Committee Report

April 5, 2023

S. 589

Introduced by Senators Stephens and Hutto

S. Printed 04/05/23--H.

Read the first time March 13, 2023

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The committee on House Invitations and Memorial Resolutions

To who was referred a Concurrent Resolution (S. 589) to request the Department of Transportation name the portion of Homestead Road in Orangeburg County from Cow Castle Creek to its intersection with State Road 38-168, etc., respectfully

Report:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and recommend that the same do pass:

DENNIS MOSS for Committee.

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A concurrent RESOLUTION

TO REQUEST THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NAME the portion of HOMESTEAD ROAD IN ORANGEBURG COUNTY from cow castle creek TO ITS INTERSECTION WITH STATE ROAD 38-168 "WEATHERS FAMILY HIGHWAY" AND ERECT APPROPRIATE SIGNS OR MARKERS Along this portion of highway CONTAINING THESE WORDS.

Whereas, through four generations of farmers the Weathers Family has been a force and pillar in Orangeburg County, its Town of Bowman, and the State; and

Whereas, the now two-thousand acre Weathers Farm was started in Bowman in 1927 by George Whetsell Weathers as a dairy business. A son of Lamar G. and Mopsie E. Whetsell Weathers, George attended The Citadel, was a veteran of World War I, and worked in the mercantile business with his father; and

Whereas, George served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and was the first Director of the Interstate Commerce Commission. A thriving entrepreneur, he owned and operated the Bowman Telephone Company, and operated the farm and dairy with his family that included wife Gladys, a daughter, Virginia, and sons George Jr., and Lawrence. He was a member and past president of the Carolina Power and Farm Equipment Dealers Association and a founding member of Bowman Southern Methodist Church, where he served in many capacities; and

Whereas, Lawrence Martin Weathers grew up surrounded by the family dairy business. Like his father, Lawrence attended The Citadel, and served in the military as an Army sergeant in Italy in the European Theatre of Operations during World War II; and

Whereas, he served as President of Weathers Farms Incorporated, as Director for the South Carolina Farm Bureau Dairy Division, on the Orangeburg County school board, and as a board member for Edisto Farm Credit Bank, Orangeburg County Development Board, and the Palmetto Milk Producers Association; and

Whereas, he received Clemson University's Leadership Award, was inducted into the Dairy Hall of Fame in 1990, was named Electric Cooperatives Man of the Year in 1968, and was selected to the Marquis' Who's Who in America; and

Whereas, he was a charter member of Bowman Southern Methodist Church where he served on the Board of Stewards and as a Sunday school teacher for thirty-three years. Lawrence and his wife, Frances, raised four children on the dairy farm - Lawrence known as Landy, Virginia, John, and Hugh, who would continue the family tradition; and

Whereas, Hugh currently is a farmer and elected official, serving as South Carolina's Commissioner of Agriculture. He grew up on Weathers Farm, graduated valedictorian from Bowman Academy, and earned degrees in accounting and finance from the University of South Carolina. He joined the family dairy business in 1980 and later assumed management of the farm with his brother Landy. The Weathers enterprise also includes Weathers Trucking Incorporated and Circle W Farms; and

Whereas, as agriculture commissioner, Weathers sought to expand consumers access and reliance on local produce. He also oversaw the creation of the branding "Certified SC Grown" to highlight state-grown produce. His many affiliations include the United Dairy Industry Association, South Carolina Dairy Association, Greater Bowman Business Development Council, and the South Carolina DHEC Task Force on Livestock Regulations. He was inducted into the South Carolina Dairy Hall of Fame in 2011, followed by his brother Landy, who was inducted in 2013; and

Whereas, the family farm now is solidly in the capable hands of Lawrence Landrum Weathers, Jr., the fourth generation to make his mark on the community and the State. A graduate of Bowman Academy, he went on to earn a bachelor's degree in agricultural mechanization and business at Clemson University. In keeping with the family tradition of public service, Landrum served on the Bowman Town Council and is a past president of the Orangeburg County Farm Bureau. He currently serves on a number of statewide study committees dealing with water regulation for the State. In addition to farming all of the family land, he owns a vegetative maintenance business, primarily maintaining three solar projects in Orangeburg County; and

Whereas, it is only proper and fitting that members of the General Assembly pay homage to the Weathers, a family who has dedicated their lives as public servants and to the betterment of South Carolina's agricultural community by naming a portion of road in the Town of Bowman in their honor. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, request the Department of Transportation name the portion of Homestead Road in Orangeburg County from Cow Castle Creek to its intersection with State Road 38-168 "Weathers Family Highway" and erect appropriate signs or markers along this portion of highway containing these words.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Transportation.

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