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TO CONGRATULATE MR. BENNIE CUNNINGHAM UPON RECEIVING THE JOSEPH R. JENKINS AWARD BY THE GREENVILLE ALUMNI CHAPTER OF THE KAPPA ALPHA PSI FRATERNITY.
Whereas, Mr. Bennie Cunningham was awarded the Joseph R. Jenkins Award by the Greenville Alumni Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity; and
Whereas, Mr. Cunningham was one of two candidates whose names were placed on the ballot at the 58th Province Council meeting in 2009; and
Whereas, Mr. Cunningham's extensive participation in Kappa includes being a Southeastern Province Keeper of Exchange for three years, attending approximately forty years of Southeastern Province Council meetings, attending twelve Grand Chapter Conclaves, and being Toastmaster for the 1990 Southeastern Province Closed Banquet; and
Whereas, his community involvement includes twenty years of service on the Oconee County School Board of Trustees; Board of Directors for the Appalachian Council of Governments; Board of Directors for WorkLink; Clemson Sertoma Club; and member, trustee, and Sunday School teacher at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Seneca, S.C.; and
Whereas, he taught in the public school system in Laurens, S.C. and later was one of the first African-American professionals to be employed at an all-white college campus in 1966 - Clemson University - where was employed from 1966 to 1985, and he retired from the University as Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Sciences; and
Whereas, Mr. Cunningham was born on January 31, 1927, in Laurens County, the sixth of thirteen children born to Simon "Ben" and Roxie Miller Cunningham; and
Whereas, he graduated from Sanders High School in 1944 as valedictorian of his class, and he furthered his education by attending South Carolina State College and obtaining a B.S. degree in agricultural sciences; and
Whereas, while at college he pledged Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity in 1946, and later he obtained his Masters Degree in agricultural sciences from South Carolina State College; and
Whereas, Mr. Cunningham enlisted in the U.S. Army in the early 1950's, serving in the military police, stationed on the mainland, and receiving an honorable discharge; and
Whereas, Mr. Cunningham celebrated fifty-four years of marriage to Carol B. Hamilton until her death in 2008, and together they raised three sons, Bennie, Jr., Grant, and Howard. He is the proud grandfather of seven grandchildren: Candace, Bennie III, Lauren, Rachel, Miller, Dundre, and Tyrell; and
Whereas, it is fitting and proper for the members of the General Assembly to pause in their deliberations to recognize the many good works of this fine South Carolinian. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly, by this resolution, congratulate Mr. Bennie Cunningham upon receiving the Joseph R. Jenkins Award by the Greenville Alumni Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Mr. Bennie Cunningham.
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