People: First Financial Holdings Inc (FFCH.O)

Mrs. Paula Harper Bethea is Independent Chairman of the Board of First Financial Holdings Inc and First Federal, a subsidary of the company. She joined First Financial’s and First Federal’s Boards of Directors in 1996. She is the Executive Director of the South Carolina Education Lottery. Prior to this position, Mrs. Bethea served as Director of External Relations for the McNair Law Firm. A native of Hampton County, Mrs. Bethea is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. Currently, she is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Governors of United Way of America. She is past Chairman of United Way of South Carolina, the Hilton Head Island Chamber of Commerce and Columbia College. She is also Chairman of the Centers of Economic Excellence Board and the Wilkins Forum at Furman University. She is a founding Board member of the Palmetto Institute and is on the Board and Vice Chairman of Presbyterian College. She served in 1991 on the State Chamber's Task Force for Restructuring State Government and was a member and a Subcommittee Chairman of the Governor's Commission on Restructuring. Governor Campbell presented the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest award for volunteer service, to her in 1992. In 1998 she was awarded the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award by the University of South Carolina, her alma mater, and in 2003 she was awarded the Columbia College Medallion, the most distinguished commendation bestowed by the college.