John Bluford Three district graduates and a former superintendent will be honored as the newest members of the Richland One Hall of Fame in January.

The Richland One Hall of Fame Induction Gala Dinner and Dance will be held Saturday, January 23, 2010, at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. The pre–gala reception will begin at 6 pm, and the program will begin at 7 pm. WIS News 10 anchor Judi Gatson will serve as the mistress of ceremonies for the evening. Music will be provided by Finesse, one of the area’s most popular bands. Attire is black–tie optional.

Tickets are $75 for the general public (couples $100) and may be purchased from the Richland One Office of Communications, located on the second floor of the Stevenson Administration Building at 1616 Richland Street. Any proceeds from the gala will go toward the district’s Academic All–Stars and Classroom Innovation Teacher Grants programs. For ticket information and sponsorship opportunities, call (803) 231-7504.

Ron Epps The Richland One Hall of Fame was created to recognize the many alumni and other persons throughout the district’s history who have made significant contributions to Richland One, their communities, their professions, and society as a whole.

Twenty–five persons have been inducted since the Hall of Fame was established in 2004. Hall of Fame laureates include NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr., Miss America 1994 Kimberly Aiken Cockerham, and Nobel Prize– winning chemist Dr. Kary Mullis.

Members of the 2009 Richland One Hall of Fame induction class are

• John W. Bluford III, a 1967 graduate of C.A. Johnson High School who is president and CEO of Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City, Mo., and chair–elect designate of the American Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees;

Judge Matthew Perry • Former Richland One Superintendent Dr. Ronald L. Epps, during whose tenure (1999–2005) the largest school bond issue in state history ($381 million in November 2002) was passed;

• The late Elizabeth “Betty” Foran, a 1941 graduate of Columbia High School who was the district’s first coordinator of library services and a pioneer in the development of school libraries in Richland One and across the state;

• Senior U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Perry Jr., a 1939 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, who successfully argued some of the state’s most pivotal civil rights cases as an attorney, including the desegregation of Clemson University.
Betty Foran