He’s spent his life helping Gullah-Geechee communities. Now he’s a Hilton Head Icon

The Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce has named its top icon of the year, and you might already know him.

Thomas C. Barnwell Jr., a fifth-generation native islander known for his work preserving and protecting Gullah-Geechee communities of the Lowcountry, received the Icon Award at the 2026 Chamber Ball, Saturday at the Westin Resort on Hilton Head Island.

Other community leaders and nonprofit organizations also received top honors from the Chamber. Here’s who won.

Thomas Barnwell: Icon award

Barnwell, 90, was born on Hilton Head Island in 1935, long before the island had paved roads, electricity or a bridge.

Before the bridge, Hilton Head was home to the descendants of those who were once enslaved on its plantations, known today as the Gullah-Geechee people.

As development came to Hilton Head Island, Barnwell dedicated his life to the preservation of Gullah-Geechee culture. He co-authored “Gullah Days: Hilton Head Islanders Before The Bridge” along with Emory Shaw Campbell, another local Gullah patriarch.

Barnwell is also known for fighting to bring affordable healthcare and public water systems to rural Black communities in the Lowcountry. In February 1969, he testified before the U.S. Senate Select Subcommittee on Nutrition and Human Needs, stressing the need for a federally qualified health center in Beaufort. According to a 2023 Ark Republic article detailing Barnwell’s impact, Black communities in Beaufort and Jasper Counties faced dire health conditions in the 1960s.

In a video played to attendees at the Chamber Ball the past Saturday, an unidentified narrator detailed Barnwell’s accomplishments, recognizing Barnwell as “a patriarch, a steward of history, and a reminder that progress must honor what came before.”

It’s not the first time the iconic community leader has been recognized for his work.

Barnwell was inducted into the Hilton Head Island Hall of Fame in 2013.

Zonta Woman of The Year: Kristin Keller

Kristin Keller, Board President of the Hilton Head Island Recreation Association and marketing representative at Palmetto Electric, was honored as “Woman of the Year” by the local chapter of Zonta International, an organization that supports and empowers women locally and internationally.

Guardian Award: Jean Fruh

Dr. Jean Fruh, Executive Director of the Outside Foundation, was honored for her decades of work preserving the Lowcountry’s natural environment and promoting environmental education.

Heritage Award: Volunteers in Medicine

Volunteers in Medicine, a nonprofit organization that provides free healthcare to the medically underserved communities of Hilton Head Island, was honored with the Heritage Award at the gala.

The Heritage Award is awarded to nonprofit organizations that make lasting and meaningful impacts on the Hilton Head Island community.

VIM was founded more than 30 years ago by Dr. Jack McConnell, and provides more than 20,000 patient visits each year across 26 specialties, according to a press release.

Pinnacle Award: The Riverstone Group & The Sea Pines Resort

The Chamber awards the Pinnacle Award to businesses that “exemplify success, innovation, and a commitment to giving back,” according to a press release.

The Sea Pines Resort and its parent company, The Riverstone Group, received the Pinnacle Award for their philanthropy, environmental stewardship and community investment.

This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 11:02 AM.

Li Khan

The Island Packet

707-812-1794

Li Khan covers Hilton Head Island for the Island Packet. Previously, she was the Editor in Chief of The Peralta Citizen, a watchdog student-led news publication at Laney College in Oakland, California.