While we cannot imagine ever saying anyone selected as a member of the Greenwood County Hall of Fame is undeserving, we can say that this year’s selection of Ron Millender was an excellent choice.
Millender is not a politician who has represented his constituency well and is thus deserving of the recognition.
He is not someone who amassed great wealth and shared it within the community’s nonprofit world. That too would make him deserving of the honor.
No, to a person the Hall of Fame has been filled with many a deserving person who, in his or her own way, has contributed to the greater Greenwood community in some fashion.
It was not Millender’s rise to leadership within Greenwood’s industrial world at Capsugel — now Lonza — that put him in the spotlight for the honor, but rather it was and remains, by the way, his passion for education.
What if, he thought, a program could be developed in Greenwood County that all but assures each child, no matter their financial circumstances, could get a higher education?
What if Greenwood County students could earn a degree, perhaps even be the first in their family to do so, and put that degree to use in a Greenwood County business or industry?
And even if the child who otherwise might not get a higher education at Piedmont Tech or a four-year institution left home on a well-paying career path, would that not also be something noteworthy? An accomplishment the community and child should celebrate?
We can just about promise readers one thing. Were it not for the deep passion and commitment exhibited by Ron Millender, who nearly single-handedly created a wave of support for the program, there would be no Greenwood Promise. And that means there would be far fewer county students receiving higher education.
Well done, Ron. Well-deserved entry into the Hall of Fame.
