Hitt
McKissick
Smyth McKissick
Since 1988 McKissick serves as president & CEO of Alice Manufacturing Company in Easley, SC. For 90 years, four generations of the McKissick family have led Alice Manufacturing Company. Alice is widely recognized today as a modern and successful textile company as well as an important part of the upstate community.
McKissick also currently serves as a trustee of Clemson University. He has previously served as chairman of the SCMA, chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations, co-chair of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition and as an independent director of the Peoples Bancorp Inc.
He is a graduate of Clemson University and has an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina.
Bobby Hitt
Robert "Bobby" M. Hitt III was appointed by S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as Secretary of Commerce in January 2011. Hitt, the previous manager of corporate affairs at the BMW Manufacturing Company in Spartanburg, brings a wealth of economic development experience to the Department of Commerce and has personally worked with the previous five commerce secretaries.
Hitt served as the director of planning and development for the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough law firm in Columbia. In that role, Hitt was involved in bringing the BMW Manufacturing Company to the Upstate, one of the state's largest success stories.
He is past chairman of the SCMA, has served on the executive committees of Advance S.C. and the Upstate Alliance and on the boards of St. Francis Hospital System and Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC.
Hitt is a native of Charleston, S.C., and graduate of the University of South Carolina. In 1987, he received the prestigious Nieman Fellowship for journalists, which allowed him to study for a year at Harvard University where he focused on management and law.
Richard Dillard
Dillard recently retired from Milliken & Company as director of Corporate Public Affairs following a 39-year career with the company. Dillard currently serves on the board of the Spartanburg Northside Development Initiative.
He served three terms on the board of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, and has previously served as chairman of the board of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Board of United Way of the Piedmont, chairman of the board of the Upstate Employers Network, vice chair of the S.C. Business & Industry Political Education Committee and chairman of the board of the Spartanburg March of Dimes.
In 2003, S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford appointed him to a term on the South Carolina State Ports Authority. Dillard has a B.S. degree from Clemson University, and is a graduate of Leadership South Carolina.
Source: SCMA
Posted October 27, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance (SCMA) announced that E. Smyth McKissick III, president & CEO of Alice Manufacturing Co., Easley, S.C., and Robert "Bobby" M. Hitt III, South Carolina’s Secretary of Commerce, are the 2015 recipients of the Roger Milliken Defender of Manufacturing Award.
The recipients will be honored during the awards dinner on Thursday, December 10 at the Marriott in Spartanburg, S.C.
Richard Dillard, retired Milliken & Company executive, will also be honored during the dinner with the SCMA Distinguished Service Award for his three decades of leadership within the SCMA.
Established in 2006, the Defender of Manufacturing Award recognizes individuals in the public and private sectors who have worked to advance the manufacturing industry in South Carolina. In 2012, the SCMA Board of Directors voted to rename the award to honor Roger Milliken, who died in 2010. The Defender of Manufacturing Award is the most prestigious honor from the SCMA.
"The impact that the manufacturing industry has in enhancing the lives of South Carolinians is without equal," said Roger Schrum, vice president of Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs for Sonoco Products Company and SCMA chairman. "It's an industry that makes world-class products, contributes significantly to communities and provides the foundation for the state's international economy. We're proud to recognize the individuals with the Roger Milliken Defender of Manufacturing Award for their unflinching commitment to keep our industry strong and prosperous for generations."
Registration is now open for the Roger Milliken Defender of Manufacturing Award dinner. The individual registration fee is $125 for members and $165 for non-member manufacturers. Corporate tables are available for $800 for SCMA members. Companies that are not manufacturers must sponsor to attend.
Click here for more information.
McKissick, Hitt, Dillard to be honored
SCMA names Milliken Defender of Manufacturing Award recipients
