McElveen Commemorative

Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen gaveled his final Sumter City Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

MICAH GREEN / THE SUMTER ITEM

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THE SUMTER ITEM

Y E A R S

Mayor Joe,

We would need 100 papers to list all the ways you have served Sumter over the last 20 years.

So instead, we’ll just say thanks.

Thanks for your leadership, your vision and your grace.

Sumter is better because you led us here.

And our future is brighter for future generations because you saw the potential in our small town.

The mark you have left on our community is indelible.

We are forever grateful for you, and we are excited to continue your legacy.

From all of us at the City of Sumter,

thanks.

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McElveen fulfills hope to improve his community

BY SHELBIE GOULDING shelbie@theitem.com

A

d etermined politician, lawyer, veteran, leader, optimist, family man, volunteer

and public servant.

Since the early ’70s, Joe McElveen has been described as a man of many talents who championed the title of Sumter’s longest-serving mayor after completing a 20-year tenure this Monday, which started with one issue that he wanted to solve.

“One of the things that motivated me,” he said, “there used to be a lack of pride in our community.”

He never thought of a career path that wouldn’t bring him back to Sumter after he retired from the U.S. Air Force in the ’70s. The residents of Sumter challenged him to bring his vision to life, which took longer than he planned.

Joe said he only meant to serve two full terms as mayor, starting in 2000, but there was a lot of work to be done in improving the city, and Joe’s leadership and vision quickly grew on the city residents.

Kathy McElveen, Joe’s wife, said the ongoing election years were like a blur to her because they went by so fast.

“It was something that I knew he wanted, and it’s still exciting,” Kathy said. “I never thought he would do it

Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen speaks during a Third Army event on Shaw Air Force Base during his 20-year tenure.

This article about McElveen’s decision to be a mayoral candidate was published in the Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2000, edition of The Item.

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTOS

for 20 years.”

“I didn’t either,” Joe said, as surprised as Kathy.

She said it seems like yesterday when Joe was sworn in to the Sumter office for the first time, and it’s an odd

thought that it won’t be his go-to place anymore.

“It shows you how quickly those years disappear,” Kathy said.

Before being mayor, Joe served as a member of Sumter City Council from

1984-86 and then served as a member of the state’s House of Representatives from 1986-1996.

He is thankful for the experience he gained working on the state level, but he wanted to get back to his roots.

“Mayor, to me, is much more rewarding,” Joe said. “There are fewer people to convince to get things done.”

He isn’t wrong. Under his tenure, Joe was able to achieve what others called impossible. In two decades, Joe helped spearhead changing Sumter into a progressive city instead of a dying one.

From restructuring the city’s downtown scene with new restaurants, shops and a hotel to bringing in economic development opportunities, “Team Sumter,” as the city, county, business and other local partnering agencies call themselves, has also constructed three HOPE Centers in the city; rebirthed residential Sumter’s Historic District, downtown and the Sumter Opera House; expanded recreational opportunities; improved parks in the city limits; demolished hundreds of abandoned and uninhabitable homes; housed top-ranked public safety departments; and earned an All-American City finalist designation two years in a row among other accomplishments and accolades.

Joe said it wasn’t easy in the beginning.

He reflected on a time when he first came into office and taxed the city, which he received criticism for.

He said Sumter wouldn’t be where it was today if it wasn’t for the rough start.

SEE SERVICE, PAGE B5

‘One of the things that motivated me, there used to be a lack of pride in our community. ... If you don’t have pride, you won’t go anywhere.’

JOE McELVEEN, Sumter mayor from 2000 to 2020

Partnerships to foster economic development

BY SHELBIE GOULDING shelbie@theitem.com

If Joe McElveen had one major effect on the Sumter community, it’s been the economic development that has been spurred since the beginning of his tenure.

Greg Thompson, owner of Thompson Construction, attests to this, and he said he would have never taken the job as chairman of Sumter Economic Development if it weren’t for McElveen.

“He just had a commitment,” Thompson said.

Thirteen years ago, McElveen asked Thompson to jump on board for restructuring Sumter and creating economic development.

He said one reason Thompson stayed on board all these years is because McElveen knows how to stay on track

with a plan. He was working under a leader who was determined to see something with potential succeed.

