Rep. W.D. SMITH received 108
Rep. EASTERDAY received 9
Whereupon, the SPEAKER announced that Rep. W.D. SMITH having received a majority of the votes cast was duly elected for the term prescribed by law.
The SPEAKER appointed Reps. RODGERS, ROBINSON, LEE, COLEMAN, WITHERSPOON and LEE to escort the SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE-elect to the Desk where the oath of office was administered unto him by the SPEAKER.
SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE W.D. SMITH thereupon took the Chair and addressed
the House as follows:
"Thank you. This is really a high honor for me. At the risk of sounding a
little presumptive, I asked a lot of my family members to come down today. I
think they all came with the idea that they would be consoling me instead of
celebrating with me. Very quickly, I would like to recognize a couple of people
who mean a lot to me. Obviously my mother and father-in-law from Sumter. I
would like to recognize my father and mother who are here. They have always
been my best advisors and supporters that I have. I want to thank my two little
girls, Cameron & Anna Douglas. If I had known that having children was so
much fun, I would have had them a long time ago. I want to thank my wife, many
of you know Alison, my best critic, but my very best friend. She always makes
sure that at difficult times that she is willing to comfort me and it has not
been an easy couple of weeks. I know for each of the people that were
considering and were running for this position how difficult their decision was
and I appreciate the cordiality each of you showed me. Thank you.
When we talk about a family, so many South Carolinians have absolutely no clue
as to the sacrifices that our families make so that we can serve the people who
put us here. Clearly, our families love of our State equals or maybe even
exceeds our desire to serve.
Mr. Speaker, since the day I came to the House of Representatives, you have
been a constant leader, adviser, role model, and dear friend and I thank you
for that.
You've led this body through some difficult times while at the same time, never
losing focus for accomplishing your agenda. Mr. Speaker, I mean this from the
bottom of my heart, you have been good to and for the people of the State of
South Carolina. I pledge to work with all my heart and effort to continue to
support the agenda that you've laid out today. I'm grateful for the confidence
that each of you have shown in me in electing me Speaker Pro Tempore. It
is without question one of the greatest honors bestowed upon me.
I promise that I will work fairly, honestly, and openly with each member of
this body to promote the honor and integrity of this institution that I really
love. Those words were the words six years ago of Terry Haskins.
When given the chance, if given the chance, Mr. Speaker, I pledge to honestly
and fairly interpret our Rules. I am not going to tell you that I am not a
Republican - I am a Republican to the core. But I want all of my friends on the
other side of the aisle to know that I extend the willing hand of friendship,
to do all that we can, to do the best that we can for this State of South
Carolina and to cross the bipartisan lines. I look forward to doing that.
While this is a moment that I and my family will always cherish, it is not the
way I would have chosen this to occur.
Terry Haskins was our friend. He was my friend. I miss him and I'll never
forget him.
Obviously all of us have heard so many accounts of Terry's wonderful
attributes...he was clearly a world-class legislator.
While many words like intellectual, dignified, honorable, good, and decent
appropriately describe him. All of you who served with him know he was able to
somehow take the edge off of tense moments with his keen sense of humor.
Despite his prominence, Terry never took himself too seriously and while what
we do is very important, we shouldn't either.
Friends, life is too short. South Carolinians may wish to remember Terry
Haskins because of the indelible mark that he left, but I prefer to remember
him for the wonderful human being, husband, and father that he was.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, and I believe it sums up Terry Haskins and his life,
'what lies behind us or what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to
what lies within us'.
You and I know that it will be difficult for anyone to fill Terry Haskins'
shoes, but I promise you, I will try. Thank you."