Capital Rotary Club

Our speaker on Wednesday morning, November 18h was Mr. Bill Davies, Jr.  Mr. Davies, Jr., formally a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP for 34 years, practiced law in Columbia, South Carolina in the areas of general litigation, general product liability, toxic torts and mass tort litigation. He has been retired since January 1, 2010. Active in community affairs, Mr. Davies served on the board of directors of the Family Service Center, the Harvest Hope Food Bank, and the United Way of the Midlands. Mr. Davies also served on the Citadel Class of 1964 50th Reunion Capital Campaign Committee.  He has been active in local Episcopal churches including St Martin’s in the Fields for 19 years and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral since 1992. He is a member of the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society, the South Carolina Archives & History Foundation,  the South Carolina Historical Society, the Charleston Museum, the South Carolina State Museum, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Old Edgefield District Genealogical Society, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Civil War Trust, the Blue and Gray Educational Society, the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military History Museum, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars and the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust.  Bill’s remarks on Wednesday will pertain to all things Robert Mills.

Prior to joining Nelson Mullins, Mr. Davies was a captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army serving on active duty for over 5 years with duty stations at Ft. Lewis, Washington as well as Frankfurt, Germany and Vicenza, Italy.   Bill earned a Juris Doctor from the University Of South Carolina School Of Law in 1967. In 1964, Mr. Davies earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from The Citadel.   Mr. Davies was born and had his basic education in Greenwood, South Carolina, while spending all of his summers at Edisto Beach, South Carolina. He has been happily married to the former Mahalie King Brown of Anderson, South Carolina since 1966. They have three children and nine grandchildren.

Our speaker on Wednesday morning, November 4th was Mr. Fred Delk, Executive Director of the Columbia Development Corporation, the organization has worked for the past 30 years to develop the Congaree Vista and South Columbia.

Fred has held the CDC position for the past 19 years, working with a wide range of projects including Columbia’s Governor’s Hill, Vista Commons Apartments, the Publix Grocery Store the renovation of 701 Whaley Street and most recently the purchase and plan for redevelopment of the 100 year old Palmetto Compress Warehouse.  These developments and others sponsored by the corporation were accomplished by a unique blend of creative finance and public/private partnerships.

Delk has extensive experience in Brownfields redevelopment and was the National Brownfields Renewal Person of the Year for 2011.   CDC projects have won numerous awards including the International Downtown Association’s Pinnacle Award. Delk has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects as a Public Supporter of Design Excellence.