“Any time you’re dealing with a government entity where you have elected officials, (Joe) has been able to keep the momentum and keep the commitment alive consistently,” Thompson said. “We can’t have good economic development expansion without a vibrant downtown.”

One of McElveen and Team Sumter’s greatest achievements that continues to progress is the revitalization of downtown Sumter.

“I think the best is yet to come because I think we’re going to take the success we’ve had and build on it and gain momentum,” Thompson said. “The hard part’s been

Mayor’s 2 children shared their father with Sumter

BY SHELBIE GOULDING shelbie@theitem.com

PHOTO PROVIDED

Joe McElveen’s granddaughter, Adelaide; wife, Kathy; and daughter, Kate McElveen-Price, pose for a photo.

Thomas McElveen, a South Carolina senator representing Sumter in the 35th District, has followed a similar career path as his father completely by accident.

From working at the same law firm to both becoming well-known politicians, Thomas doesn’t know how it came to happen. It has just always

been in the family.

“You see someone that you looked up to involved in public service your whole life pretty much, especially when that person’s your dad, eventually it makes you want to do it, too,” Thomas said.

Joe McElveen had a similar career path, but instead of being a senator, he was a member of South Carolina’s House of

SEE PATHS, PAGE B9

SEE GROWTH, PAGE B14

ABOVE: This letter to the editor praising Joe McElveen for his accomplishments in Sumter and urging voters to reelect him to his House of Representatives seat appeared in the Oct. 11, 1996, edition of The Item.

LEFT: This letter written by a friend and colleague of McElveen was published on Oct. 19, 2004, as he ran for his second term as mayor.

THANK YOU Your cooperation and support of EMS-CHEMIE (North America) Inc. during your 20-year tenure are greatly appreciated!

The position of mayor requires a whole-hearted commitment to the community which you and your family have shown generously over the years.

We share this photo to commemorate a special occasion you celebrated on-site with us. As a longtime advocate for the city, your legacy will be warmly remembered.

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THE SUMTER ITEM

Looking back at the career, personal accomplishments of Sumter’s longest-serving mayor and the city’s development in that time 2020

2020

Sumter again recognized as Top 20 AllAmerica City Finalist, National Civic League

2019

2018

Sumter recognized as Top 20 All-America City Finalist, National Civic League

New Public Safety Complex opens

2015 2014-15

CCTC Advanced Manufacturing Technology Training Center opens on Broad Street

President, Municipal Association of South Carolina; voters approve second Penny for Progress referendum in 2014

2013

2010

With Sumter City Council

Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Achievement Award

2010

U.S. Third Army headquarters reassigned to Shaw Air Force Base; CCTC Health Sciences Center opens downtown

2008 Hamptons opens on Hampton Avenue, the first of downtown’s new restaurants t t; voters approve Penny for Progress referendum

2005 Shaw not included in Base Realignment and Closure Central Carolina Technical College

2000

2000

Elected Sumter mayor With Grainger McKoy to his right

1994 1993-94

Legislator of the Year; South Carolina Department of Education James Award; Chair, South Carolina School-to-Work Advisory Council; served on Sumter YMCA Board in 1994

1991-93

1990-92

Chair, South Carolina Committee on High School Apprenticeships

Chair, South Carolina Welfare Reform Task Force

1990

Majority Leader

Joe and Kathy McElveen with their children, Kate McElveen-Price to the far right and Thomas McElveen and his wife, Bronwyn McElveen.

1986-96 South Carolina House of Representatives

1984-86 1983-84

Sumter City Council

President, Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce

1980-82 1979-80

House of Delegates

President, Sumter Optimist Club

1978

1980

1980

Honored as one of the Outstanding Young Men of America and Sumter Jaycees Young Man of the Year (Distinguished Service Award)

Optimist of the Year

1973-74 1972-77

President, Sumter Jaycees

U.S. Air Force, 728th Tactical Fighter Support Squadron

1971 1970

1968

Graduates from University of South Carolina School of Law

Graduates from The Citadel SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTOS AND PROVIDED BY THE McELVEEN FAMILY

D I D YO U K N OW ?

