Greenville East Speakers

Greenville East Speakers

Hugh Weathers, of Bowman, SC, was appointed Commissioner of Agriculture on January 17, 2005 by Governor Mark Sanford. Commissioner Weathers is a third generation dairy farmer. He and his brother, Landy, own and operate Weathers Farms, a 650-cow dairy operation and Weathers Trucking, a bulk milk delivery service. He is a partner with Circle W Farms, a row crop operation growing corn, peanuts and hay.

He is married to Blanche Gramling, who grew up on her father’s peach farm in the upstate, and they have three teenage sons. The Commissioner graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance.

Commissioner Weathers serves on numerous local, state and national agricultural and business committees and boards. He is a member of Bowman Southern Methodist Church. He enjoys spending time with his family; attending sporting events and serving as your Commissioner of Agriculture for the great state of South Carolina.

Oct. 2: John Sprees, a former FBI Swat team leader/trainer and currently a Lead Instructor with Homeland Security Solutions, Inc. John is an instructor for a private government contractor involved in Homeland Security training for our armed forces.

Aug. 21: Melissa Blevins is Executive Director of Donate Life South Carolina.

Blevins is a Registered Nurse who served as Clinical Transplant Coordinator of the Liver and Kidney-Pancreas Transplant Teams at University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. She brings understanding of the transplant and organ procurement process to the position as well as a passion for the cause.

What motivated Blevins to action was, “as a nurse…standing at the bedside of too many patients who died waiting for a transplant…knowing that often, within the walls of the hospital, there was a viable organ. The missing link was consent.” “Losing one patient is one too many,” Blevins says. “We must do better as a society to save the lives of those in need of organ transplants.” She believes what is needed is education. “Americans are generous when they know others are in need.” Fellow South Carolinians are in need of transplantable organs. Currently, 656 South Carolinians are on the waiting list to receive a life-enhancing or life-saving organ transplant.

About the organization…

Donate Life SC (previously Gift of Life Trust Fund) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization established in 1996 whose mission is to promote organ and tissue donation in South Carolina and provide assistance to South Carolina transplant recipients.

For more information, contact Donate Life SC office at 877-277-4866 or visit our website at www.donatelifesc.org.

August 7, 2006

Ron Hamilton, Executive Director Museum and Library of Confederate History

Ron Hamilton grew up in McColl, SC. He was graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. Ron spent many years as a military musician - four years in the Air Force with 582 Air Force Band and 21 years in the 246 SC Army National Guard Band. He taught band in public schools and taught woodwinds at the college level including at Lander, North Greenville, Furman, and Southern Wesleyan.

Ron has a long interest in history. After retiring from the military and teaching he became the first Executive Director of Museum and Library of Confederate History and has been the Executive Director of the Museum for 5 years.

Ron has been a Greenville resident since 1964. Ron is married to Linda and has 4 children and 6 grandchildren.

The mission of the Museum and Library of Confederate History to honor the Confederate soldier and to educate the public about the Civil War period of American history and how the events of that period affect Americans today. The Museum has an extensive collection of artifacts and a research library of over 1600 volumes.

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