S C T E CHN I CA L CO L L E G E S Y S T EM ’ S
F I R S T 5 0 Y EAR S
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The 2000s
The great engines of life run on details. The little things make
all the difference. Bill Dudley’s recollection includes how the sys-
tem taught Germans conversational English and how it provided
sensitivity training to a company treating South Carolina wom-
en badly. The aggregate memories—on a scale large and small—
speak volumes as to what the first fifty years accomplished. Ask
leaders what gives them pride and just stand back and listen.
Montez Martin runs through a catalog of achievements.
“The growth of the system, probably more than anything
else. The absolute fantastic growth of the system—I’m extremely
proud of the way we have been able to get companies into South
Carolina, get them trained up. The reputation we hold.”
People today far and wide respect the system as a can-do
achiever. “Special Schools, as it was originally known,” said Mar-
tin, “readySC™, as it’s known now, is held in very high esteem by
other states. States literally copied our system directly. Wisconsin
comes to mind where they’ve got sixteen technical colleges and
a system office.”
Sounds familiar does it not and what’s the big picture we
should take with us?
“Humanity.”
Brantley Harvey, a state board member since 2002 and sup-
porter from the beginning, looks on the system with a great
sense of achievement. “We can look with pride at what has been
accomplished, meeting the needs of new industry and enabling
South Carolinians to take the jobs as they become available. It’s
done a good job—is doing a great job!”
When Dr. Murph Fore describes Horry-Georgetown Tech’s
influence on every person, she speaks for every teacher, every
president, every board member, every chairman. “Nobody’s life
goes untouched.”
Now envision fifteen 30-mile circles and add them to Hor-
ry-Georgetown’s. These haloes of enlightenment changed lives
for the better, and they continue to do so.
Let’s not forget TomRampey, the tenant farmer who agonized
over leaving the farm to start anew. “I want to improve my condi-
tion ... I want to educate my children, I want them to have things
better than I have had.”
TomRampeys are still out there, and leaders like Dr. JimMor-
ris relate to them. “I come from a working-class family, and all
my life have had a deep appreciation for middle-class workers. It
was easy for me to try to make a difference.”
Making a difference.
How simply it began. Remember that 1961 inaugural meeting
where Stan Smith, the board’s first chair, and five men sat around
a table staring at each other. Said one, “What should we do?”
Replied another, “Well, let’s have a philosophy.”
Every South Carolinian shall have the right to seek his or her
own natural destiny.There must be dignity in all honorable work.
Fifty years later, we realize that philosophy forged another
principle: Every South Carolinian shall have the right to succeed.
Dr. Murph Fore recalls a former mentor’s words, “If you look on
every corner, you will find someone who has been touched by
this college. If you eat at a restaurant, a chef prepares your din-
ner. If you go to a hospital, there’s a nurse there. You have your
car fixed, and it might have been years ago, but they were trained
here. Your heating ventilation and air conditioning tech has been
trained here. You have someone in law enforcement taking care
of you, protecting you; they’ve been here.”
“We’re the solid rock of this community. And I believe we are
a home for anyone. A warm, welcoming, helpful environment
that helps anybody—anybody—who comes to us succeed.”
That success awaits every person, every community, and ev-
ery company seeking a better destiny in a state that played catch-
up with the rest of the country after World War II. And as for
that quest to pull even with the country, four words tell the story.
Mission accomplished and more.
F L Y I N G H I G H