Taxes

City parks

The City of Sumter has maintained a healthy unassigned reserve, which signifies finances are being controlled well and spent wisely. A result is the city has not raised taxes in more than 10 years.

Many city parks have been improved, including a revitalized Memorial Park, a completely rebuilt and upgraded Palmetto Park and construction of North HOPE, Birnie and Crosswell parks. The city’s flagship park, Swan Lake-Iris Gardens, has been continuously improved and boasts many added features, including important sculptures throughout with the latest, Grainger McKoy’s “Seven Swans,” unveiled in 2020.

Sports and recreation The city has expanded its sports and recreational opportunities, with the City of Sumter Aquatics Center and Palmetto Tennis Center becoming widely known and respected competition venues. The award-winning Palmetto Tennis Center hosts several major tournaments and generates millions of dollars per year in tourism revenue.

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FROM PAGE B3

“If we hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t have the (Palmetto) Tennis Center. We wouldn’t have a pool (at the City of Sumter Aquatics Center). We wouldn’t have a lot of things,” Joe said. “We had to do it to survive.”

After that start, the city hasn’t raised taxes on residents in more than 10 years.

Another challenge Joe took on spurring economic development in the City of Sumter and Sumter County, which led to a collaboration that officials say is rare to find in most local governments.

“I’m proud of what we’ve done, but the thing I’m happiest about is the way the city and the county, all agencies of government, are working together,” Joe said. “It hasn’t always been that way.”

On top of the government agency collaboration, Joe is also proud of how downtown Sumter looks to this date.

Twenty years ago, the heart of Sumter weak. There were vacant commercial spaces, empty parking lots and rundown businesses littering downtown. So, Joe created a 30-year plan to get Sumter to where he thought it needed and deserved to be. A place with a vibrant downtown and caring community that anyone would want to live in. A place where the children

growing up and moving away from would want to come back to and raise families.

The plan reached its 20-year mark this year.

“I hope most citizens feel that way today,” Joe said.

“You’re always going to have issues. You’re always going to have problems that need to be solved, but, by and large, this is a great place to be with really good people.”

Joe said one of the most important turning points for Sumter happened early in his tenure when he worked with other government agencies in Sumter during the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure, a move that put many military bases on the chopping block.

Closing Shaw Air Force Base would have cut Sumter’s biggest economic artery from its heart.

According to the City of Sumter, this event not only resulted in the survival of Shaw, but a major expansion was accomplished by the reassignment of U.S. Third Army’s headquarters to the base in 2010.

Being a former airman himself, Joe has a passion and heart for the military community in Sumter. He and Team Sumter later coined the brand “uncommon patriotism” to make newcomers and military retirees feel welcome.

“If you don’t have pride, you won’t go anywhere,” Joe said.

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Main Street in downtown Sumter has evolved during Joe McElveen’s two decades as mayor, becoming a place to find a great meal or holiday gift and a destination to socialize and work.

MAYOR MCELVEEN, THANK YOU FOR SERVING SUMTER, TEAM SHAW, AND ALL OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS SO SELFLESSLY. YOU HAVE “RAISED THE BAR” IN SUMTER BY LEADING THE WAY TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY. GOD BLESS AND CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR RETIREMENT!

– Debbie Bowen This undated photo of Mayor McElveen and Sumter City Council was sent to The Sumter Item. Archivist Sammy Way thinks it was taken in 2013.

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We r o y a M r u o s a you

109 E. NEWBERRY AVE., SUMTER, SC 29150 (803) 773-6842

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FROM PAGE B5

Joe’s vision for bringing that pride to Shaw and Sumter was challenged by natural setbacks along the way.

“We’ve had three or four federally declared disasters in the last 20 years,” Joe said. “Maybe more than that.”

Joe led Sumter through several floods and hurricanes, a recession in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He had already decided before the pandemic to not run for mayor for a sixth term, but if he knew how 2020 was going to turn out, he may have tried to stay in the seat for another four years to stand with city residents during the pandemic.

“If I had waited a few months to file like I normally do, I might have run again just because we were in the middle of

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

Mayor Joe McElveen speaks with a group of Sumter residents during an event at the Sumter Opera House. something,” Joe said.

“Nobody can predict a pandemic,” Kathy said.

