South Carolina Association of Counties President James R. Frazier (Horry County Council Member) presented this year’s President’s Cup — one of SCAC’s highest honors — to Horry County Clerk to Council Patricia S. Hartley at the Association’s 48th Annual Conference, held Aug. 2–5. 
      The President’s Cup, presented to Hartley on Aug. 4, is awarded each year to the county official who has merited special recognition for service to county governments and assistance to SCAC’s president during the past year.
      “I’m grateful for Patricia Hartley’s support and friendship, and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to publicly thank her,” said James R. Frazier. “She has served the South Carolina Association of Counties and the citizens of Horry County honorably for 15 years, and is held in high esteem by all who have been fortunate to know and work with her.
      “Ms. Hartley is a woman of great character,” Frazier said. “She is a modest, patient and thoughtful person who has been loyal and gracious to county officials and employees.”
      An accomplished pianist who studied music at the University of Alabama, Hartley began her career by traveling the northern states and parts of Canada to promote tourism for the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
      She then worked in the Special Projects Division of Gov. John C. West’s administration. To honor Hartley’s dedication and service, Gov. West presented the Order of the Palmetto to Hartley and designated her a “Palmetto Lady.”
      Hartley later held positions as legislative liaison for the S.C. Human Affairs Commission, executive assistant to the chairman and corporate marketing coordinator for the LPA Group in Columbia, and executive assistant to the president of Embers Charcoal Company in Conway.
      Since 2000, she has served as Horry County clerk to council.
      Hartley’s contributions to the Horry County community are reflected by her service as a former member of the Conway Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, as a graduate of Leadership Conway, and as a former volunteer for the Conway Chamber of Commerce.
      She is a long-time member of the S.C. Clerks to Council Association, and has served on the Clerks’ Manual, Promotion and Membership, and Reunion committees.
     
      The SCAC, chartered on June 22, 1967, is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization whose membership includes all 46 counties in South Carolina. Governed by a 29-member board of directors elected each year by county officials at the Association’s annual conference, the SCAC is the only organization representing county governments in the state.
      The Association provides a number of services, programs, and activities to county governments and their officials, including: research and technical assistance; education and training; legal assistance; policy development, advocacy, and legislative information; publications, including a magazine and newsletter; meetings and conferences; public information, including an annual directory and website; and financial services, including the S.C. Counties Workers’ Compensation Trust and S.C. Counties Property & Liability Trust.