[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16034]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO DONALD G. ``IKE'' McLEESE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 16, 2013

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a tremendous 
leader in South Carolina's capital city as he prepares to step down as 
president and CEO of the Greater Columbia Metropolitan Chamber of 
Commerce. Donald G. ``Ike'' McLeese has led the Columbia Chamber for 19 
years, and has done a remarkable job encouraging cooperation among 
business, civic, and governmental leaders. His service is greatly 
appreciated and will be sorely missed.
  Ike McLeese is a native of Anderson, South Carolina and earned an 
associate's degree from Anderson University in 1964 and a bachelor's 
degree in political science from the University of South Carolina in 
1967.
  He began his career in the political arena working on the staff of 
the venerable U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings. I got to know Ike when we 
were both young men working for South Carolina Governor John West in 
the early 1970s. He was the governor's Commissioner of Narcotics and 
Controlled Substances, and was one of the youngest commissioners in the 
State's history, and I was the first African American to serve as an 
aide to a sitting South Carolina governor. We were idealists hoping to 
make our mark on the world, and I am pleased to say that Ike did just 
that.
  As a government insider, his knowledge was in demand. After the West 
administration ended he served as vice president for Marketing and 
Government Relations for the architectural and engineering firm LBC&W. 
Ike then worked for two Columbia public relations firms: Cook & Ruef, 
Inc. and Newman Saylor & Gregory, and ran political campaigns locally 
and around the country.
  In September 1994, he was tapped to lead the Greater Columbia 
Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. At the time, the chamber was $3.2 
million in debt. He turned the organization around and made it a vital 
part of the capital city's power structure.
  Ike played a key role in protecting Fort Jackson, McEntire Air 
National Guard Base and Shaw Air Force Base from the base realignment 
taking place in Congress, and instead helped those bases grow as other 
military installations were closing. He cites those successes as his 
proudest professional accomplishments.
  He has shared his expertise as a lecturer at the University of South 
Carolina's College of Journalism and Mass Communications and at the 
Strom Thurmond Institute of Government at Clemson University. He is 
also a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, from two different 
governors, which is the highest civilian honor that can be awarded by 
the State of South Carolina.
  Ike is married to the lovely Sue Smith Curran. They have a blended 
family of five children and four grandchildren. Having spent his entire 
career in Columbia, he is also a diehard Southeastern Conference (SEC) 
sports fan.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in recognizing 
the extraordinary contributions of Ike McLeese. I, like so many others 
in the greater Columbia, South Carolina area, are proud to call him a 
friend. He has dedicated his career to serving this community and our 
state's capital is a much better place because of his service. I wish 
him well as he steps down from the chamber's helm, but know that his 
pride and passion of and for South Carolina and Columbia will allow him 
to continue being a powerful force in Columbia.

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