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Date	ArticleType
10/7/2009
Myrtle Beach Area Chamber Announces Volunteer of the Year, Chairman's Choice Award Winners
The winners of the 2009 Volunteer of the Year Award and 2009 Chairman’s Choice Award were announced last night during the Volunteer Celebration hosted by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. The event, presented by WMBF News, was held at the Marriott Myrtle Beach Resort at Grande Dunes. Julie Kopnicky, marketing and communications coordinator with United Way of Horry County, received the MBACC 2009 Volunteer of the Year Award. Since 2008 Kopnicky has served on the Board of Regents for Leadership Grand Strand. Currently, she fills the role of the board’s vice chair and participates on various subcommittees. Kopnicky also serves on the LGS Alumni Association board and is the association’s communications chair. A founding member of gsSCENE, the MBACC’s young professionals group, Kopnicky has been instrumental in growing the new group’s membership through her participation on the events committee and helping to establish networking events. She also promotes and participates in gsSCENE community service projects and educational events. An advocate for gsSCENE, Kopnicky introduces potential new members as well as keeps current members excited and involved in the group. Other 2009 Volunteer of the Year finalists named were Chris Butler, Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede, and Deanne Johnson, Studio 303. The 2009 Chairman’s Choice Award was presented to Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility and the state’s largest power producer. Created and judged by the chamber’s past presidents, the award recognizes an organization for its countless contributions to the Myrtle Beach area’s business community, residents and visitors. A champion of conservation and energy efficiency for more than 40 years, Santee Cooper set an aggressive goal two years ago: to generate 40 percent of its power by 2020 from non-greenhouse gas emitting resources, biomass fuels, conservation and energy efficiency. In 2001 Santee Cooper opened the Horry County Landfill Generating Station, the state’s first Green Power station, which converts naturally occurring methane gas from decomposing refuse into an electrical fuel source. Santee Cooper also has a solar energy pavilion at Coastal Carolina University and, with Horry Electrical Cooperative, a Green Power Solar School demonstration project at Aynor Middle School. Partnering with the university, Santee Cooper is studying offshore wind energy, placing the state among the nation’s leaders in offshore wind energy research. J.D. Power and Associates presented Santee Cooper its award for “Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Midsized Utilities in the South” for residential customers. This honor was based on many measures including power quality and reliability, price, billing and payment, corporate citizenship, communications and, most importantly, customer service. This year Santee Cooper unveiled a new energy efficiency program aimed at annual energy savings of 209 gigawatt hours by 2020. Additional programs are on tap later this year to make existing and new homes more energy efficient. Santee Cooper is involved in many local initiatives including the United Way of Horry County campaign and its Day of Caring. They continue to be a key partner in the community’s economic development, as low-cost, reliable power helps bring in industry and benefits all who live and work along the Grand Strand. Brant Branham, 2008-2009/2009-2010 board chairman and consultant with E.F. Hucks & Associates Inc., presented the Chairman’s Choice Award. “Tonight we celebrate the true meaning of volunteerism and honor three shining examples of what volunteerism, sacrifice and giving are all about,” Branham said. “Without our more than 500 volunteers, the chamber would not be able to effectively promote, protect and improve the business community and serve our 2,700 members.” The event also paid tribute to Branham, who has served on the board for the past five years and was elected to serve not one, but two, years as chairman, beginning his second year in July. Countless committee meetings, numerous communications and a myriad of events only begin to describe the position’s 12 months of dedication. He has led a number of accomplishments including moving closer to making Interstate 73 a reality and, most importantly, passage of the 1 percent tourism tax on both state and local levels.