But every good story must end, and Joe thought it was time.

“I’ll be honest, I’m beginning to feel like there’s less on me just because I know I’m not

going to be mayor in a week or so,” Joe said. “Representing 40,000 people.”

On top of achieving his goals for the city, Joe has built everlasting friendships and memories with the residents of Sumter.

“He said he wants to do

things, but he just doesn’t want to be in charge anymore,” Kathy said. “One thing he won’t be doing is sitting at home.”

Joe and Kathy have been married since 1976, and after almost 50 years of working nonstop throughout the community and in state leadership positions, it’s time to focus on helping the community from a public standpoint and focus on his family more.

“I tried to always envision myself as part of the public anyway,” Joe said. “That was my goal not to be above anybody else. Because you’re not.”

Joe is thankful for his wife and family’s support during the last 20 years and beyond.

“He has been involved most of our married life, and maybe not as mayor, but in the House and city council. I always felt like people had hobbies playing golf, fishing, hunting … public service has always been his,”

Kathy said. “I think he loved every minute of it.”

Kathy said Joe was Sumter’s biggest cheerleader and forever will be, and she thinks the city staff will always be his cheer squad.

“In 20 years, there are a lot of personal things that happen, but in a blink of the eye they’re gone,” Kathy said. “He had so much support from the city.”

“We were really blessed to have who we’ve had,” Joe said.

He wanted to leave behind his gratitude and appreciation for the city’s staff who have come and gone during his tenure. The foundational thing to him was to leave the city in good, steady hands.

Now, Joe plans to continue working when he can at Bryan Law Firm, where his son also works, work on house projects and take frequent walks with his wife, enjoying the city that Team Sumter built in 20 years.

Thank you

For your years of service and dedication.

Sumter, South Carolina www.SumterEdge.com

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Leaving an imprint on City of Sumter staff

BY SHELBIE GOULDING shelbie@theitem.com

Whether it was eight, 15 or 20 years as a colleague, Joe McElveen has had city staff who have worked with him through thick and thin during his 20year tenure as mayor of Sumter.

City Clerk Linda Hammett has been with the City of Sumter since 1983, but she began working in administration just before McElveen took office.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with him for his full tenure as mayor,” Hammett said. “I’ve come to admire him and have the greatest respect for him.”

Hammett said she has never seen someone with such desire and strive to make his community better than McElveen. She said he’s had that mindset since day one, and it shows in the improvements that were made under his leadership.

“Mayor McElveen has always put forth that extra effort,” Hammett said.

“I really appreciated that insight and wealth of knowledge. I learned a lot from him during his tenure as mayor.”

Looking back at the past 20 years, she said it wasn’t his political and governing side that made an imprint on her. It was the heart-to-heart moments that grew into a strong friendship rather than a

generic coworker relationship.

“I think back to some of the days when he would just come into my office to maybe sign something or look at something, and he would end up sitting there for 30 minutes sharing, sharing stories about his past life,” Hammett said. “And just talking to me in general about his family or my family or just in general, sitting there having conversation. I enjoyed those days so much.”

Her office will be a little quieter when he officially retires from the seat come Monday, so she’ll need to get him to visit every now and then.

“Working for someone for 20 years, you get to know them,” Hammett said.

“His retirement as mayor will be bittersweet for me. He will continue to play some role in moving the city forward for a better and bigger City of Sumter.”

Communications and Tourism Director Shelley Kile joined the City of Sumter team the summer of 2012.

“I’ve been fortunate with my whole career here with the city (to have) been under Mayor McElveen,” Kile said. “He had his doors open from day one.”

Kile said McElveen has made a difference in the community’s life through his servant heart over the last eight years she has seen him work.

“That does a heart good just to see somebody like that,” Kile said.

Looking back, McElveen was never the kind to sit back during any circumstance, Kile said. She remembered the historic 1,000-year flood in 2015 and how it affected the city, and McElveen put himself right in the middle of the problem to find a solution.

“He wanted to be out in the trenches,” Kile said. “He showed up in work boots.”

Kile said that was one thing that kept working in a government office exciting because he kept it exciting, even with a simple idea that could better the city.

