Myrtle Beach announces leadership scholarship in honor of fallen civil rights activist
The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Educational Foundation will offer an annual scholarship to Leadership Grand Strand to provide full tuition for one person from an underrepresented or marginalized group. The scholarship is named after Bennie J. Swans Jr., a longtime community and civil rights activist.
Swans is best known as the driving force behind the formation of Freedom Week, the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations in Myrtle Beach. He also served as the chair of the Horry County Democratic Party. Swans was a decorated United States Army veteran who fought during the Vietnam War. He died in September 2020.
“We are delighted the educational foundation can provide this new scholarship to help someone participate in the leadership training,” said Karen Riordan, president and CEO of Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Bennie immediately came to mind when deciding the name of the scholarship. He was a great leader in our area and this scholarship represents everything he stood for and will help keep his memory alive.”
The Bennie Swans Scholarship is funded by the chamber’s educational foundation, which is funded by local business contributions. The foundation will continue to award scholarships to local high school students in addition to the new Bennie Swans Scholarship.
The scholarship will cover the cost of the current leadership program tuition. The recipient must be accepted to the program and come from an underrepresented or marginalized group. The chamber will form a selection committee to choose the scholarship winner.
Leadership Grand Strand is a 10-month program sponsored by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce to develop informed, committed and qualified residents capable of providing leadership for the Grand Strand area.
“The Board of Regents likes to see diversity among the class each year,” said Diana Greene, executive director of the program. “We are excited by the opportunity to extend this scholarship to help someone from an underrepresented or marginalized group to go through the program and are thankful to the efforts of the chamber’s council.”
Scholarship applications will be available March 1 at LeadershipGrandStrand.com.
