2021 Green Tie Awards Program

Conservation Voters of South Carolina Welcomes You to the 13th Annual

Honoring Conservation Leadership and Achievement Wednesday, September 22, 2021 6:30pm

2021 Honorees Senator Sandy Senn Representative Marvin Pendarvis Representative Shannon Erickson Kelly Thorvalson

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From the CVSC Board Chair On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of Conservation Voters of South Carolina, I welcome you to the 2021 Green Tie Awards.

The men and women we honor this evening are champions of our environment and have each demonstrated the progress that can be made when our leaders and communities come together in support of a common goal – protecting South Carolina’s air, land, and water. Their efforts have helped bridge political, economic, racial, and geographic divides to help build a safer, healthier, and more prosperous Palmetto State.

We are thankful for their work, their leadership, and their vision. We know that their commitment to protecting South Carolina’s most precious natural resources will inspire not only those of us here virtually tonight, but also future generations of leaders who will work to protect the South Carolina we love.

CVSC is a political and uncommonly bipartisan conservation organization.

We educate candidates and the voters who elect them; we hold our elected leaders accountable; and we help unify the voices for conservation across the state, all toward protecting clean water, clean air, abundant wildlife, family farms and forests, and promoting efficient and clean energy.

In 2021, CVSC’s work was guided by our organization’s core values: being an influential voice in the South Carolina Statehouse; bipartisanship; environmental justice and equity; and the advancement of climate solutions.

We drove bold, forward-looking policy conversations about conservation.

We helped pass landmark legislation with the Santee Cooper reform bill and were once again able to push back against risky industries trying to avoid environmental oversight. Our successes in 2021 are a testament to conservation’s bipartisan appeal and approach that CVSC and our partners were able to make progress on big conservation issues during a legislative session overshadowed by the impacts of COVID-19.

Advancing pro-conservation policy in the General Assembly can be done only with a strong conservation network across the state. Despite the challenges of the past year and the political turmoil facing our state and nation, South Carolina’s conservation community stands together, stronger than ever.

Thank you for standing with us.

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As you enjoy tonight’s virtual awards program and celebrate the achievements of our 2021 Green Tie Award winners, I encourage you to make a commitment to the future of conservation in South Carolina by making a gift to CVSC. Just as your voices and influence create results, your financial contributions to CVSC also make a difference. I call on each person viewing tonight to help CVSC pursue the vision for a South Carolina that values and protects our waterways, pristine landscapes, iconic shorelines, and the clean air we breathe. Help us empower every South Carolinian to have a voice in the decisions which impact their future. Please step out in generosity to make our state a place that we continue to be proud to call home.

I know you will enjoy this evening’s awards program! As for me, a lifelong South Carolinian, I am proud that in our state, no matter our religion, education, race, political affiliation, gender, or net worth, we understand that what we have here in the Palmetto State is priceless -- and that is, some of the most beautiful places on our Planet Earth. Please be proud to remember tonight that each of you, personally, makes the victories, progress, and celebrations possible.

Cynthia Powell Chair, Board of Directors Conservation Voters of South Carolina

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Table of Contents Letter from the CVSC Board Chair............................................................ 3 Table of Contents........................................................................................... 7 Letter from the Education Fund Chair.................................................... 9 Sponsors......................................................................................................... 11 Board of Directors and Staff.................................................................... 13 2020 Green Tie Award Honorees........................................................... 17 Previous Honorees....................................................................................... 25

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FROM THE EDUCATION FUND CHAIR Good evening!

Welcome to the 13th annual Green Tie Awards celebration. I graciously thank all of you for tuning in tonight – we are excited to have you here, and we have a lot to celebrate.

In 2021, the CVSC Education Fund (CVSCEF) achieved significant milestones in our efforts to protect South Carolina’s air, land, and water.

• Collected thousands of ratepayer signatures on a petition submitted to the Public Service Commission (PSC) and helped to drive hundreds of solar customers to testify at the PSC, both in opposition to Dominion’s industry-killing rooftop solar proposal.