“Someone who has been in politics as long as he has, and a lot of the time you hear government can be boring,” Kile said, “but to see, especially when he would bring a new idea to the office, he was almost like that kid on Christmas morning. That glimmer in his eye, he would get so excited about things that he knew that we could do.”

When looking at tourism, Kile said, McElveen made it important and never a dull moment. He looked at tourism as a service the city staff could provide.

“Trying to grow and to show that we can be a destination site, Mayor McElveen was one of those who said that from the beginning,” Kile said.

Since 2005, City Manager Deron McCormick has talked with McElveen every day, whether it was for a govern-

ment or friendly matter. He said he thinks the absence of that will take some getting used to.

“There are so many things I respect about Mayor McElveen, but one of them is he would, from his position, he would also challenge me and challenge staff to always be thinking and always trying to be better,” McCormick said.

McCormick joined the City of Sumter in 1995, but he didn’t work under McElveen directly until 2005 when he was named the city manager. When he took on the new position, he said, he knew McElveen was challenging him from day one for the sake of Sumter’s economy and survival.

“Sometimes we say that the work of a local government is to do the undoable because we have restricted resources, and we have very high expectations for the community,” McCormick said.

“That was one of the strengths of Mayor McElveen: to embrace those challenges.”

McElveen normalized city operations during tough times of revenue cuts, funding limitations, natural disasters and other complications that happened during his tenure. He never failed to challenge the staff to take them head on with him, McCormick said.

SEE STAFF, PAGE B8

Passing the torch generation to generation

BY SHELBIE GOULDING shelbie@theitem.com Prior to Joe McElveen’s 20-year tenure, Sumter was led by former mayor Steve Creech, who served a 12-year tenure before passing the torch to his longtime friend in 2000.

“I decide to retire after 20 years in public office – eight on city council and 12 as the mayor. I talked (Joe) into running,” Creech said. “He will tell you the only thing I lied to him about was how much time it took.”

Creech saw a spark in McElveen from the beginning. He said his friend understood and loved the community, which were his two ingredients to be a dedicated and loyal mayor. He saw an honest man who had a passion

for his community and politics.

He was inclusive to every citizen in the City of Sumter.

One thing Creech supported most about McElveen’s time as mayor was that he carried on the vision to protect Shaw Air Force Base, which Creech worked hard for during his own tenure.

“Shaw has done nothing but grow,” Creech said. “We are stronger today than we were 20 years ago. This base is bigger and better than it’s ever been.”

Now it’s time for a new chapter in Sumter.

“He served his time in the community,” Creech said, “but it’s time to sit back.”

When it comes to the transition from mayor, Creech said McElveen will need to rediscover some hobbies to fill the time.

“(Joe) will have a void,” Creech said. “He doesn’t seem to think so, but there will be a void. But he’ll handle that, and he’ll find something else to fill his time.

“He needs to maintain his office downtown for the sake of his marriage,” he joked. “He needs to have a place to go to.”

After McElveen was elected, he asked Creech to be chairman of Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs, and Sumter’s new mayor, David Merchant, asked him to continue serving in the position.

Merchant will be sworn in on Monday and begin his journey as mayor on Tuesday at Sumter City Council’s first meeting since in this new era. He previously served on city council since 2012.

SEE TORCH, PAGE B8

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STAFF FROM PAGE B7 “He gave people the audacity to dream it out,” McCormick said. “Under his leadership, the relationship of working with the county has flourished, which I think has helped our greater community tremendously.”

McCormick noted that under McElveen’s leadership, the City of Sumter’s staff built a nationally credited police department, a top-rated fire department, substantial economic development in the city and county and a collaborative work environment between city and county government agencies, and he supported various green space and parks throughout the community and the reconstruction of the heart of Sumter.

“He embraced the master plan and how the staff can get better and better,” McCormick said.

He knows McElveen has made an impact in his life and

THE SUMTER ITEM government experience, and he hopes other city staff feel the same way.

“With any good leader, when they’re physically not with you, if they’ve had an impact on you, they really are still with you,” McCormick said.

He hopes to see things that McElveen left behind be accomplished in the years to come by the staff and new mayor, who has worked with McElveen since joining city council in 2012.

“That’s a hallmark of any good leadership anywhere,” McCormick said. “When the leader has moved on, they’ve had a positive effect on the people they’ve worked with.”

