Cobb-Hunter to speak at FHC event

The event is by invitation only and will be held in FHC’s new, state-of-the-art training center located at 1445 Presidential Drive in Orangeburg.

The keynote speaker for the occasion will S.C. Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg.

Cobb-Hunter is a woman of many firsts.

She was the first African American woman in Orangeburg County ever elected to a statewide office when on Jan. 28, 1992 she was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, where she currently serves.

She became the first freshman ever appointed to and is now ranking member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and is a member of the Joint Bond Review Committee.

Cobb-Hunter continued on her road of firsts by becoming the first person of color, male or female, to ever lead a legislative caucus, when in 1997 she was elected House minority leader.

She has been an active participant on numerous boards and commissions. A few of those included: Community Development Advisory Committee for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Planned Parenthood of South Carolina, South Carolina Fair Share, South Carolina Low Income Housing Coalition, South Carolina SAFEKIDS and Grassroots Leadership.

In her capacity as Vice Chair of the African American History Monument Commission, Cobb-Hunter led the historic effort to build the first monument to African Americans on the grounds of any state capitol.

She has represented South Carolina as the national committeewoman to the Democratic National Committee, where she served as a member of the DNC’s Executive Committee and as chair of the DNC’s Southern Regional Caucus.

She has served as president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.

During her legislative career, she has been honored for her legislative leadership and recognized as legislator of the year by several organizations.

Cobb-Hunter is the chief executive officer of CASA/Family Systems, a family violence agency serving Orangeburg, Bamberg and Calhoun counties.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Afro-American history from Florida A&M University, a master’s degree in American history from Florida State University and is a licensed master social worker.

She was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from the Medical University of South Carolina and in 2009 received the highly coveted David Wilkins Legislative Leadership Award from the Riley Institute at Furman University.

For additional information regarding this event, call 803-531-6913 or 803-531-6900, ext. 6850.