• Educated businesses, grassroots advocates, and grasstop leaders on the importance of long-term utility planning at the PSC, highlighting critical opportunities to engage in discussions regarding coal-heavy Dominion and Duke Plans. Following our education and grassroots advocacy efforts, the PSC rejected Duke and Dominion’s coal-dominated long-term generation plans and rejected Dominion’s solar-killing net metering proposal.

• Developed new partnerships for energy justice work and convened a South Carolina Energy Justice Coalition that aims to reduce unaffordable energy burdens for households across the state.

• Worked with new and existing land protection partners to begin to re‑imagine what land protection can look like in South Carolina and how we build a more accessible and inclusive toolbox for land and water protection.

• As a leading voice for the environmental community, CVSCEF was invited to join conservation, industry, business, and regulated entities on the Environmental Protection Subcommittee of SHaPE SC – a task force created this year to review whether reform or restructuring is needed at SC DHEC. I am energized by this work and ready to keep up the fight for conservation in South Carolina.

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We will continue to fight to double the amount of protected land and water in South Carolina by 2050. We will continue to educate communities about the environmental issues impacting their health and wellbeing. And, we will continue to work towards access to clean, affordable energy for all South Carolinians.

I am confident that, with the support of conservation supporters like you, we will succeed.

Thank you!

Akin Watson Chair, CVSC Education Fund Board of Directors Member, CVSC Board of Directors

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2021 Green Tie Award Sponsors EMERALD Arnold M. Nemirow* Google

OceanaGold Haile Operation Southern Current

OLIVE Charles River Labs Greenville Water* Luck Companies

Deer Park Elliott Close – The Pump House Restaurant

SAGE Coastal Conservation League Coca Cola Consolidated Horry County Solid Waste Authority ReWa* SEIA

Sonoco* Speak Strategic SynTerra Upstate Forever

SPRUCE Audubon South Carolina BlueCross BlueShield of SC* Boeing* First Tuesday Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP Nexsen Pruet, LLC & NP Strategy Palustrine Group RES

Robinson Bradshaw Senior Golfers of America Solvent Networks, A Division of SCHA South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development South Carolina Land Trust Network Tom & Tombo Milliken – NAI Columbia Wyche, PA

MINT Alder Energy Systems BGW Solutions, LLC Charleston Culinary Tours The Gallivan Group at UBS Financial Services, Inc* Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce Naturaland Trust

New Alpha CDC PeeDee Indian Tribe Port City Homes SC Exteriors Sustaining Way Timberlake Communications* Sam and Mary Baskin-Waters*

INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS Willie J. Morgan, PE, Alpha Engineering and Utility Services, LLC

Bob Perry, Palmetto Natural Resources Management, LLC

*Donors to CVSC Education Fund Green Tie Awards sponsorship in no way indicates CVSC's or CVSC Education Fund's support or endorsement of sponsors’ businesses, business practices, or products.

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CVSC Board of Directors Cynthia Powell, Chair, Myrtle Beach Susan Hilfer, Vice Chair, Beaufort Kevin Kay, Secretary & Treasurer, Easley Jennie Pezé, Past Chair, Darlington Paul Agnew, Due West Marian Brailsford, Charleston Bruce Cole, Columbia Sue Doran, Columbia Jay James, Darlington Ben Johnson, Rock Hill Millie Knowlton, Washington DC Willie Morgan, Clarks Hill Mark Robertson, Columbia Dr. Harry Shealy, Aiken Libby Smith, Charleston Akin Watson, Irmo

CVSC Education Fund Board Akin Watson, Chair, Irmo Lauren McClary, Vice Chair, North Charleston Wilkins Byrd, Secretary & Treasurer, Aiken Emma Ruth Brittain, Myrtle Beach Arnold Nemirow, Charleston Jennie Pezé, Darlington Lauren McClary, Mt. Pleasant

CVSC Staff John Tynan, Executive Director Rebecca Haynes, Deputy Director Paul Black, Mobilization & Data Manager Xavier Boatright, Strategic Partnerships Director John Brooker, Energy Project Manager Jalen Brooks-Knepfle, Energy Project Manager Rebecca Geigel, Finance & Data Manager Deitra Matthews, Government Relations Manager Meredith McNeely, Director of Development & Operations Natalie Olson, Campaigns Director

