Municipal officials from across South Carolina came to Hilton Head Island from July 16 to 20 for the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Municipal Association of SC. Its presenters discussed everything from building bridges across social and political divides to the need for passion and civility in local government work, and the Association announced new initiatives as well.
Former Gov. Beasley talks solutions for world hunger, mutual respect
David Beasley is familiar to many South Carolinians for his time as governor in the 1990s and his years in the SC House of Representatives before then, but his most broadly influential work has come since then. He served as executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme from 2017 to 2023, which received the Nobel Peace Prize for its work to reduce hunger and improve living conditions in regions suffering from war.
In his keynote address at the Annual Meeting, Beasley described the mounting challenges of addressing hunger for a growing group of hundreds of millions of people in an era where the COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted supply chains, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine had significantly disrupted agricultural production.
Officials might point to the need to use resources to solve domestic problems before they consider international issues, he said, but he countered that even those who do not want to address hunger “out of the goodness of your heart,” have other reasons to help as well — hunger contributes to the destabilization of nations and regions, and feeding hungry people only grows more expensive once those people become refugees.
In explaining the problem to Congress, Beasley said he likened it to deferred home maintenance.
“I said, it’s like you’ve got leaking waterlines in the ceiling, and it’s going to cost you $1,000 and go up there and fix it, but you're fighting over where to put the buckets. And six months from now, you’ve got to replace the carpet, the flooring, the sheetrock, the tables, the chairs — and that's a $50,000 fix. Get your head out in the sand, come together and solve these root-cause problems,” he said.
The United States has reached a point where many counterproductive arguments happen simply out of a desire for people to fight against the positions of their political opponents, Beasley said.
“When I was in the [South Carolina] House [of Representatives], my best friends were usually my biggest enemies on the floor,” he said. “We would fight it out, but we stood for what we believed in, always respectful to the other side. It was never personal. And then we’d go have dinner together, and people say, ‘how do you do that?’ I said, ‘well, this is America. This is where we respect other people's views.’”
Beasley advocated for ignoring cultural, political and religious differences when helping people, keeping the private sector and faith communities engaged, and communicating as openly as possible with other parts of their community.
“I would ask everyone of you here to go break with some bread this coming week with somebody of a different political [orientation], ethnicity, color, party — [someone] different than you,” he said. “Don't talk politics, just go break bread together, get to know each other.”
Thompson receives Farlow Award
Longtime City of Anderson councilmember and educator Dr. Beatrice Thompson received the Municipal Association’s E. Allison Farlow Award. The highest honor bestowed by the Municipal Association and not awarded every year, the Farlow Award recognizes those who have contributed significantly to the advancement of municipal government in South Carolina.
Thompson’s election in 1976 made her Anderson’s first Black councilmember. In 1987, she became both the first councilmember and the first Black elected official to serve as president of the Municipal Association. In her decades of service for Anderson, she has advanced such projects as the Westside Community Center, Church Street Heritage Plaza and Anderson’s Dream Team, building up the relationship that its police department has with the community.
Amidon elected new Association president, President Habib completes term
The Annual Meeting marked the completion of Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib’s term as Municipal Association president.
Reflecting on the past year, Habib said that he was “more convinced now than ever, the lasting strength of our state lies most and is dependent most on the strength of our cities and towns … Indeed, as I said one year ago, cities and towns are where inspirational ideas are dreamt, and I have seen them made into reality across our state.”
He also called on councilmembers to work harder to achieve civility with each other and with their managers and administrators.
“Be humble in your service, it's not who you are. If you do that, civility will prevail, not only within your council, but within your community. You might even find you get more accomplished, because civility isn't just how you behave during a council meeting, it's how you set aside your differences to accomplish the things where you agree, and you find the commonalities where you disagree,” he said.
The Association elected its new board of directors leadership during the Annual Meeting. As Travelers Rest Mayor Brandy Amidon accepted the Association presidency for the coming year, she noted that elected officials have the distinction of wanting to serve their communities, even when it means talking about city issues with residents every time they go grocery shopping.
“Every mayor I talk to genuinely cares about their city or town,” she said. “They genuinely care about their team of council members and how they work together, whether it's the hometown that they grew up in, or maybe they moved in a few years ago. They truly want the best for the residents and communities.”
Executive Director Todd Glover announces IMPACT Fund, promotional campaign
Municipal Association Executive Director Todd Glover walked attendees through the Association’s many accomplishments listed in the 2025 Annual Report, ranging from the thousands of questions that its field services managers answered, to the hundreds Hurricane Helene-related claims that Risk Management Services processed, or the dozens of education and training conferences hosted by the Association and its affiliates.
He also called attention to the newly announced IMPACT Fund offered by the Association, an evolution of the existing Hometown Economic Development Grant program. As a new part of the Association’s civility initiative, the Association’s board has also approved funds for a promotional campaign drawing attention to the lives that elected municipal officials lead in their communities — beyond the decisions they must make, they are also parents and employees and volunteers.
He challenged his audience to return to their cities and towns while thinking, “’What is it that I know needs to be changed that I have not put my attention to?’ Is it a development code that may be impeding growth in your city or town? Is it too strict? Is it not strict enough? What you’re not changing, you’re choosing.”
Many of this year’s Annual Meeting sessions have presentations and recordings now available on the Association’s website. The Municipal Association’s Achievement Award videos, which debuted during the meeting, are also available.