DARLA MOORE

ACCEPANCE SPEECH FOR THE

SC BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

 May 24, 2007

Columbia, South Carolina 

I want to thank Mary Grimball of Junior Achievement and everyone here who has had a part in making this such a very special evening for me and my family and friends.  I especially want to thank my parents, Lorraine and Gene Moore, and my husband, Richard Rainwater.  I also brought along a few of my closest friends – would you please indulge me for a second while I ask them to stand.  I accept this recognition for all of us.

Reading about the Hall of Fame I discovered that as of tonight, of the 84 total inductees, 4 are women.  This makes the evening all the more special for me and spurs me to leave you with these thoughts.

I focused my attention on your first female inductee, Eliza Lucas Pinckney, inducted in 1989.  Nearly every scholarly work with which I am familiar confirms that this woman’s work with the culture and processing of indigo is, in large part, the basis for the immense wealth of the original colonies in general and for South Carolina’s wealth in particular. 

Now in that context, listen to how a noted turn of the century South Carolina Historian referenced this accomplishment – he said. “Indigo proved more really beneficial to Carolina than the mines of Mexico or Peru were to Spain . . . . The source of this great wealth . . . was a result of an experiment by a mere girl.” 

Even in the context of the “tell it all, tell it all” society we live in – “I don’t believe I’d a said that!”  And, if I had been around when he did say it, he would not have said it again!

Can you imagine - we may not be sitting here today with the proud history of this state’s role in forming the economic and business foundation of this great nation except for the industry of “a mere girl”.

When you read the Hall of Fame criteria for consideration which include “a demonstration of business excellence, courageous thinking and acting, inspired leadership and community mindedness”, it’s as if the Hall of Fame Board was describing the spirit and life of Eliza Pinckney.  Moreover, I want to believe that they have listed the desired and often displayed attributes of a goodly number of the citizens of South Carolina - and most of the people in this room.

So – as I remember Ms. Pinckney and the other inductees with whom I am privileged to be mentioned - I choose to believe that it is the act of employing these attributes in achieving a common positive result that is the real basis of this recognition.  And in my case, as with Ms. Pinckney, achieved by a mere girl!

Lastly, I cannot leave here without a brief commercial about the Palmetto Institute. What the Institute has done is to identify and confirm that South Carolina has the raw material to be successful in the new global economy, even though we have not developed and employed all of our assets to their highest and best use.   My fellow Board members and I want the Palmetto Institute to serve as a guiding light for our state – illuminating the path to a vastly-improved quality of life for all South Carolinians.  To do this, we have operated from a platform built on independent, thoughtful, scholarly research that is used to shape the state  policies critical to providing all people the foundation for a better life.  This is our mission – simple in concept but quite daunting in its execution.  The challenge that Eliza Pinckney and other distinguished inductees faced is the same challenge we face today; change does not come easy in South Carolina.  It is only with perseverance and steadfastness in our mission that we can achieve our goals.  That is why I am so proud of the Institute and pay tribute to our Board tonight.

To paraphrase some comments I made at a different event sometime back, let me finish by saying that in hundreds of little towns and communities across this state, at the end of nearly every dirt road, there is a future Hall of Famer, working to make South Carolina better, 365 days a year, year in and year out.  I accept this award to honor them and the progress we have built on their perseverance. To make this honor a complete and lasting tribute, though, we have work yet to do.

So, I thank you for this wonderful honor, and I thank you for what each of you has done and continue to do for this great state.