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IC ONI C RIVERF R O NT D INING LOCALLY SOURCED SOUTHERN-INSPIRED

575 Herrons Ferry Road, Rock Hill, SC www.rockhillpumphouse.com

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The Senate Conservation Leadership Award

Sandy Senn (R – District 41, Charleston) After graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law, Senator Sandy Senn clerked with United States District Judge Henry M. Herlong and South Carolina Circuit Judge David F. McInnis. Currently, Sen. Senn practices primarily in the area of civil rights defense for first responders and serves as General Counsel for the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association.

Sen. Senn was first elected to Senate District 41 in 2016, representing portions of Charleston and Dorchester Counties. Since then, she has become a passionate and effective advocate for conservation, home rule, and market competition in the clean energy sector. She has accumulated an 80% lifetime score with CVSC, including a whopping 123% score on our 2020 Scorecard.

Sen. Senn’s fierce fighting spirit for what she believes in, paired with her willingness to take on traditional power structures, elevated her to the top of the list for the CVSC’s 2021 Senate Award for Conservation Leadership. In 2019, she was the only Senator to oppose a problematic seawall bill on the floor of the Senate, fighting to prevent the rollback of 30 years of environmental precedent banning ineffective and dangerous seawalls along our coast. Sen. Senn also stood strong against a leadership-sponsored budget amendment and stand-alone bills that would have stripped local communities of their ability to limit plastic pollution. She also has been a strong supporter of clean energy through the Energy Freedom Act and supported reauthorization and funding of the Conservation Bank.

In 2021, Sen. Senn was the lead champion pushing back against a chairman-sponsored bill that would have exempted a new industry from solid waste rules in South Carolina. The pyrolysis industry — one that melts and gassifies plastics back into their constituent chemicals to make jet fuel and other petroleum-based products — sought sweeping exemptions from long-standing rules in South Carolina. Sen. Senn stood firm against the exemptions for this industry in subcommittee, committee, and on the floor of the Senate. Throughout the bill’s journey, she worked to both stop it outright and amend it in order to limit the environmental impacts and protect communities and taxpayers. In addition, Sen. Senn sponsored legislation to regulate plastic pellet pollution in the Charleston Harbor, demonstrating, yet again, that she will not sacrifice South Carolinians and our natural resources to unregulated industries, and she will not go down without a fight.

Sen. Senn lives in Charleston with her husband, Rande, and her three children, Brook, Alexa, and Jacob.

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The House Conservation Leadership Award

Marvin Pendarvis (D – District 113, Charleston) Representative Marvin Pendarvis grew up in the Charleston Farms neighborhood of North Charleston. He is a product of the public schools in North Charleston and Garrett Academy of Technology. A two-time graduate of the University of South Carolina, Rep. Pendarvis received a BA in Political Science in 2011 and a J.D. in 2014. Immediately upon graduation, he moved back to his hometown to begin practicing law.

In 2017, Rep. Pendarvis launched his primary campaign for District 113’s empty House seat in the primary election. CVSC endorsed his run because of his career spent fighting for the rights of his neighbors and serving as an advocate for his community: helping to clean up North Charleston’s Filbin Creek, supporting coastal wetland preservation, and pushing for smarter, clean energy policies. Since securing the seat, Rep. Pendarvis has built a strong reputation as a dependable leader who fights for what is right, accumulating a 78% lifetime score with CVSC. As lead sponsor on the Complete Streets bill in 2021, Rep. Pendarvis was persistent in building legislative and agency support for policy that would require SCDOT to consider accommodations for bicycling, walking, and transit in the design, construction, maintenance, and operations of the state transportation network. His efforts helped accelerate adoption of a statewide Complete Streets Policy at SCDOT, which included many elements outlined in his bill.

