This year’s St. Paddy’s Day Grand Marshal has helped preserve Gullah culture on HHI

Emory Campbell was announced as the Grand Marshal for the 2018 St. Patrick’s Day Parade during the annual Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce ball Saturday.

Campbell, a Hilton Head Island native, has worked to preserve Gullah heritage for decades in the Lowcountry. He started as the executive director at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island in 1980. He also served as chair as the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.

He currently runs Gullah Heritage Trail Tours as director of the Gullah Heritage Consulting Services. He also wrote a book — Gullah Cultural Legacies — which details Gullah traditions, beliefs, art and language.

“Our Grand Marshal is chosen based on outstanding and ongoing service in our community,” Alan Perry, the chair of the parade, said in a press release. “They are visionaries, movers and shakers, community builders and leaders. He’s long been an advocate for public health access for the poor, and for the preservation of traditional Lowcountry communities and culture.”

Campbell has been featured in many documentaries along with national print, radio and television media for his work. He received a Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award from the National Education Association in 2015.

Other award winners include:

▪  Al Stokes — Alice Glenn Doughtie Good Citizenship Award

▪  Tom Reilley — John Curry Tourism Award

▪  Don Ryan Center for Innovation — Bluffton Regional Business Council Member of the Year Award

▪  Aunt Laurie’s — Small Business of the Year

▪  Second Helpings & Palmetto Breeze — Outstanding Organization of the Year Award

▪  Alex Jospeh — Zonta Woman of the Year Award

▪  Kate Clark — Educator of the Year

This story was originally published January 28, 2018 at 2:21 PM with the headline "This year’s St. Paddy’s Day Grand Marshal has helped preserve Gullah culture on HHI."