WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsMBACC to honor citizen of the year

MBACC to honor citizen of the year

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting its President’s Gala honoring Woody Crosby, 2009 Citizen of the Year, and James Benton, 2009 Ashby Ward Pioneer of the Year.

The Citizen of the Year award will take place on Nov. 12, at the Marina Inn at Grand Dunes and recognizes an individual who has displayed outstanding leadership and community involvement.

Woody Crosby, president and CEO of Jordan Properties, oversees the lodgings Crown Reef at South Beach Resort and Tropical Seas Oceanfront Hotel in Myrtle Beach and Highlands Suite Hotel and Mountain High Lodge in Highlands, N.C., with a total staff of more than 275.

He has served many years on the board of directors for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association, Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday and South Carolina Hospitality Association. As an advocate of the tourism industry, Crosby has been a guiding and creative force on the marketing cooperative to raise private funds to match the state’s two-for-one grant for tourism promotion, as well as Myrtle Beach’s 1 percent tourism development fee and airport redevelopment.

In his personal life, he is a recognized champion of organ and tissue donation, serving on the board of Donate Life South Carolina, supported by the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles. Crosby was instrumental in the U.S. 501 beautification project that included median landscaping between Conway and Myrtle Beach, obtaining funding from the Horry County accommodations tax and coordinating with the S.C. Department of Transportation.

Past honors include 2008 March of Dimes Community Servant Award, 2004 South Carolina Hotelier of the Year, 1999 Myrtle Beach Hotelier of the Year and 1997 Myrtle Beach Hospitality Volunteer of the Year.

“No one exemplifies public service more than Woody Crosby,” said Brant Branham, MBACC board chairman. “His service on the chamber board and hospitality association board and various civic organizations speaks for Woody’s commitment to the tourism industry and community.” 

The Ashby Ward Pioneer of the Year award, named in honor of the late Ashby Ward (president and CEO of the chamber for nearly 30 years), was established to recognize individuals who have had a significant, positive impact on the Myrtle Beach area.

James Benton, a Myrtle Beach native, is the retired president of C.L. Benton & Sons Inc., a construction business started by his father in 1938. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, returning home to begin his career in the family business. Under his leadership, C.L. Benton & Sons was involved in much of the rebuilding after Hurricane Hazel destroyed the oceanfront in Myrtle Beach. The company is also credited with building several campgrounds and golf courses in the area, including Arrowhead Country Club, and site development for Myrtle Beach’s first major mall (Myrtle Square).

Active in the community, Benton has been involved with the Myrtle Beach Rotary Club, Grand Strand Miracle League, Horry County Mental Retardation Center and Coastal Carolina University, believing strongly in the need for excellence in academia. He has served on the boards of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Coastal Federal Bank, Coker College and Dunes Golf and Beach Club.

Benton received the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian honor for service, in 2008.

“Jimmy Benton is a true son of Myrtle Beach,” Branham said. “Over the past 70 years C. L. Benton & Sons has literally built Myrtle Beach, from the roads we ride on to the infrastructure laid for development. The company he grew helped Myrtle Beach grow, and now his two sons Carson and Lawton are following in their father’s footsteps.”

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