McCormick said he respects McElveen as both an elected official and a friend.

“It’s been a real privilege to work for and with Mayor McElveen because he’s a man that I respect for his faith, I respect his family values and someone that I’ve been able to count on,” McCormick said.

“He’s someone you can look up to as a man of integrity, and

that is more rare than not in the public realm.”

“He never adopted the concept of it’s not my job,” McCormick said. “It was about the community being better.

“Once a mayor, always a mayor. Mayor McElveen’s public service in the last 20 years serves as an example for anyone who wants to care for their community, if you want to see how to do it right, I think people should study Mayor McElveen.”

A QUOTE THAT RAN IN THE SUMTER ITEM ON OCT. 26, 2016

THANK YOU

for your dedication to our community.

TORCH FROM PAGE B7 “I’m excited about the challenge. I’m excited about the next step,” Merchant said.

“I’m looking forward to that step.”

As a councilman, Merchant said he felt his job was about helping Ward 6 prosper in the City of Sumter’s growing community, but now he’ll transition to helping the city as a whole with new ideas while also helping continue McElveen’s work.

The night Merchant won the runoff to become the mayor-elect, he told The Sumter Item he wasn’t going to let McElveen go too far. He meant that.

“I’m sure there will be times I’ll be like, ‘Hey Joe, this is what I’m up against. Have you ever experienced this?’ Or whatever it may be. That’s part of my mindset,” Merchant said. “But at the end of the day, he’s retiring for a reason, so I don’t want to wear him out.”

He plans to continue McElveen’s 20 years of service while also bringing new ideas to the table to help improve the city.

“Let’s give (Joe) the credit because, at end of the day, it started under him,” Merchant said. “And we’ve got some things in the works.”

Merchant said there is only one Joe McElveen, but he will do his best to take Sumter down the path to success, especially through downtown revitalization, which reached its 20-year mark this year for McElveen’s 30-year plan.

“Continuing to develop our downtown,” Merchant said.

“It’s filling up. It’s good. We’ve got private development going down.”

Merchant said McElveen was a champion in that development, and he wants to keep the heart of Sumter beating and thriving for the community.

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Santee Wateree RTA 129 S. Harvin St., Sumter, SC 29150 Operations: (803) 775-9347 or (803) 934-0396

People Moving People

RESPONSIBLY FOR OVER 40 YEARS

THE SUMTER ITEM

‘You see people in politics or hear people in politics get into it for personal gain, and if he’s gotten personal gain from this — 35 years of service — the personal gain has been the satisfaction of seeing progress.’

THOMAS McELVEEN, South Carolina senator and son of Joe McElveen

NOVEMBER 28 - 30, 2020

PATHS FROM PAGE B3 Representatives from 198696. He left the Statehouse to focus more on local matters, which Thomas has always admired.

“He probably got a lot more out of serving locally on city council as mayor than he ever got out of the Statehouse in Columbia,” Thomas said. “He was Sumter, plain and simple. I think with him, he could see more things getting done in his home community through his service locally.”

When Thomas decided to run for the Senate, his father was the one who tried to talk him out of it.

“That was as much as he ever said to me about it,” Thomas said. “He probably was the person telling me why I shouldn’t do it … be-

Thomas McElveen

Kate McElveenPrice

cause he’s been there before.”

Working with his father for 17 years at Bryan Law

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18 N. Main St. 803-774-8100

as a compliment. He’s a good man, and I think he’s got a good heart. He’s got a good heart for his community. You see people in politics or hear people in politics get into it for personal gain, and if he’s gotten personal gain from this — 35 years of service — the personal gain has been the satisfaction of seeing progress.”

SEE PATHS, PAGE B10

y Sumter for 20 Years.

• Network Design & Administration

Best wishes and heartfelt gratitude for your years of service and commitment.

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TThank YYou Services:

THANK YOU!

Firm, he doesn’t know if he’ll follow in his father’s footsteps in becoming mayor of Sumter, but he said you can never say never.

