Bill Text: SC H4523 | 2019-2020 | 123rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Debi Chard
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 79-44)
Status: (Passed) 2019-05-02 - Introduced and adopted [H4523 Detail]
Download: South_Carolina-2019-H4523-Introduced.html
A HOUSE RESOLUTION
TO HONOR DEBI CHARD ON THE OCCASION OF HER RETIREMENT FROM WCSC LIVE 5 NEWS IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, AFTER FORTY-THREE YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE AND TO WISH HER MANY HAPPY YEARS IN A WELL-DESERVED RETIREMENT.
Whereas, the members of the House of Representatives are pleased to take time to honor Debi Chard for her nearly half a century of commitment to providing quality news to the people of the Charleston area; and
Whereas, Debi Chard graduated from the University of Iowa with a double major in journalism and speech and dramatic arts and earned a Certificate of Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State. She is married with three cherished children and two beloved grandchildren; and
Whereas, on Friday, March 15, 2019, Debi Chard signed off for the final time from WCSC Live 5 News, the local CBS affiliate, owned by Gray Television, Inc., in Charleston. Debi had been a member of the team for forty-three years. During her tenure, she was the co-anchor for the evening six o'clock newscast and reported for the investigative unit; and
Whereas, since joining the station in 1976, Debi served as medical reporter, managing editor, assignment editor, and news producer. She was news director from 1982 until 1985, and during that time, she launched the first satellite news-gathering truck in the State; and
Whereas, Debi has been around the globe, taking her reporting skills on assignments in Egypt, the former Yugoslavia, the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Costa Rica; and
Whereas, her passion for journalism and meteorology was discovered through coverage of natural disasters in the Lowcountry and across the United States, including Hurricanes Gilbert, Andrew, and Katrina. Furthermore, she was an integral part of the Live 5 team honored with a Peabody Award for Hurricane Hugo coverage in 1989; and
Whereas, in 2018, Debi was inducted into the Southeast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Silver Circle. Established in 1989, the Gold and Silver Circles honor a lifetime of dedication to the television industry. This prestigious award is reserved for those who persevere in an industry known for change; and
Whereas, Debi has also been a force for community service. For twenty years, she has managed Debi's Kids, a holiday drive that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and donations for local children and families in need; and
Whereas, throughout her career Debi has been honored for her efforts. July 15, 2003, was proclaimed Debi Chard Day in Charleston for "dedicated service to the welfare of her fellow citizens." In May 2016, the newsroom at WCSC was renamed Debi Chard Newsroom in her honor to show appreciation for her forty-years of commitment to the station and community; and
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are grateful for the years of devoted service Debi has provided the citizens of the Lowcountry and hope she finds pleasure in the time she spends with her family. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, honor Debi Chard on the occasion of her retirement from WCSC Live 5 News in Charleston, South Carolina after forty-three years of dedicated service and wish her many happy years in a well-deserved retirement.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Debi Chard.
