Robert B. Scarborough Sunday, July 29, 2007 During the celebration of the long-delayed opening of the new bridge to James Island 14 years ago, a highway official described the structure as a monument to the persistence of its principle advocate. That advocate was Robert B. Scarborough, one of this community’s foremost civic and political leaders, who died Friday at age 79. No question, the construction of the James Island bridge that rightly bears his name was the most passionate cause of his long public career. He was a relatively new member of the state House of Representatives when the bridge was first proposed in the mid-1960s. It stayed at the top of his agenda during his decade in the House and Senate and his nine years as district highway commissioner. It seemed a lost cause more than once as downtown residents successfully delayed its construction and forced a realignment of its terminus on the peninsula, not to mention federal funding and construction problems. But Bobby Scarborough never gave up, a characteristic that shaped his leadership style. His tenacity was similarly in evidence when the former member of The Citadel Board of Visitors co-chaired the military college’s $3.5-million alumni center building project that took more than a decade to bring to fruition. We’ve been working on this for so long, he told a reporter when the center opened seven years ago. But, he added, I’ve worked on bridges that took 30 years. Actually, he worked for this community much of his adult life, following a family tradition of active civic involvement, as well as becoming an executive of the family-owned Atlantic Coast Life Insurance. Co. The Exchange Club was a particular cause and it was under his presidency that the club began the sponsorship of the Coastal Carolina Fair. He went on to become the national president of the national Exchange Club of America. He also was a member of the National Board of Directors of the American Red Cross. Be it civic or political, he emerged a leader, from president of the Chamber of Commerce to chairman of the Charleston County Legislative Delegation. He also was always quick to credit those who helped with his endeavors, even across party lines. He was, as Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. noted when the James Island span was dedicated, a bridge builder in the broader sense. On news of his death, the mayor said of his former House colleague: He approached things so purely. He never had an axe to grind. He had a natural disposition for optimism and a very positive outlook on life. What you saw was what you got. He was just interested in whether it would make the community and state better. It was this community’s very good fortune that he was dedicated to public service. Former Congressman Tommy Hartnett, also a state House colleague, noted that he loved being part of what was going on and was very contributory. People had a lot of respect for what he had to say. He was the best highway commissioner this district ever had. Indeed, transportation remained his top concern after he left the highway commission. As chairman of the Charleston Area Transportation Study (CHATS) Policy Committee he spent long hours working on options for funding the Ravenel bridge. North Charleston attorney Gordon H. Garrett was one of Bobby Scarborough’s running mates when the five-member Democratic Action Team won all five Berkeley-Charleston seats in the state Senate in 1968. Some, he said, enter public service to advance themselves, but the Scarborough family had always done so to advance the community. Bobby represented the very best of that. His standard was integrity. He set a standard of public service. Four years ago, before Alzheimer’s disease dramatically altered his life, he was honored by The Citadel with a parade and given the title of brigadier general with command of the retirement arm of the Sumter Guard. Rank doesn’t mean that much to me, he told a reporter. Getting something accomplished is what I enjoy. His was a life filled with love of family and lasting accomplishments that will benefit this community for generations to come. Source: http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/jul/29/robert_b_scarborough11686/ 7/30/2007 9:13:03 AM sontaj
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