February 14, 2008
FOR immediate release                        contact:  Will Haynie

Elizabeth Hagood Awarded “Order of Palmetto” by Gov. Sanford

Charleston, SC: The annual membership meeting of the Lowcountry Open Land Trust was the setting for the surprise awarding of South Carolina’s highest civilian award, the Order of the Palmetto, to Charleston resident Elizabeth M. Hagood. Gov. Mark Sanford conferred the award on Hagood for her years of dedicated service preserving South Carolina’s natural resources and quality of life. Hagood served as Sanford’s appointed chairman of the DHEC board (Department of Health & Environmental Control) until resigning to become director of operations for the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, a post she left at the end of 2007. Hagood was elected to the board of trustees of the Lowcountry Open Land Trust at Monday’s membership meeting. She was also the Land Trust’s first executive director from 1989-1995.
    Mike McShane, who is chairman of the board of the Department of Natural Resources, made the surprise announcement at the beginning of the meeting. “I can think of no better setting than the Lowcountry Open Land Trust’s annual meeting to make this presentation,” said McShane, who is a past president of the Land Trust board. Members of the Land Trust were at the meeting to celebrate achieving a record-breaking year in the organization’s 22 years of conservation efforts. In 2007, the group preserved over 10,500 acres, bringing the total number of acres saved to 57,579. Members were delighted to be there to see one of their own achieve such a prestigious award.
The governor’s citation focuses on Hagood’s dedication to preserving the state’s natural resources, particularly highlighting her involvement with the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, the Coastal Conservation League, and the DHEC board, along with her term on the governor’s Quality of Life Task Force.
Hagood is currently also contributing her leadership skills as a board member of the following organizations: Woodberry Forest School, Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, Historic Charleston Foundation, the Gaylord M. Donnelly Foundation, and as an Appointee to the Mayor’s Green City Committee (Charleston). She received her M.B.A from the University of Virginia and her B.A from Davidson College. She also studied at the University of Madras in India.