Draft:South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame

The South Carolina Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame was founded in 1989 by Entertainment and Music Commissioner Dr. David Godbold and S.C. Secretary of State Jim Miles. Through many inductions and ribbon cutting ceremonies, the idea of Dr. Godbold to recognize talent from his home state grew into a much larger entity. After moving its physical location around to venues such as the Florence Center, it found a permanent home along the waterway of Georgetown, SC at 725 Front Street. In September of 2013 a fire, that engulfed seven buildings, burned most of the contents and memorabilia belonging to the organization. With this devastating blow and an aging board, the SCEMHOF went into hibernation. In 2018, the reigns were handed to Justin Ray Williams to be the next Executive Director in an effort to rebuild the organization. After much planning, in 2020 the first inductee was named in at least seven years. Zack Turner and Greg Rowles were inducted at the House of Blues Myrtle Beach in January of 2020 during the South Carolina Country Music Awards. In March of the same year Covid restrictions saw to it that yet another hiatus would be taken by the organization. In 2023 Justin Ray Williams, Dr. David Godbold, and Dendy Brooks (existing board members) along with a group of new board members inducted Mark Herndon drummer of the music group Alabama into the SCEMHOF. In June of 2023 an induction gala was held in Greenville, SC to add Dr. Mac Arnold, Dixiana, Bill Ellis, Bob Hooper, Kerry Marx, and Sec. State Jim Miles as members.