“I’ve told people before, if I could be half the person that he’s been as far as his devotion to his faith, his family and his community, I think I’d be doing well,” Thomas said. “Considering the fact that Joe McElveen is my dad, I would take that

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NOVEMBER 28 - 30, 2020

PATHS FROM PAGE B9 Thomas likes to think he benefitted from his father’s good name when he ran for his Senate seat.

“When he and I both got elected the same night in 2012, that was probably one of the most special nights in my life,” Thomas said. “The people in Sumter elected me and my dad the same night.

From a personal standpoint, that was a pretty special night. It happened again in 2016.”

Thomas said his father has been his “guiding light” in life, and his sister agrees, as well, even though she went down a different career path than her father and brother.

Kate McElveen-Price said her father has always been her hero.

Since the day she was

THE SUMTER ITEM

‘If I get 5% of his goodness, I’ll be thankful. He’s been the best father, and he’s been the best role model.’

KATE McELVEEN-PRICE, daughter of Joe McElveen

absent father.

“Now that I’m older, I realized it’s because he never took any time for himself,” Kate said. “We’re all lucky – me and Thomas – if we get 10% of the character and just the person that he is. If I get 5% of his goodness, I’ll be thankful. He’s been the best father, and he’s been the best role model.”

If it weren’t for the changes Joe made through the years, Kate would have

never returned to her hometown and planted herself in the community. He did something that she didn’t think was possible, and she’s amazed at how Sumter continues to prosper because of his efforts.

“He won’t give himself any credit,” she said about her father’s work. “There’s a lot of future-thinking going on here. Back when I grew up here, it was not like that whatsoever. It was very

black and white: This is that, and that’s how it is.

That’s not Dad.” Kate said it has been Joe’s life honor to have a seat at the table as mayor.

“I think he’s done a great job. I think there’s a lot more to do, but I think he’s laid some big groundwork,” she said. “He has definitely laid some groundwork when it comes to being a father to me and Thomas and a grandparent to his two grandchildren.”

born, Kate, who works at Community Broadcasters, has always shared her dad with Sumter in some way, and she has never minded it.

“I’ve never met someone who has a service heart but will never take the credit for it,” she said. “He amazes me daily.”

In all the work he has focused on, neither Kate nor Thomas feel like Joe was an

Thank you

Mayor McElveen Covenant Place appreciates your 20 years of excellent service to the community.

COVENANT PLACE 2825 Carter Road | Sumter, South Carolina 29150 803-469-7007 | www.covenantplace.org &RYHQDQW 3ODFH LV D ORFDOO\ RZQHG QRW IRU SURƓ W FRQWLQXLQJ FDUH FRPPXQLW\ ,W GRHV QRW GLVFULPLQDWH RQ WKH EDVLV RI UDFH FRORU UHOLJLRQ VH[ KDQGLFDS IDPLOLDO VWDWXV RU QDWLRQDO RULJLQ

THANK YOU &

Best wishes Thank you Joe McElveen for making Sumter a better place to live, work, and prosper. The Barnes family loves you and appreciates the friendship and leadership you’ve provided over the last 20 years!

803-773-1320 statetreeservice@gmail.com w w w. s t a t e t re e . n e t

On behalf of Sumter County Council and Sumter County Government, we simply want to say

He was a valuable member of Team Sumter and he will be missed.

“Working alongside you, Mayor Joe, during my six years on County Council has been a blessing and an honor and I know I speak for all members of Council in wishing you and Kathy all the best.

Godspeed.”

- Council Chairman James T. McCain Jr.

THE SUMTER ITEM

NOVEMBER 28 - 30, 2020

Serving his community and its residents for 2 decades

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTOS

Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen speaks during Continental Tire the Americas’ official public announcement that it would build a manufacturing facility in the county.

s n o i t a l u t a r g n o C

&

Thank You

for 20 years of service.

From

RIGHT: A Sumter Jaycees ad urging voters to choose McElveen for city council was published in 1984.

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McElveen honors Sumter Fire Department firefighters, including Fire Chief Karl Ford to the right, for their and the department’s dedication to their community.

on your retirement

ABOVE: City Clerk Lourena English swears in two new city councilmen and the mayor in November 1984. From left are Bill Painter, Mayor W.A. “Bubba” McElveen and Joe McElveen.

