Dr. Fay Sprouse, Superintendent of the Ware Shoals 51 School District, received the Burdette Leadership Award for demonstrating “service over self” throughout her career.
During Ten at the Top’s Celebrating Successes Brunch on Wednesday, November 20, Ware Shoals School District Superintendent Dr. Fay Sprouse and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina were recognized for contributions to enhancing the Upstate region. Sprouse received the Burdette Leadership Award while BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina was recognized with the Welling Award for Regional Collaboration.
This marks the fourth year of the Burdette Leadership Award and is given in recognition of Carol Burdette, the first female chair of Ten at the Top. It honors women who have both served and led across the Upstate. Previous recipients of the Burdette Award are Minor Shaw, Dr. Becky Campbell and SC Representative Chandra Dillard.
Scott Graves, President, Private Business Division at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, accepted the Welling Award for Regional Collaboration on behalf of BlueCross BlueShield.
The Welling Award for Regional Collaboration, named after Ten at the Top founding chairman Irv Welling, recognizes individuals who have demonstrated longstanding involvement in encouraging collaboration across jurisdictional and stakeholder boundaries. Previous recipients of the Welling Award include Erwin Maddrey, Phil Hughes, GSP International Airport, Dean Hybl, Minor Shaw, Carol Burdette, Rick Danner, Terence Roberts and Bobby Hitt.
In addition, Ten at the Top recognized companies and organizations celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2019 as Max Metcalf from BMW Manufacturing, which is celebrating 25 years in the Upstate, provided a celebratory toast. These companies and organizations are an integral part of the Upstate’s rich history and have each played a role in making our regional community a great place to live, learn, do business, and raise a family.
Celebrating Successes is an annual event presented by BlueCross and BlueShield of South Carolina. Ten at the Top annually hosts public forums, workshops and other events across the Upstate on issues of regional significance with the overarching goal of building consensus, encouraging regional thinking, and enabling leaders to set aside parochial priorities in order to address critical challenges and visualize opportunities for the future.
This year’s event was particularly special for Ten at the Top as the non-profit celebrated 10 years in the Upstate. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster served as the keynote speaker for the event.