On Saturday, the Network’s board and key allies met in Columbia and online to get acquainted and to map plans for the coming three years. The meeting, a mix of business and fellowship, marked the beginning of a new chapter in the 27-year-old organization’s history.
Brandon Upson, the Network’s interim executive director, said the retreat “was inspiring. I’ve never seen a group with the diversity we have work so seamlessly together. We pushed each other to think bigger, and came out with a very clear direction of where we’re going next.”
Outgoing Executive Director Brett Bursey said, “Our transition has been slow and deliberate because we wanted to do it right rather than right now. We worked hard to update our 25-year-old bylaws and to tap new leaders to take the Network to the next level. The payoff of that process was evident on Saturday.”
The Network’s staff and boards of our Education Fund and individual members were joined by Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter and staff from her emerging Gilda Cobb-Hunter Center for Civic Engagement and Leadership, as well as organizers from the Union of Southern Service Workers and Campus Workers United. These organizations are collaborating to expand the capacity and maximize the reach of the Missing Voter Project, the program the Network launched in 2004 targeting key communities with unique messaging and data specific to neighborhoods across South Carolina.
“I was pleased to see such a strong presence from the labor movement as well as elected officials and freedom fighters from different parts of the state,” said Mary Geren, who is spearheading fundraising for the Network. “It was awesome to see and feel the enthusiasm in the room for this next chapter of the SCPN’s mission to promote social justice in every corner of South Carolina! The work won’t be easy, but with such a talented and dedicated team, it is achievable.”
The afternoon was spent brainstorming, setting timelines, defining priorities, and outlining strategies to expand funding and membership. Business included confirming five new members to the board: Anson Foster, Jeanne Hammock, Chris Salley, Allison Terracio, and Lee Turner. We also welcomed Fellows Kwalee Bryant and Charlotte Martin, recent graduates from a three-month training with the USSW. You can see full list of board, staff, and advisors on our web site.
After the meeting wrapped, everyone was invited to share a meal prepared with love by Columbia chef and Network member Joe Turkaly.
Some of the Network’s more seasoned board members are relieved to see the forward momentum after building renovations and pandemic restrictions put our work on pause for several years. Treasurer Shannon Sylvester — who most of our members know as Shannon Herin, but who just recently married fellow Modjeska Simkins School graduate Richard Sylvester —left the meeting excited and hopeful. “It was inspirational. There were lots of energized, new faces. Like, wow! I felt like I visited the future.”
Russell Bannan 
Rick Patelunas 
Chris Salley 
Brandon Upson 
Word of your progress warms my heart this holidays’ season as the cause has been worthy, members dedicated, and leadership inspired, as well as volunteer staff committed for the “duration”.
Some of Larry’s Darlington County siblings and their families have recovered from early Covid infections (one sister-in–law’s death an exception while another died of multiple issues including diabetes), my Columbia trips are sparce though my involvement in area leadership continues for the county Coordinating Council, county League of Women Voters, and – for me, in Community and my church choirs. Larry and I continue our commitment to at least an annual CA family car visit. Friends of long ago are dying, one just learned about this morning, despite our surviving.
Expect our annual contribution/membership soon. Do keep the faith while recruiting youth to carry on in future. Sheila Haney
See above message I signed. Thanks, Sheila