At the S.C. Business Hall of Fame's annual banquet, seven of the 15 living laureates were present. Pictured at the event above are (front row) Joseph Williams, Bill Barnett, Bob Royal, Hootie Johnson, (back row) Bill Rogers, Charlie Way, and Roger Milliken. Established in 1985 by Junior Achievement of Central South Carolina, the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame honors South Carolina's champions of free enterprise. The 2008 banquet celebration on Thursday night, May 22, included about 450 business leaders in the main ballroom of the convention center on Lincoln Street.

The occasion began with a cocktail hour downstairs in the Carolina Room, where seven of the 15 living laureates were available for interviews and photographs.

At the main event upstairs, beginning at 7 pm, Ed Sellers, chairman and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, and Jack Goattee, chairman of Junior Achievement, recognized the honorees.

Roger Milliken, chairman of Milliken & Co., and Charlie Way of the Beach Company, both laureates, spoke to the crowded ballroom.

Ed Sellers, chairman and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, recognizes the honorees. Special tribute was paid to two laureates who died over the past year: Robert Small and John Swearingen. The late Robert Pierce and Governor Bob McNair were recognized for their contributions to the success of the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics, and free enterprise. Worldwide, six million students are served by operations in 97 countries. Junior Achievement of Central South Carolina, led by CEO Mary Weston Grimball, encompasses 22 counties and reaches more than 20,000 students annually with the assistance of more than 500 volunteer role models.

Mary Weston Grimball, Junior Achievement CEO; Roger Milliken, chairman of Milliken & Co; and Maria Frank, Still Hopes director of marketing . Terry Williams, wife of laureate Joe Williams, and Michael Kapp, Carolina First executive vice president for commercial banking .