Inaugural Richland One Hall of Fame Gala to be Held Nov. 13

The Partners In Education Foundation will present the inaugural Richland One Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Gala on Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, 1101 Lincoln St. The reception will begin at 6 p.m., with the program starting at 7 p.m.

Richland One's Hall of Fame was created to pay tribute to distinguished district alumni and other persons who have made significant contributions to the district, to their communities, to their professions and to society as a whole. Eight persons were selected to be the first Richland One Hall of Fame inductees. The 2004 Richland One Hall of Fame honorees are:

• Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Charles F. Bolden Jr. - A former astronaut and space shuttle commander, Bolden is a 1964 graduate of C.A. Johnson High School.
  
• Henry Jennings Cauthen - Cauthen, a former president and general manager of the South Carolina Educational Television Network (SCETV) and one of its founders, is a 1949 graduate of Dreher High School.
  
• Kimberly Aiken Cockerham - Cockerham, the first African-American woman to be crowned Miss South Carolina, went on to win the title of Miss America 1994. She graduated from Columbia High School in 1992.
  
• The Rev. Joseph A. Darby - A 1969 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, Darby is pastor of Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston and an NAACP leader.
  
• Harris E. DeLoach Jr. - DeLoach, president and CEO of Hartsville-based Sonoco, is a 1962 graduate of Eau Claire High School.
  
• The late Cornell Alvin Johnson - Johnson served as principal of Booker T. Washington High principal and as supervisor of Negro Schools in Columbia. He was a graduate of the old Howard School. C.A. Johnson High School was named in his honor.
  
• Dr. Kary B. Mullis - Mullis, who won a Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1993 for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction, is a 1962 graduate of Dreher High School.
  
• Dr. John R. Stevenson - Stevenson was Richland One's first African-American superintendent. He led the district from 1986 until his retirement in 1994.

Tickets to the black-tie Richland One Hall of Fame Gala are $75. Valet parking will be available. Call 772-0693 to purchase tickets or for other event information. For general information about the Richland One Hall of Fame, call the Office of Communications at 231-7504 or visit the district's Web site at www.richlandone.org.

Established in 1987 by a group of civic and business leaders, the Partners In Education Foundation is an independent, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that works to support and enhance the quality of education in Richland One and to advance the district's mission.