A concurrent RESOLUTION

TO REQUEST THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NAME south CHARLESTON ROAD IN darlington COUNTY FROM THE INTERSECTION OF piano ROAD TO the darlington/florence county line "DR. MELVIN LEROY HOWARD MEMORIAL Highway" AND ERECT APPROPRIATE SIGNS OR MARKERS AT THIS LOCATION CONTAINING THESE WORDS.

Whereas, born the son of James Earl and Ernest Mae Howard on April 1, 1956, Melvin Leroy Howard was the fifth of seven siblings. After graduating from Southside High School in 1974, he entered the U.S. Army and served on active duty from 1975 through 1981. In addition, he served in the South Carolina Army National Guard from 1984 to 2005, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served in Operation Desert Storm and at the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he served as a communications officer; and

Whereas, following active military service, he took up his duties with the Timmonsville Police Department as a patrol officer, a position in which he served for three years; and

Whereas, in 1982, Dr. Howard joined the South Carolina Highway Patrol and was assigned to Horry County. He was promoted to corporal in Williamsburg County in 1989, sergeant in Darlington County in 1992, lieutenant in Florence's District Five in 1994, and captain and leader of Troop Five in 2001. Appointed a field major at Highway Patrol Headquarters in 2004, he oversaw Highway Patrol operations in the lower half of the State; and

Whereas, in October 2007, Dr. Howard was promoted to lieutenant colonel and served as second in command of the Highway Patrol, which had a roster of nine hundred ten troopers. As Highway Patrol interim commander, he oversaw its enforcement and administrative activities, as well as special operations. Melvin Leroy Howard was the first African American to achieve the rank of lieutenant colonel within the Highway Patrol and the first African American to hold the prestigious position of its interim commander. He was retired at the time of his passing on March 11, 2015; and

Whereas, this native of Florence County was the beloved husband of Janice Alexander Howard for more than twenty eight years and the proud father of one adult son, Simon Jamel Howard of Charlotte. He was a member of St. Paul AME Church in Effingham, an avid golfer, extremely passionate in the pursuit of education, especially for youth, and was an aficionado of fine music; and

Whereas, in furtherance of his education, he earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia; a master's degree in public administration from Troy State University in Troy, Alabama; and a doctorate in human services from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He served as program director of criminal justice at South University in Columbia, and his training and skills enabled him to mentor many young boys with absent fathers; and

Whereas, it is only fitting and proper that the life and legacy of Dr. Melvin Leroy Howard is memorialized with a road in Darlington County named in his honor. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, request the Department of Transportation name South Charleston Road in Darlington County from the intersection of Piano Road to the Darlington/Florence County line "Dr. Melvin Leroy Howard Memorial Highway" and place appropriate signs or markers at this location containing these words.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Transportation.

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