About Us
History
The “Orangeburg Personnel Manager’s Group” started in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s. Eight personnel Managers met for breakfast once a month in various restaurants (Berry’s On The Hill, Shoney’s, Jack Nolan’s, Gray’s Restaurant, Touch of Brass, and Orangeburg Regional Hospital). The Eight original members were:
- Don K. Carver of Applied Engineering Company
- Foster Boone of Greenwood Mills
- Henry Kearse of Ethyl Corporation
- Thurston Gramling of Orangeburg Cotton Mill
- Ken Ray of Mayer Industries
- Bill Thraves of Utica Tool Company
- Bill Russell of Smith Corona
- Ernie Wright of U.S. Plywood.
These eight Personnel Managers had a round table discussion of Personnel issues. In the early formation, the members were limited to Industrial plants only. The group was not formally named until 1983 when the chapter joined ASPA (American Society for Personnel Administrators) with Don Carver as its first formal President. The “Orangeburg Personnel Manager’s Group” then changed their name to “The Orangeburg Chapter of ASPA.” Later the ASPA changed their name to SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management). With the ASPA changing their name, The Orangeburg Chapter of ASPA changed its name for the final time to the Midlands Society for Human Resource Management (MSHRM).
The Chapter then expanded membership invitations to include non-industrial Personnel Representatives from other organizations such as the hospital, temporary employment agencies, etc. The first non-industrial member was Sinkler Wharley of the Orangeburg Regional Hospital. The first female member was Virginia Bruner of First National Bank. With the non-industrial additions, the meetings became more formal with invited outside guest speakers in an effort to incorporate topics interesting to all members in 1995. The meeting location moved from the local restaurants to the Orangeburg Regional Hospital in the same year.
One bit of trivia is that the Orangeburg Personnel Manager’s Group formed the first Adult (Men) Basketball League in Orangeburg in 1972. The League consisted of employees from industrial plants. They played at the old Thackson Junior High School. The Orangeburg City Recreation Department took it over the following year and that was the beginning of the Orangeburg City Recreation Department’s Adult Leagues.
We proudly display the history of past presidents here.
Today
MSHRM has developed into a network of learning and sharing with other Human Resource members. Our guest speakers are designed to create a learning environment with a direct focus on Human Resource concerns. Guest speakers such as attorneys from various prominent law firms introduce the MSHRM members to current court cases regarding Human Resource topics; Senators and other governmental leaders present specific HR legislation being reviewed in Congress, and many other relevant Human Resource speakers are invited with various topics. In addition to external guest speakers, we also utilize the MSHRM membership as a resource to learn from other employer experiences.
