Batesburg-Leesville, SC (Paul Kirby) - Batesburg-Leesville’s charismatic Mayor Lancer Shull is among a prestigious group of eight South Carolina mayors that have been selected to participate in the second class of the Riley Mayor’s Design Fellowship, according to the town. The Riley Fellowship is named after the City of Charleston’s former Mayor Joe Riley who served 10-term and was one of the longest serving mayors in the USA.
According to their website at https://rileyfellowship.org, the Riley Mayor’s Design Fellowship educates and equips those who attend with the tools to envision and implement projects that positively impact the built and natural environment, quality of life, community pride and economic development in their communities. Formerly known as the South Carolina Mayors’ Institute for Community Design, the program was re-launched in 2018. The Fellowship is modeled after the National Mayors’ Institute on City Design, founded in 1986 by former Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.
“I am honored to have been nominated and selected to participate in the 2020 class of the Riley Mayor’s Design Fellowship,” Mayor Shull said recenyly on social media. “It is my goal to constantly educate myself and seek opportunities that give me the knowledge I need to best serve in my capacity as mayor of Batesburg-Leesville. This opportunity to learn from experts about community project design and planning and to take part in peer to peer discussion with other mayors will be invaluable as we move forward in revitalizing our community.”
The Riley Mayor’s Design Fellowship’s nominating committee selects a diverse class each year based on “potential for innovative and visionary leadership, cooperative spirit, and an ability to rally diverse interests around a common goal for the good of the community.”
Mayor Shull will join seven other Mayors for a two-and-a-half-day workshop February 26-28, 2020 to discuss the challenges and opportunities of an intended project with an expert resource team. The panel of mayors will receive feedback, insight, technical advice and ideas from the team and fellow mayors. The conference will also feature talks on topics relating to design and planning to inspire and empower each mayor to enact positive change. All of this will empower Shull to further implement the measured growth and strengths of the Batesburg-Leesville community.
On the program Good Morning Lexington County last Monday, Mayor Shull agreed that Batesburg-Leesville is quickly becoming the western hub of activity and development for Lexington County. He recounted the progress the community has made over the past years and said that he looked forward to more great opportunities for the area in the coming years.
