Salkehatchie leadership institute graduates 13, including regional participants

Bamberg County had a direct stake in the Leadership Salkehatchie graduation because two of the 13 graduates came from here: Stephone Glover of Glover Moving Company, LLC, in Bamberg, and Leigh Ann Osborne of Bamberg-Ehrhardt Middle School. Their completion of the program means two more local voices have been through a six-month regional curriculum built around the decisions that shape schools, workplaces, health care and county government.

The USC Salkehatchie Leadership Institute marked the Class of 2026 with a ceremony and alumni luncheon on May 28, bringing together graduates from across the six-county Salkehatchie region. Shelby Broomfield opened the event, and keynote speaker Denzor Richberg centered his remarks on uncommon leadership, resilience and influence. The class also presented its community service project, “Truth in Nature,” a reminder that the institute is intended to produce more than networking contacts.

That matters in Bamberg County, where the numbers point to persistent capacity gaps. The county had 13,311 residents in the 2020 Census and an estimated population of 12,796 in 2025. During the 2020-2024 period, just 17.9% of residents age 25 and older held a bachelor’s degree or higher, while 13.9% of residents under 65 were uninsured. Those are the kinds of conditions where trained local leaders can make a difference in workforce development, public health access and the day-to-day quality of county services.

Leadership Salkehatchie is designed to build that pipeline. The program launched its 2026 cohort on Jan. 22 with an orientation at the Atrium on the Allendale campus, and it runs for six months with bimonthly sessions across the region and on USC’s Columbia campus. Accepted participants receive a full scholarship, and the curriculum covers economic development, education, the judicial system, local government, legislative advocacy and leadership skills.

The class’s schedule placed participants in settings that mirror the issues Bamberg County faces. Sessions included an opening day on the USC Columbia campus, a leadership discussion with Dr. Kirk Randazzo, a health care, emergency response and economic development segment with site visits to Hampton Regional Medical Center, a hands-on emergency simulation at Company Two Fire, and briefings from SouthernCarolina Alliance.

For Bamberg County Government and Bamberg County Emergency Services, that kind of regional preparation has practical value. County emergency services says it coordinates multi-hazard disaster preparedness and recovery with federal, state, county, local, volunteer and private-sector partners. A leadership program that pulls together working adults from Bamberg, Allendale, Barnwell, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties gives local governments, schools and employers a wider network to draw on when the next planning, funding or response challenge lands at the county line.