A house RESOLUTION

TO HONOR AND congratulate Reverend George P. Windley, Sr., retired senior chaplain of the south cAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, on receiving the Corrections Official of the Year Award.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives has learned that Reverend George Windley, Sr., will be honored at the 5th Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Luncheon on May 10, 2024. Hosted by the Law Enforcement Class at F.E. DuBose Career Center, the event, which honors men and women in law enforcement for their selfless service, will celebrate Reverend Windley for his service to the citizens of Clarendon County and the State of South Carolina; and

Whereas, educated in the public schools of Horry County, Reverend Windley is a graduate of Whittemore High School, and later earned a bachelor's degree of arts and of divinity from Morris College in Sumter. He continued his studies at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York, completing five units of clinical pastoral education. He also served his country in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War, and was named Company 107 Honor Man of the United States Navy, Orlando, Florida; and

Whereas, the first African American to serve as senior chaplain at the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), he held this position for over thirty years before retiring. Reverend Windley passionately served during his tenure as a chaplain because he was called to ministry behind and beyond "the walls." In 2012, he was named the 2012 the Employee of the Year by SCDC at Turbeville Correctional Institution; and

Whereas, he also has served the ministry as president of the Kingston Lake Sunday School Congress; founder and former president of the Clarendon County Ministerial Alliance; vice moderator of Black River Baptist Association; member of the Baptist Educational and Missionary (E&M) Convention; coordinator of the Baptist E&M Convention Prison Ministry; moderator of the Black River Missionary Association; and member of the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., and the Prison Ministry and Juvenile Justice Commission; and

Whereas, prior to working as senior chaplain of the SCDC, Reverend Windley was the director of the Pineville Extension of Morris College School of Religion for twenty-three years, and in 1978, he became the pastor of the historic Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Manning. He also was an instructor at Morris College School of Religion and served as director of men's residence halls at Morris College. In 2013, he received an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from Morris College, and in 2015, he was selected as a trustee of Morris College; and

Whereas, other distinctions include service as a member of the Clarendon County Memorial Hospital board, membership in the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and selection as Man of the Year by Burgess Community of Myrtle Beach, among others. He and his beloved wife, the former Linda Galloway, are the proud parents of three children, and have been blessed also with six grandchildren; and

Whereas, grateful for his many years of distinguished service with SCDC, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives express their deep appreciation to Reverend George P. Windley, Sr., for his rich and meaningful service to the State. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, honor and congratulate Reverend George P. Windley, Sr., retired senior chaplain of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, on receiving the Corrections Official of the Year Award.

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