Page 41 - Camden Kershaw 2018

Connection KERSHAW

Collaboration

Community COUNTY

a Carpenter said. “I said we were the best place to

At first, the idea of winning an All-America City
live in America, now we’ve proved it. I want to give
award for Kershaw County seemed daunting, but
you the feedback that we got from 12 live panelists
Laurey Carpenter is used to thinking big. More
from all over the nation. No. 1, the very first
important, Carpenter, who serves as executive
director of Kershaw County Habitat for Humanity
and the Kershaw County PLAY Foundation, has a that had non-profit, local elected officials, county
lot of experience in helping people make dreams real. thing they said was we were the only delegation
elected officials and a state elected official and
Besides, what was the big deal, anyway? Why showed the equity all the way from ground zero to
wouldn’t Kershaw County be worthy of being the state house.”
named an All-America City, a national recognition That group of volunteers put in nearly three
awarded by the National Civic League (NCL). years of preparation and groundwork before
Carpenter is not one to let dreams -- or plans they ever filled out the first page of the actual
-- sit idle. Still, the process took a while but, in the application.
end, it was absolutely worth it. In March 2018, the group was informed the
“This started three and a half years ago,” county was one of 20 semi-finalists out of more

66 s Discover Camden-Kershaw County s 2018/2019