By Betsy Finklea
Dillon County Chamber of Commerce held their annual banquet on Thursday, February 6th.
Chairman Ryan L. Kannaday, Jr. welcomed all in attendance; introduced the head table, elected officials, and special guests; and led the pledge of allegiance.
Rev. Bruce Sayre, pastor of Main Street United Methodist Church, gave the blessing. Dinner followed.
Judge James E. Lockemy introduced the guest speaker, South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond. Hammond has served as Secretary of State since 2003 and is currently in his third term of office.
Hammond said it is an honor to serve as Secretary of State, and his goal has been to have an office that is “business friendly.” He said many times when someone want to do business in South Carolina the first office they come to is the Secretary of State’s office.
Hammond spoke about some of the achievements they have had that has made the state more business friendly.
Hammond said the bill that eliminated LLC annual reports has been a real benefit for business and a burden they were able to get off of these businesses. It is also now easier to merge corporations. Another accomplishment is the uniformity in applications with other states.
Hammond also talked about the S.C. Business One Stop. He said they now have a system where one can incorporate online at his or her convenience.
Five agencies are taking part in the One Stop—the Secretary of State, Department of Revenue, Department of Employment and Workforce, Consumer Affairs, and the Department of Health and Environmental Control. He said this has significantly sped up the process.
Hammond said one of the things his office gets the most attention for is their work with the solicitation of charitable funding and giving. He said every year his office issues a Scrooges and Angels List. Scrooges give 30 percent or less to the charitable purpose whereas Angels give 80 percent or more to the charitable purpose.
Hammond stressed that it is important to ask questions when one gets a solicitation and to check out the organization before giving. He said the public serves as the eyes and ears for his office, and some of the best cases they have made have been those that came from public reports.
Hammond also spoke about a constitutional question that will be on the ballot–whether or not to allow charitable raffles. He said the Education Lottery Law prohibits all other raffles.
If the question passes, there will be restrictions such as tax-exempt entities will be the only ones who can conduct raffles, no machines can be used, etc. There will fines associated with violating this.
Hammond said if it passes his office will do their best to enforce the law.
Another thing Hammond is working on is posting all boards and commissions on his website, www.scsos.com.
After Hammond’s remarks, awards were presented.
Pat Laird, the 2011 Dolph Braddy Award recipient, presented this year’s Dolph Braddy Award to Charlie Vance. Vance is currently employed with  First Bank as a Senior Vice-President and Regional Executive. He is actively involved in the community having served on various board and organizations.
Johnnie Luehrs presented the Volunteer of the Year award to Jenny L. Hood. Luehrs said their volunteers are priceless and that Hood had done it all.
Kevin Thomas, 2012 Chamber Chairman, presented the Dillon County Citizen of the Year award to Major Bethea. Bethea has served the Dillon County community for over 60 years with is local drycleaning business. He has served on numerous local and state boards and has helped many in the community with this words of wisdom and encouragement. Bethea is a World War II veteran, a graduate of Voorhees College, and a member of McCoy Chapel United Methodist Church.
After the awards presentation, Chairman Kannaday gave brief retiring remarks. He said it had been a fun year, and he was glad to serve the community.  The 2014 chairman is Kelly Price.