St. Andrew's
HALL OF FAME

St. Andrew's Parks and Playground is seeking nominees for the St. Andrew's Hall of Fame. The 2009 inductees will be announced in December, 2009. Applications must be received by October 1, 2009.

To be selected, the inductees must meet the following criteria:

 

The inductees must have made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the community.

The inductee must have been involved with St. Andrew’s Parish Parks and Playground as a participant, parent, volunteer, Commissioner or employee.

The inductees' contributions must have been made in at least one of the following ways: Athlete, Coach, Community Service, Team, Celebrity, or Business.

Selection to the Hall of Fame is a great honor. No nominee shall be considered until at least ten years following the inductees’ first relationship with St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground, unless the nominee has passed away.

The Hall of Fame will be open to the public and special commemorative plaques will be on display at the St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina. The Hall of Fame is a fitting memorial to those leaders in the community who have been enriched by our philosophy and enhanced our environment.

For more information and application form, click here.

 

St. Andrew's Parks and Playground
HALL OF FAME

2008 Inductee

Jeff Gladwell, who served as Chairman of the St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground Commission for 17 years, was inducted into the agency’s Hall of Fame at the annual St. Andrew’s awards dinner on Dec. 13.

Gladwell was appointed to the St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground Commission in 1987 and became Chairman in 1991. During his tenure with the Commission, Gladwell oversaw numerous projects which enabled St. Andrew’s to continually provide quality recreation services and facilities, including the development of Volunteer Park, the implementation of the agency’s successful long term strategic plan and the purchase of a health club which became St. Andrew’s Family Fitness Plus.

“Jeff’s philosophy was always ‘it’s not worth doing if it’s not worth doing right,’” current St. Andrew’s Commission Chairman Mike Eykyn said. “Everyone involved with St. Andrew’s the last two decades has been positively affected by Jeff’s remarkable achievements on every level of our operations.

“His leadership and outstanding service to the community made our agency a model for parks and recreation excellence around the country.”

St. Andrew’s won numerous local, state and national parks and recreation industry awards under Gladwell’s leadership, including the 2001 and 2004 South Carolina Recreation and Parks Association’s Agency of the Year award, the 2004 National Parks and Recreation Association’s Outstanding Commission of the Year honor, the 2005 Sports Illustrated Good Sports Community of the Year and the 2004 and 2007 National Alliance for Youth Sports Excellence in Youth Sports award.

In addition, Gladwell was recognized as the 2004 SCRPA Citizen/Lay Volunteer of the Year. Gladwell stepped down as Chairman of the St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground Commission earlier this year. He currently continues to serve as a Commissioner, and will retire shortly once a new Commissioner is appointed by Governor Mark Sanford via the Charleston County Council.
The St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding and lasting contribution during service as a St. Andrew’s employee, volunteer, parent, Commissioner or participant. Past inductees include Carolyn Drose, Darius Rucker, Tim Linker and Robert Drose.

2007 Inductees

Tim Linker (left) receives the 2007 St. Andrew's Parks Hall of Fame award from Commission
Chairman Jeff Gladwell

Robert Drose, Tim Linker Inducted into Hall of Fame

Robert Drose and Tim Linker were named the 2007 inductees into the St. Andrew's Parks and Playground Hall of Fame recently at the agency’s annual awards dinner.

The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to the community in various ways. It was established to honor up to three individuals per year in the categories of Community Service, Athlete, Coach, Business, Team or Celebrity who have been a part of the St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground family in some capacity throughout their lives.

Robert Drose (deceased) was active with St. Andrew's from 1962-1982. He was inducted for his many contributions to St. Andrew's as a volunteer, coach and fundraiser. Drose led numerous successful projects to improve and expand the main St. Andrew’s facilities on Playground Road, and in 1966 coached the first St. Andrew’s baseball to reach the state tournament.

Tim Linker has been involved with St. Andrew's Parks and Playground for nearly 40 years. He began as a volunteer T-ball coach in 1969 and has twice been named the St. Andrew’s Parks Volunteer of the Year. He currently continues to coach baseball at St. Andrew’s and work as a volunteer.

Permanent bronze plaques recognizing Mr. Drose and Mr. Linker's induction into the St. Andrew's Hall of Fame will be placed at the public Hall of Fame Display at the St. Andrew's Administration building this spring. Mr. Drose and Mr. Linker join the 2006 inductees, Carolyn Drose and Darius Rucker,
in the Hall of Fame. Rucker received his plaque at the 2007 event after professional commitments prevented him from attending last year.

2006 Inductees

St. Andrew's Parks and Playground Commission Chairman Jeff Gladwell presents the 2006 Hall of Fame award to Carolyn Drose, top, and Darius Rucker (below)

Carolyn Drose and Darius Rucker were named the inaugural inductees into the St. Andrew's Parks and Playground Hall of Fame at the agency's holiday party Dec. 2.

The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to the community in various ways. It was established to honor up to three individuals per year in the categories of Community Service, Athlete, Coach, Business, Team or Celebrity who have been a part of the St. Andrew’s Parks and Playground family in some capacity throughout their lives.

Carolyn Drose was honored for more than 30 years of dedicated service to St. Andrew's, in which she serve as administrative assistant, assistant director and Executive Director. Upon retirement, she received the title of Director Emeritus. St. Andrew's highest honor, Employee of the year is named in her honor:
The Carolyn Drose Award.

Darius Rucker, lead singer for the Grammy-award winning band Hootie and the Blowfish, was active in St. Andrew's Parks and Playground from 1974-1979. Rucker began participating in multiple sports with the organization when he was 7 years old. He credits the programs, staff and volunteers of St. Andrew's for providing a positive influence in the community. He was homored for reflecting positive values of St. Andrew's Parks and Playground in the entertainment industry.

Carolyn Drose and Darius Rucker each received commenorative plaques and permanent bronze plaques will be displayed at the St. Andrew's Parks and Playground main facility beginning in 2007.