{"id":7380,"date":"2025-07-09T20:11:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/09\/state-representative-bannister-honored-as-conservation-hero\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T20:11:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T20:11:39","slug":"state-representative-bannister-honored-as-conservation-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/09\/state-representative-bannister-honored-as-conservation-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"State Representative Bannister honored as \u201cConservation Hero\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i>House Ways and Means Chair recognized for commitment to state&rsquo;s natural resources<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>By W. Thomas Smith Jr.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Greenville attorney and South Carolina Representative Bruce Wyche Bannister, chairman of the S.C. House Ways and Means Committee, was recognized as a &ldquo;True Conservation Hero&rdquo; by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR): The recognition presented Tuesday, July 8, by SCDNR Director Tom Mullikin on the SC7 Expedition trail [see picture].<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Chairman Bannister has been recognized as a True Conservation Hero; a testament to his tireless efforts to protect South Carolina&#8217;s environment while driving economic growth,&rdquo; said Mullikin, a world renowned global expedition leader who assumed the reigns of SCDNR in February. &ldquo;His [Bannister&rsquo;s] visionary leadership and lifelong commitment to preserving the state&#8217;s natural beauty are a shining example of how dedicated individuals can shape a brighter future for generations to come.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in the month, Sen. Thomas Alexander, president of the S.C. Senate, was similarly recognized as &ldquo;will be&rdquo; several other state legislators and another yet-unnamed VIP before the end of July according to SCDNR officials.<\/p>\n<p>On June 26, SCDNR announced its partnership with the annual SC7 Expedition. Now in its fifth year, SC7 2025 &ndash; a joint venture between the non-profit Global Eco Adventures and the S.C. National Heritage Corridor &ndash; is a monthlong physical fitness, education, and exploratory expedition from the mountains to the sea which began in the S.C. Upstate on July 1. The expedition trek closely parallels the scenic 350-mile Palmetto Trail, stretching south-southeasterly through the Midlands and ultimately toward the coast and S.C.&rsquo;s storied Lowcountry. The expedition is designed to showcase South Carolina&rsquo;s extraordinary natural history and resources while raising awareness of the need to protect them.<\/p>\n<p>Additional stories will follow as awards are presented throughout the month.<\/p>\n<p>For more about SC7 2025, please visit &ndash; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.southcarolina7.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.southcarolina7.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ndash; For more information about the SC7-SCDNR partnership, please contact Cheyenne Twilley, SCDNR Director of Public Information at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dnr.sc.gov\/admin\/divphone.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.dnr.sc.gov\/admin\/divphone.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Ways and Means Chair recognized for commitment to state&rsquo;s natural resources By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Greenville attorney and South Carolina Representative Bruce Wyche Bannister, chairman of the S.C. House Ways and Means Committee, was recognized as a &ldquo;True Conservation Hero&rdquo; by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR):<span class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/09\/state-representative-bannister-honored-as-conservation-hero\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31],"tags":[204,361],"class_list":["entry","author-john-griggs","post-7380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-community-news","tag-natural-resources","tag-scdnr"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Bruce-Wyche-Bannister-_2025_630x350.jpg?fit=630%2C350&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}