After joining the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee in 2021, Rep. Pendarvis fought against S.525 (Pyrolysis) in committee and sponsored a floor amendment that would have required the industry to complete a comprehensive pollution assessment and health impact analysis in the community where a facility is proposed, to provide this information to the community, and to ensure the community has a voice in the subsequent permitting process. His fight against this dangerous industry and for the amendment showed that South Carolina leaders can, and will, build bipartisan support for community-centered efforts that address environmental justice throughout the Palmetto State.

Rep. Pendarvis is married to his college sweetheart, HaQuasha. They are the proud parents of Marvin, Jr., aka “Deuce.”

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The House Conservation Leadership Award

Shannon Erickson (R – District 124, Beaufort) Representative Shannon Erickson grew up in Florence and graduated from USC-Beaufort with a BA in Early Childhood Education. Following college, she stayed in Beaufort to build a career in childhood education.

First elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in October 2007, Rep. Erickson is an educator and business owner. Similar to many of CVSC’s past Green Tie Champions, she believes that environmental protection and good business decisions are not mutually exclusive and that, in fact, they are inextricably intertwined. A core element of her governing philosophy is building consensus and coalitions through grassroots citizen involvement to result in a broadly-supported and effective policy outcome. These values have made her a consistent conservation champion in Columbia, one who is both able to rally her fellow legislators to stand up for South Carolina’s air, land, and water and who consistently earns the support of pro-conservation constituents in Beaufort.

Since taking office, Rep. Erickson has worked to find bipartisan solutions to conservation issues facing our state. She has supported land protection efforts, fighting for the South Carolina Conservation Bank and against plastic pollution impacting the oyster and fishing industries in her community. She sponsored state legislation opposing offshore drilling and signed on to anti-drilling letters to both the Obama and Trump Administrations, making it clear to her colleagues in the General Assembly and to these administrations that offshore drilling has no place in South Carolina.

Rep. Erickson’s conservation leadership extends beyond the Lowcountry, however. She is an active champion of solar energy, signing on to the Energy Freedom Act in 2019.

She has actively supported solutions to improve the clean energy marketplace and invest in innovation — such as electric vehicle growth — in the state.

Erickson is a trusted confidant of CVSC, having earned an 86% lifetime score with CVSC. Day in and day out in the State House, CVSC knows they can count on her to work tirelessly to ensure South Carolina’s environment has a voice in the General Assembly.

She and her husband, Kendall, live in Beaufort and are members of St. Peter’s Catholic Church.

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The Harriet Keyserling Conservation Advocacy Award

Kelly Thorvalson Kelly Thorvalson is a native of Georgetown who graduated from College of Charleston with a degree in Marine Biology and began working with the South Carolina Aquarium in 1999, a year before the Aquarium opened its doors.

In her role as Aquarist, Kelly helped to build the South Carolina Aquarium’s initial collection. In addition, she managed the Sea Turtle Care Center for 12 years, both developing the program and overseeing a major program expansion that opened in 2017. During her time at the Aquarium, she established relationships with volunteer turtle teams throughout South Carolina and emerged as a leading advocate for sea turtles regarding plastic pollution on beaches.

In her current role as Conservation Programs Manager, Kelly works beyond the Aquarium’s walls to advance conservation initiatives relating to sea turtles, plastic pollution, and sea level rise — sharing the Aquarium’s conservation message with groups ranging from schoolchildren to state lawmakers.

Kelly developed the “Litter-free Digital Journal” app, a powerful tool that empowers citizens to track and document litter. She has conducted workshops and training modules from the Upstate to the Lowcountry to educate the public about the negative impacts that plastic pollution has on both the environment and wildlife. As part of these outreach efforts, Kelly teaches local community advocates how to document and track local litter issues and turn their efforts into meaningful community change.

Kelly’s education and advocacy efforts were instrumental to the passage of nearly every single-use plastic bag ban adopted in the Charleston area and nearby coastal communities in 2018 and 2019 . She also helped inform key statewide policy discussions in 2019 when the General Assembly debated stripping local communities of their ability to reduce and manage plastic pollution with effective local policies like single-use plastic bag bans. Today, Kelly is a member of the NOAA Marine Debris committee where she works on tools to document marine animal interactions with plastic pollution of the Southeast coast.

