academic, civic, and arts causes for Charlotte, many of which philanthropic contributions have focused on his family; and

 

Whereas, in 1991, he purchased, restored, and relocated one of his great-grandfather Duncan Donald McColl's homes in Bennettsville and then donated it to Marlboro County. It became a new home for the Marlboro County Chamber of Commerce and The South Carolina Cotton Trail. In 1998 and 2004, he and his wife donated four hundred acres on the Catawba River in York County near Rock Hill for an environmental museum, with building design by architect William McDonough; and

 

Whereas, Mr. McColl's singular work in business and banking has been honored with numerous prestigious awards. He entered the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1990; in 1997, he was voted Tarheel of the Year; in 2005, he entered the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame; and in 2007, entered the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame; and

 

Whereas, for his philanthropy, he was named "Family Champion" by Working Mother magazine in 1993 and earned the Pioneer Award from the Organization for a New Equality in 1996 and the Applause Award from Women's Business Enterprise National Council in 2001. In 2005, he received the Echo Foundation Award Against Indifference, founded in 1997 to carry the message of Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, a call to action for human dignity, justice, and moral courage. In 2008, he was named South Texan of the Year, and in 2009, he won the North Carolina Award for public service; and

 

Whereas, Mr. McColl's philanthropy in South Carolina has greatly enhanced life and prosperity in the Palmetto State, and the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives deeply appreciate his meaningful contributions in so many areas. 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 Hugh Leon McColl, Jr., the former Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, and commend his generous philanthropy to South Carolina.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Hugh Leon McColl, Jr.

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