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Wilkins to Chair Fundraising Effort for Milliken Match

ImARepToo_cropFORMER AMBASSADOR, HOUSE SPEAKER TO LEAD FUNDRAISING EFFORT

Columbia, SC – October 8, 2009 – Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada and Speaker of the South Carolina House David Wilkins will chair the fundraising efforts for the SC GOP’s recently launched “Milliken Match” drive, Chairman Karen Floyd announced today.

Wilkins agreed to lead the effort announced last week, the goal of which is to pay off all of the mortgage debt held by the Republican Party, and to make sustainability upgrades to the SC GOP Headquarters. Upstate textile magnate Roger Milliken agreed to pay half of the Party’s mortgage, so long as the other half could be raised by the Party. The money-saving upgrades being made to the building will also allow the Party to devote more resources toward its efforts to elect conservative Republicans across the state. All told, the goal of the fundraising drive is $500,000 – including Milliken’s portion – to be raised by December 7 of this year.

“Roger Milliken has been an icon in Republican Party for decades, and his leadership and vision for the Party Headquarters are to be commended,” Wilkins said. “I’m incredibly pleased to be part of this effort, and look forward to the challenge of helping meet this ambitious fundraising goal.”

“Like Mr. Milliken, David Wilkins is one of the true giants of the Republican Party in South Carolina,” Floyd said. “His leadership and integrity have been invaluable to our state through the years, and his involvement in this effort will be equally invaluable over the next several months.”

Upgrades to the Party Headquarters are being made to the LEED standard. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED measures a number of criteria, including site sustainability, water and energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and others. There are currently over 19,000 projects registered with the LEED system, including projects in all 50 states and in 91 countries.