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"These people got it right."
That's what the judges thought when they saw Orangeburg County's entry in last year's National Civic League All-America City competition, says Hugh Guest.
Guest should know: he was one of the judges.
The Kansas architect and city planner was the keynote speaker Thursday as Orangeburg County threw a bash to celebrate its All-America County status.
More than a thousand people came out to the Orangeburg County Fairgrounds to mingle with each other, browse dozens of informative booths and enjoy free hot dogs with all of the fixins, cotton candy, popcorn and soft drinks.
Many of the county's political, business and educational leaders gave each other well-deserved verbal pats on the back, but the comments from the judge were perhaps the sweetest.
"Across this country, there are communities where people of various backgrounds, various races, various incomes, various professions, various ages and various conditions come together to make their community a better community," Guest said.
Back in 1949, the Gallup brothers -- of Gallup Poll fame -- decided to recognize communities in the same manner that athletes were being honored as All-Americans.
Competition for the honor has been keen.
A community that has earned an All-America award is a place, Guest said, "where the efforts of the people in the community are joined with the authority and responsibility of local government, joined with the knowledge and resources of the private sector, joined with the care and resources of the nonprofit sector, to build, rebuild, maintain and change their community."
Orangeburg County, making its second bid for the honor, emphasized three areas of success:
* The second round of the capital projects 1 percent sales tax. The first round generated $54 million over seven years, primarily for water and wastewater projects and road paving. It was so popular, voters signed up for a new one that is expected to raise, over time, $74 million for recreational and other projects.
* Community revitalization efforts, including those in downtown Orangeburg and downtown Elloree.
* Youth projects, such as the Healing Species effort and Project Life: Positeen.
"They presented us with a series of projects that said, 'We are pulling together to make our place a better community,'" Guest said.
"A county with 17 municipalities working together! I'm willing to bet my next month's Social Security check that you can't say that about any other county in this country," he said.
"The people in the orange shirts believe in community. They believe in people. And they certainly represented their county. You ought to be proud of them," he said.
The way the information was presented also left a distinct impression on the judges. "Last year you had a very noisy group of people!" he said.
Leading the Orangeburg County delegation at the Atlanta competition was the South Carolina State University Marching 101 drumline.
"The drumline said something to us. I don't know if you all saw the movie 'Drumline.' There was a message in that. It talked about pulling together," Guest said.
Using that theme, along with an actual drumline, was a "stroke of genius!" Guest said.
"When we did that first ballot, (the judges) remembered Orangeburg was one of the cities that had met the measure to become an All-American City 2005," Guest said.
Next week, Guest will be one of the judges for the 2006 competition, and "I am looking for the application that matches Orangeburg County's application," he said.
He concluded by explaining that excellence is an ongoing effort, a process.
"Just because we recognized you as an All-America County, it doesn't mean you have it all together. It means you're working toward putting it all together," he said.
"Don't just sit back on your hands now," he said. Keep moving forward and, in five years, enter the competition again, he advised.
John Rickenbacker, county council chairman, said the judges were most impressed with the penny sales tax: the concept, the way it was sold to the voters, the cooperation it generated among the municipalities and the benefits across the county.
"That little, small tax increase has made a big difference," Rickenbacker said. "We worked together and it touched everybody."
County Administrator Bill Clark said voters approved the local tax because "the people wanted things to happen and they were willing to invest in the future."
The evening's master of ceremonies, Willie Jeffries, said the award was not won only by the people who went to the competition in Atlanta, but by all of the citizens of Orangeburg County who are "doing so many great things."
T&D Staff Writer Lee Hendren can be reached by e-mail at lhendren@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5552. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com