Bamberg County honors coroner Shawn Hanks for Hidden Hero award

Bamberg County used its homepage June 23 to salute Coroner Shawn Hanks after the South Carolina Coroners' Association named him a Hidden Hero Award winner. The recognition came out of the association’s 2026 annual conference, held June 15-18 at Myrtle Beach Kingston Resorts and Embassy Suites, where the state group also honored coroners and deputies from Berkeley, Dorchester and Darlington counties.

For Bamberg County, the award reached beyond a ceremonial nod. The coroner’s office handles some of the county’s most sensitive public-safety calls, including sudden deaths, suspected overdoses, violent cases and deaths that require coordination with law enforcement and emergency responders. The office says its mission is to provide compassionate, professional service, treat each decedent with dignity and respect, and guide families through some of the hardest moments of their lives.

That mission is now unfolding alongside an effort to standardize how the office works. The coroner’s office says it is introducing standardized policies, procedures, job descriptions and official forms while keeping its core duties intact. In a county where the coroner can be pulled into both criminal investigations and public-health crises, that kind of consistency matters because it shapes how scenes are handled, how families are notified and how evidence is preserved.

Hanks’ role has already been tied to the county’s overdose picture. A Bamberg County Council agenda dated Jan. 6, 2025, identified Shawn B. Hanks as the newly elected Bamberg County coroner. At a March 10, 2025 council meeting, he said four Bamberg County residents died of fentanyl overdoses in 2024 and that 12 autopsies were pending for cause of death. He also said he would offer NARCAN training and a grief-share program, underscoring that the office’s work extends from death investigation into prevention and family support.

The South Carolina Coroners' Association says it was established in the late 1970s, when coroners across the state were not yet working under formal training standards and practices varied widely. Its awards announcement also named Darnell Hartwell of Berkeley County as Coroner of the Year, Chris Burgess of Dorchester County as Deputy Coroner of the Year for the Lowcountry, Todd Hardee of Darlington County for the Sue Townsend Award and April Overby of Berkeley County as the Rising Star Award winner. For Bamberg County, Hanks’ recognition signaled that the local coroner’s office is being noticed by peers for work that is both technical and deeply personal.