H*5391 Resolution, By Thigpen, Alexander, Allison, Anderson, Anthony, Arrington, 
Atkinson, Atwater, Bales, Ballentine, Bamberg, Bannister, Bennett, Bernstein, 
Blackwell, Bowers, Bradley, Brawley, Brown, Bryant, Burns, Caskey, Chumley, 
Clary, Clemmons, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Cogswell, Cole, Collins, Crawford, 
Crosby, Daning, Davis, Delleney, Dillard, Douglas, Duckworth, Elliott, Erickson, 
Felder, Finlay, Forrest, Forrester, Fry, Funderburk, Gagnon, Gilliard, Govan, 
Hamilton, Hardee, Hart, Hayes, Henderson, Henderson-Myers, Henegan, Herbkersman, 
Hewitt, Hill, Hiott, Hixon, Hosey, Howard, Huggins, Jefferson, Johnson, Jordan, 
King, Kirby, Knight, Loftis, Long, Lowe, Lucas, Mace, Mack, Magnuson, Martin, 
McCoy, McCravy, McEachern, McGinnis, McKnight, D.C. Moss, V.S. Moss, Murphy, 
B. Newton, W. Newton, Norrell, Ott, Parks, Pendarvis, Pitts, Pope, Putnam, 
Ridgeway, M. Rivers, S. Rivers, Robinson-Simpson, Rutherford, Sandifer, Simrill, 
G.M. Smith, G.R. Smith, J.E. Smith, Sottile, Spires, Stavrinakis, Stringer, 
Tallon, Taylor, Thayer, Toole, Trantham, Weeks, West, Wheeler, White, Whitmire, 
Williams, Willis, Wooten, Young and Yow
 A HOUSE RESOLUTION TO CONGRATULATE THE HONORABLE STEVEN K. BENJAMIN, MAYOR OF
 COLUMBIA, UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS INAUGURATION AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
 STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS.

   05/09/18  House  Introduced and adopted (House Journal-page 143)

TO CONGRATULATE THE HONORABLE STEVEN K. BENJAMIN, MAYOR OF COLUMBIA, UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS INAUGURATION AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS.

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are pleased to learn of Mayor Steven K. Benjamin's inauguration on May 7, 2018, as the seventy-sixth president of the United States Conference of Mayors; and

Whereas, with a long history as the voice of America's mayors in Washington, D.C., the United States Conference of Mayors was first chartered in 1933. The conference remains the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more, with representation by 1,408 cities in the country today; and

Whereas, the United States Conference of Mayors will only continue to flourish under Mayor Benjamin's strong leadership. As mayor of Columbia since April 2010, Mayor Benjamin has made it his mission to establish his city as the most talented, educated, and entrepreneurial city in America and to implement policies and programming for the betterment of its residents; and

Whereas, during Mayor Benjamin's tenure, Columbia has seen significant growth, with the rebirth of Main Street, the city's first poet laureate and public art initiative, a citywide family wellness initiative, new green infrastructure projects, new technologies for flood control, budget surpluses, regional capital investments, employment growth, and initiatives for young men of color; and

Whereas, a national and community leader, Mayor Benjamin serves with a number of organizations, including Municipal Bonds for America, African-American Mayors Association, Mayors for 100% Clean Energy Campaign, Accelerator for America Advisory Council, New Leaders Council, Affordable Housing Advisory Council for Federal Home Loan Bank Atlanta, South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, ETV Endowment of South Carolina, Columbia Urban League, Benedict College, Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Eau Claire Promise Zone, Choose Children First, and Midlands Crimestoppers. He also teaches a class at the University of South Carolina Honors College and Columbia College; and

Whereas, he has received many honors and awards, including an Aspen Rodel Fellowship, honorary doctor of humanities from Francis Marion University, placement on the Washington Post's "The Root 100 List" and 2014 GRIO 100, National Action Network's Triumph Award, Historic Preservation Elected Official Award, Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery by a Public Official, Partner America Small Business Advocate Award, Small & Minority Business Advocate of the Year, Walgreen's Happy & Healthy Communities Champion Award, Deborah Boward Leadership Award, South Carolina Young Lawyer of the Year, National Bar Association Young Lawyer of the Year, and South Carolina Bar Association Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year; and

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are grateful for the passion and dedication of Mayor Steven K. Benjamin in serving the people and the State of South Carolina and look with great interest to hear of his further accomplishments as president of the United States Conference of Mayors. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate the Honorable Steven K. Benjamin, mayor of Columbia, upon the occasion of his inauguration as president of the United States Conference of Mayors.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Mayor Steven K. Benjamin.