Brookgreen Gardens presented the Huntington Exemplary Service Award to three recipients who have worked to improve race relations in the past year during the annual Juneteenth celebration on Saturday, June 17th. The award is named in honor of Brookgreen's founders, Anna and Archer Huntington, who left a legacy of public service and cultural conservation through their work in Georgetown County. Award winners were Giany Didier Guedjo from Georgetown County, Mary Goings from Horry County and Ron Daise at the state level.
“In honor of the Huntingtons' legacy, we are pleased to present the second annual Huntington Exemplary Service Award to three talented people from our area who are committed to investing in our community and relationships,” says Page Kiniry, President of Brookgreen Gardens. “Our Juneteenth Celebration was the perfect opportunity to recognize these community leaders as we celebrated history and freedom.”
The Juneteenth Celebration also included a discussion by Ron Daise on the significance of the holiday and its contemporary ramifications, “From Civil War to Civil Rights,” a selection of freedom songs performed by Natalie Daise, and a screen-printing activity with Brookgreen's vice president of creative education, Natalie Jones.
Giany Didier Guedjo, Georgetown County
Giany Didier Guedjo, originally from Benin, West Africa, is the executive director of the Carolina Human Reinvestment (CHRSC) and founder of the Community Garden of Pawleys Island. Under his leadership since 2012, CHRSC has transformed lives in the community through initiatives such as FoodShare Georgetown, an effort to help reduce food access disparity, the CHRSC Community Garden, where volunteers cultivated, harvested, and donated more than 9,000 pounds of food and over 7,500 heads of lettuce to those in need in Georgetown County, and Carolina Kids, an after-school program serving local students, among others.
Ron Daise, State
Ron Daise is a Gullah Geechee cultural interpreter, preservationist, singer, and songwriter. For over 30 years, his performances have filled many viewers with cultural appreciation, celebration, encouragement, and joy. Daise recently retired from Brookgreen Gardens as the vice president for creative education, where he expanded Brookgreen's cultural landscape by providing family-friendly programs, collaborating with the community, curating exhibitions, and raising awareness of Gullah Geechee culture and heritage. A Gullah Geechee descendant and expert on the culture, many know him as Mr. Ron from the award-winning Nickelodeon show from the 1990s, “Gullah Gullah Island.”
Mary Goings, Horry County
Mary “Cookie” Goings is the director of the Neighborhood Services Department for the City of Myrtle Beach and is a retired guidance counselor of over 30 years from Horry County Schools. In 2019, she founded Nana's Hope House to provide short-term housing and a clean, safe, and supportive environment for Horry County graduating high school seniors who are homeless. As director of the Neighborhood Services Department, Goings serves as a liaison between neighborhoods and the city, relaying any issues that may negatively affect the residents' quality of life. She also facilitates Beachside Chats, a program providing a space for conversations about race, implicit biases, police and resident relations, and more.
For more information about Brookgreen Gardens, visit www.brookgreen.org.