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Dr. Dee Friday & Dr. Brent Carraway 711 Bultman Dr. Sumter, SC

773-3421

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THE SUMTER ITEM

THANK YOU, MAYOR MCELVEEN FOR BEING THE HONORABLE, PATIENT, SELFLESS, FAIR, AND ALL-AROUND GOOD MAN THAT YOU ARE. OUR GREAT CITY IS A REFLECTION OF THE GREAT MAN, ADVOCATE, AND LEADER THAT YOU ARE. WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SERVICE AND HONORED TO CALL YOU FRIEND.

– Rusty and Tammy Brown

THE SUMTER ITEM

NOVEMBER 28 - 30, 2020

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Congratulations and

THANK YOU for your service.

25 E. Calhoun, St., Sumter, SC

803-775-1168 www.crwins.com

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NOVEMBER 28 - 30, 2020

THE SUMTER ITEM

GROWTH FROM PAGE B3 what (Joe) lived through. People didn’t believe in what we could do downtown.”

In the beginning, residents of Sumter thought the downtown area needed to be demolished, Thompson said. However, McElveen spurred nearly $60 million of private investment in downtown Sumter by reaching out to others when federal grants weren’t enough to fulfill his vision.

Thirteen years ago was also when Thompson moved his business headquarters downtown.

“That was the beginning of a real revitalization effort in downtown Sumter,” Thompson said. “I would have never done that had Joe McElveen not been mayor.”

According to Thompson, the city has seen growth in jobs, wages and quality of life improvement, of which McElveen has been the head. “(Joe) was a catalyst in making that happen,” Thompson said.

“Followers are no good without a leader, and a leader is no good without followers.”

Thompson was wary about Sumter’s future when McElveen announced his retirement, but he trusts city staff will help see his vision and unfinished plans through.

“I was nervous about (Joe) not running again, but I’m confident,” Thompson said. “I think (Joe’s) legacy will live on.”

Thompson isn’t the only business leader who thinks McElveen’s legacy will live on in the coming years.

Chris Hardy, president of the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce, has worked with McElveen for more than five years, and the mayor liked to challenge him in a position that was once held by McElveen himself in 1983. “(Joe) was always interested in businesses that are opening up

DID YO U K NOW? Community support McElveen’s tenure has seen the construction of three HOPE (Harvest Opportunity and Promoting Empowerment) Centers in federally designated “empowerment zones,” bringing community programs and opportunities to these areas.

West Liberty Street was beautified recently during a streetscaping project, contributing to the downtown revitalization effort during Joe McElveen’s 20 years as mayor.

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTOS

here in Sumter and wanted to always be there to participate and support them,” Hardy said. “He was a past Chamber chairman from years ago; he still participated and remained engaged with the Chamber. The biggest thing was he was always there to support us.”

To Hardy, McElveen had a mentality about what the City of Sumter could do for the Chamber rather than what the Chamber could do for the city, which he didn’t see often in other communities. He defined it as a “rare” trait to find in a mayor.

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

“In my 15 years in being in Chamber work, he’s the most involved,” Hardy said about McElveen.

Hardy said it is important to have a mayor as involved as McElveen in any community because it’s needed and appreciated by local and commercial businesses that call Sumter home.

“The longer I was here, the more I realized the level of his involvement and engagement,” Hardy said. “We always knew that he was going to be there for us one way or another.”

Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen assists Arthuree Wright unveil a plaque dedicating land on West Oakland Avenue for the Birnie HOPE Center to her family in July 2018.

Removing blight Sumter has experienced a 22.5% decrease in vacant properties, and the PRIDE program has partnered with 564 property owners to clean up blighted properties.

Thank you Mayor McElveen Thank you for serving Sumter as a faithful & trustworthy Mayor. We appreciate you!

Beau Graham Square in the heart of downtown has also had a facelift recently, with the addition of a fountain, landscaping and seating for visitors to the area.

Thomas W. Epps, DMD Orthodontics for Children and Adults 669-A W. Wesmark Blvd.

(803) 775-5500

for your service to the Sumter Community.

Good luck in your retirement.

Talmadge Tobias and Doc Dunlap

Mayor Joe McElveen

Congratulations & Best Wishes on your Retirement!

2990 Broad St. Sumter, SC 29150

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