[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 12, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S1327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        LAWRENCE M. GRESSETTE, JR.: EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC SERVICE

 Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, Lawrence Gressette, Jr., is well 
known to all of us in South Carolina and we salute him as he retires on 
February 28 as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of 
SCANA Corp., in Columbia, SC.
  Excellence is a Gressette family tradition. Lawrence Gressette 
learned much at the knee of his father, Marion, the esteemed attorney 
and South Carolina State senator. He once told Lawrence, ``Things must 
not only be right but should also look right.'' Lawrence Gressette has 
long adhered to his father's sage advice. In college, he not only 
played football for Clemson University, he earned a football 
scholarship. He was so liked and respected by his classmates that they 
elected him student body president. At the University of South Carolina 
Law School, he finished first in his class. Upon graduation, he joined 
in his father's practice and earned a reputation as a solid litigator.
  It was in working alongside his father that Lawrence Gressette became 
involved with utility regulatory work. The powers that were at South 
Carolina Electric and Gas were so impressed with his talents that they 
persuaded him to become a senior vice president in 1983 and executive 
vice president the following year. In 1990, John Warren retired as CEO 
of SCE&G's parent company, SCANA, and the board of directors tapped 
Lawrence to fill the top spot. Through vision and consistent 
leadership, he has guided SCANA into a successful, cohesive commercial 
force --a goliath of energy-related and communications businesses. 
Fortunately for all of us, he has shared his talents with his community 
as well. Some of his achievements include: chairman of the board of 
trustees for Clemson University, trustee of the Educational Television 
Endowment of South Carolina, member of the steering committee of the 
South Carolina Governor's School of the Arts, and chairman of the 
United Way of the Midlands. Through it all, he has been blessed with 
the love and support of his wife, Felicia, and their three children. 
Although Lawrence will be sorely missed at SCANA, I am confident that 
he will continue in his role of excellent public service and will hand 
down this Gressette legacy to his four grandchildren.

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