The Order of the Palmetto was created in 1971 by South Carolina Governor John West. It is considered South Carolina’s highest civilian award and is used to recognize lifetime achievement and service. It was modeled on similar honors in other states, such as the Kentucky Colonel and North Carolina’s Order of the Longleaf Pine.

There was much controversy on the criteria of the award under the administration of Governor David Beasley.

In 1995, the first of the former Republican governor's four years, Columbia Democratic Sen. Darrell Jackson put Beasley in a pinch about awarding - or in that case, not awarding - South Carolina's highest civilian service honor to the nationally acclaimed Hootie and the Blowfish. When Beasley's term ended in January, he was turning heads with the number of awards handed out in the waning days.

The Hootie matter was a case of pure political gamesmanship. Jackson, no fan of Beasley and anxious to paint the new governor into a corner, advocated the award in the wake of headlines being made by band leader Darius Rucker.

With Beasley and the Republicans at the time solidly behind flying the Confederate flag atop South Carolina's capitol, Beasley supporters weren't particularly enamored with Rucker's harsh criticism of South Carolina's government and its ties to the flag. "As far as I'm concerned, the South Carolina government can all go to hell," Rucker told Rolling Stone.

For his part, Beasley didn't help himself, publicly treating the band as non-entities, saying he didn't know anything about a group that at the time was one of the hottest acts in the land.

Hootie and the Blowfish members said they didn't want any part of controversy over the award and Beasley was equally happy to see the minifuror fade.

Over four years, Beasley went on to bestow the Order of the Palmetto upon many outstanding individuals, a number of times making headlines in The Times and Democrat.

-- In 1997, there was an Order for Sterling Dowling of Orangeburg, the Orangeburg-Wilkinson student who was elected governor of Palmetto Boys State and then president of Boys Nation.

-- Nearly a year before that, two men long associated with Springfield School District One - the Rev. Lee Malcolm Tyler and Carrol T. Fogle - were give the state's highest honor.

-- In 1998, the governor came to Calhoun County to present the award to author and University of South Carolina Professor of Southern Studies Dr. Walter Edgar, author of "South Carolina, A History," the first comprehensive history of the state to be published in more than 60 years.

After the Election Day 1998 loss to Democrat Jim Hodges, Beasley got very busy honoring requests for the award. From November to Jan. 13, he presented 262 Orders of the Palmetto.

Beasley's staff members were among recipients, as were other government officials.

By comparison, former Gov. Carroll Campbell gave out 129 Orders in his final two months in office, and like Democrat Dick Riley before him also gave the awards to his staff.

The sheer number of awards had lawmakers and citizens questioning the legitimacy of them and wondering whether the Order of the Palmetto has lost its luster.

Not to miss the opportunity, Hodges on Feb. 5, 1999 issued a press release with the headline: "Governor Hodges moves to restore dignity of award."

The governor announced he was creating a special committee to help him decide who should receive the award. He also appointed a bipartisan group to develop guidelines for the honor.

"We want to make sure the best people in South Carolina get his award. That means the best people, regardless of their political affiliation or their employer," Hodges said.

“Currently all nominations have to be in writing, not forwarded by a telephone call. Nominees who made a statewide accomplishment are eligible for the award, while those who make a local community or professional contribution are eligible for another honor - the Order of the Silver Crescent (both awards are taken from the two prominent features on the state flag: the Palmetto tree and the crescent). No sitting legislator up for election is eligible for any award.” (Wikipedia.org)

The Order of the Palmetto comes in the form of a framed plaque.

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