Kelly continues to work tirelessly to raise awareness of the negative environmental impacts of plastics and encourage sustainable solutions through advocacy and committee work.

Kelly resides in Charleston and has two children, a 17-year-old daughter and a 24-yearold stepson. In her spare time, she volunteers with The Stone Soup Collective, a nonprofit whose goal is to nourish those in need with soup made from locally sourced produce. She also enjoys cooking, gardening, and live music.

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Previous Honorees Senate Conservation Leadership 2020: 2019: 2018:

2017: 2016: 2015:

2014: 2013: 2012: 2011: 2010: 2009:

Tom Young (R, Aiken) Senator John Matthews (D, Orangeburg) Senator Tom Davis (R, Beaufort) Senator Marlon Kimpson (D, Charleston) Senator Thomas McElveen (D, Sumter) Senator Nikki Setzler (D, Lexington) Senator Brad Hutto (D, Orangeburg) Senator Joel Lourie (D, Richland) Senator Greg Gregory (R, Lancaster) Senator Wes Hayes (R, York) Senator Ray Cleary (R, Horry) Senator Vincent Sheheen (D, Kershaw) Senator Chip Campsen (R, Charleston) Senator John Courson (R, Richland) Senator Phil Leventis (D, Sumter)

House Conservation Leadership 2020:

2019:

2018: 2017:

2016:

2015:

2014: 2013:

2012:

2011:

2010:

2009:

Representative Beth Bernstein (D, Richland) Representative John King (D, York) Representative Nathan Ballentine (R, Richland) Representative Mandy Powers Norrell (D, Lancaster) Representative Peter McCoy (R, Charleston) Representative Joe Neal (D, Richland) Representative Gary Clary (R, Pickens) Representative Weston Newton (R, Beaufort) Representative Doug Brannon (R, Spartanburg) Representative Murrell Smith (R, Sumter) Representative Bill Clyburn (D, Aiken) Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D, Orangeburg) Representative Chandra Dillard (D, Greenville) Representative Walton McLeod (D, Newberry) Representative Paul Agnew (D, Abbeville) Representative Laurie Funderburk (D, Kershaw) Representative Robert L. Brown (D, Charleston) Representative Mike Pitts (R, Laurens) Representative Joan Brady (R, Richland) Representative Vida Miller (D, Georgetown) Representative Bill Herbkersman (R, Beaufort) Representative James Smith, Jr. (D, Richland)

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Previous Honorees Lifetime Conservation Achievement 2019: 2018: 2017: 2016: 2015: 2014: 2013: 2012: 2010:

Dr. J. William F. (Billy) Holliday (Myrtle Beach) Angela Viney (Spartanburg) Dr. Dave Hargett (Greenville) Rudy Mancke (Columbia) C. Thomas Wyche (Greenville) Anne Springs Close (Fort Mill) Richard Watkins (St. Matthews) The Honorable Ernest “Fritz” Hollings (Charleston) Jimmy Chandler (Georgetown)

2009:

The Honorable John W. Drummond (Greenwood)

The Harriet Keyserling Conservation Advocacy 2020: 2019: 2017: 2016: 2015: 2014: 2013: 2011: 2010: 2009:

Marilyn Hemingway (Georgetown) Peg Howell (Pawleys Island) Mayor Billy Keyserling (Beaufort) Frank Holleman (Greenville) Brad Wyche (Greenville) Bob Guild (Columbia) Dana Beach (Charleston) Jane Lareau (Mt. Pleasant) and Nancy Vinson (James Island) Harry Dalton (Rock Hill) The Honorable Harriet Keyserling (Beaufort)

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Willie J. Morgan, P.E.

Alpha Engineering and Utility Services, LLC 1903 South Hunters Court Columbia, SC 29206 (803) 960-3327 v wjmorgan0212@gmail.com

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Palmetto Natural Resources Management, LLC

Bob Perry, Principal 843.833.3894 38

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