A concurrent RESOLUTION

 

TO HONOR AND COMMEND ALFREDA WALTERS TINDAL FOR MORE THAN FOUR DECADES OF EXEMPLARY PUBLIC SERVICE.

 

Whereas, Alfreda Walters Tindal devoted more than four decades of distinguished service to Richland County, beginning her career on June 16, 1980, in the Public Works Road Maintenance Department as a Clerk II and retiring on February 28, 2025, as Richland County's Enhanced 9-1-1 address coordinator specialist; and

 

Whereas, in the early years of her service, Ms. Tindal's responsibilities included responding to public inquiries and complaints and issuing work orders that provided her with firsthand insight into the needs of residents, all of these responsibilities serving to lay the foundation for her lifelong commitment to accuracy, service, and public safety. Throughout her career, Alfreda Walters Tindal played a critical role in shaping the safety, infrastructure, and operational efficiency of Richland County by ensuring roads were properly named, addresses were accurately assigned, and emergency responders were able to reach residents quickly and effectively; and

 

Whereas, in 1980, Ms. Tindal completed her first major road-naming project with the designation of Winhill Road, a frontage road off Monticello Road and Interstate 20, an assignment that revealed the urgent need to address hundreds of unnamed county dirt roads that posed challenges for maintenance, navigation, and emergency response. Within two years, Ms. Tindal led the monumental effort to name 218 previously unnamed dirt roads, 191 of them in the predominantly Black community of Lower Richland, thereby improving public safety, enhancing service delivery, and providing long overlooked communities with official identity and recognition; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Tindal's work was instrumental in the successful implementation of Richland County's Enhanced 9-1-1 system in 1987, a milestone achievement that transformed emergency response operations countywide and continues to save lives; and

 

Whereas, over the course of her career, Ms. Tindal coordinated, issued, and approved more than 100,000 addresses and named more than 10,000 roads, working collaboratively with neighboring jurisdictions to ensure seamless emergency-response coverage beyond county boundaries; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Tindal broke significant barriers by becoming the first Black female supervisor in the Public Works Department in 1983 and later the first Black female chairperson of the Richland County Grievance Board in 1991, setting a powerful example of leadership, perseverance, and integrity; and

 

Whereas, throughout her career, Ms. Tindal represented Richland County at career days and professional conferences, providing education, mentorship, and advocacy for excellence in addressing, emergency response, and public service. Moreover, she authored policies, manuals, and educational materials related to addressing and road naming, many of which remain in use today in Richland County and surrounding jurisdictions, ensuring her professional legacy endures well beyond her retirement; and

 

Whereas, Ms. Tindal's exemplary service has been recognized through numerous honors, including the 2000 U.S. Census Trophy, the South Carolina APCO/NENA Honorable Mention 9-1-1 Technician of the Year Award, and multiple features in The State newspaper highlighting her pioneering contributions to public safety; and

 

Whereas, beyond her professional accomplishments, she is the mother of Dr. LaNisha Tindal and Nero Tindal IV, grandmother of two, and an active member of various worthy organizations. A lifelong student and teacher of the Bible, she has served as a short-term foreign missionary since 1995 and looks forward to traveling, bowling, playing Scrabble, singing, and decorating. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:

 

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, honor and commend Alfreda Walters Tindal for more than four decades of exemplary public service.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Alfreda Walters Tindal.

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