TO REQUEST THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NAME THE INTERCHANGE LOCATED AT THE INTERSECTION OF INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 85 BUSINESS AND INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 585 IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY "ROGER MILLIKEN INTERCHANGE" AND ERECT APPROPRIATE MARKERS OR SIGNS AT THIS INTERCHANGE THAT CONTAIN THE WORDS "ROGER MILLIKEN INTERCHANGE".

Whereas, Mr. Roger Milliken was born in New York City on October 24, 1915, and assumed control of his family's textile business in 1947 after the death of his father, Gerrish Milliken. The company was co-founded by his grandfather Seth Milliken in 1865; and

Whereas, Mr. Milliken, who parlayed his family's South Carolina textile business into the kind of wealth that supported numerous charities and political candidates, died on December 30, 2010, at the age of ninety-five; and

Whereas, this Spartanburg icon ran Milliken and Company for almost sixty years as president from 1947 to 1983, chairman and chief executive officer from 1983 to 2003, and chairman from 2003 until his death; and

Whereas, Mr. Milliken was married to the late Justine Van Rensselaer Hooper and they are survived by five children and nine grandchildren; and

Whereas, in 1999, the industry's trade publication, "Textile World" selected him as the textile industry's Leader of the Century. He was also an inaugural inductee to the American Textile Hall of Fame; and

Whereas, in 1999, Mr. Milliken established the Noble Tree Foundation to encourage the planting of enduring and beautiful trees. In 2004, he received the Frederick Law Olmsted Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by the National Arbor Day Foundation; and

Whereas, he was the only chairman of the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport Commission from its inception in 1959 until his death; and

Whereas, it would be fitting and proper to forever recognize the legacy of this great industrialist, philanthropist, and humanitarian by naming a highway interchange in Spartanburg County in his honor. Now, therefore,

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

That the members of the General Assembly request that the Department of Transportation name the interchange located at the intersection of Interstate Highway 85 Business and Interstate Highway 585 in Spartanburg County "Roger Milliken Interchange" and erect appropriate markers or signs at this interchange that contain the words "Roger Milliken Interchange".

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