Prestigious Award Recognizes Distinguished Service in the Pee Dee Region

The Marion Medallion is an award with some real heft to it.

The gold-plated, bronze medallion weighs five pounds and often surprises recipients when it is handed to them. It’s not lightweight.

And neither are the people who receive it.

In the just more than 10 years since the award was created by Francis Marion University and the Florence Morning News, it’s been awarded to an astonishing array of community heroes. Some have toiled away for years in the guts of local nonprofits. Others have dedicated their lives to children or other fragile elements of society. Some used their resources to set examples of powerful philanthropy.

All have delivered “distinguished service to the people of the Pee Dee,” which is the sole criteria for the award and the phrase that is etched on the medal itself.

The award, which is named after Revolutionary War hero General Francis Marion, was created in 2012 through collaboration by FMU and the Morning News. The initiative was born from the Interstate 95 Corridor Human Needs Assessment, a joint project developed by FMU and South Carolina State University.

The 2009 study, which included an extensive survey of residents of the area, determined that the 17 counties along I-95 from North Carolina to Georgia (that is, the counties that touch I-95 in South Carolina) suffered underdevelopment, especially in comparison to other counties along the 1,924-mile interstate corridor that runs up and down the east coast.  Problems identified ranged from struggling schools to cyclical poverty.

The study identified six fundamental priorities for the region. Among those was to bring attention to good work being done in the region, especially as it pertained to the connection between local leadership, the business community, and philanthropy.

The Marion Medallion proved a terrific answer to that challenge, says FMU President Fred Carter, and the day it is awarded each year — Feb. 27, General Marion’s official state holiday — has become something of a local holiday.

“The Marion Medallion is the signature public service award in the Pee Dee Region,” says Carter. “The prestige surrounding continues to grow, as does the interest in the community. FMU is proud to have played a role.”

The first Marion Medallions were presented in 2012 to Kathy Baxley, Henry Johnson and Heyward King.

There is no official nominating process for the awards. A small committee, consisting of senior leadership at the two sponsoring organizations (FMU and the Morning News) confer and make the selections.

There’s no set number of medallions awarded each year, and the criteria is deliberately broad. But Carter says the winners always share some similarities.

“First, they are always reluctant to receive the honor,” says Carter. “Secondly, when people read the names of the Marion Medallion winners each year they say, ‘Of course, they should have received the Medallion.’ That’s part of the tradition.”

Over the years, 31 people or organizations have been awarded the Marion Medallion.

Most recently, businessmen Jim Brown and Tim Norwood and former Florence City Councilor and community activist Pat Gibson-Hye Moore received Marion Medallions during a ceremony at the Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center.