Bank of Clarendon Community Development and Assistant Marketing Officer Kim Johnson was presented Thursday night with the YWCA of the Upper Lowlands' Women Under 40 Award for being "an enterprising woman who has succeeded in both education and business," the plaque reads.
A 1998 graduate of Manning High School, Johnson served about eight years in the military and received a bachelor of arts degree in religious studies from the University of South Carolina in 2006. She received a master's of social work degree from USC in 2010.
Johnson said she felt being named for the award was "ironic."
"For several months, I was beginning to feel 'uncomfortable in my comfort,'" she said. "By that, I mean that I was beginning to question if my generation was doing enough to have an impact on future generations compared to what the generations before mine provided for me and my age group. I was starting to feel complacent in wondering when someone was going to speak out on wrongdoing."
Johnson said she was challenged by Sen. Margie Bright-Matthews, the speaker for Thursday's banquet in Columbia, who asked those in attendance two questions.
"(They were) 'What can you do?' But more importantly, 'What are you going to do?'" Johnson said. "To me, that served as a call to action."
Johnson is a 2009 graduate of Leadership Clarendon and a graduate of Furman University’s Diversity Leaders Institute.
She graduated from the South Carolina Bankers School of the South Carolina Bankers Association in 2011, and from the American Bankers Association School of Bank Marketing and Management in 2014.
She is a member of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Manning. She serves on the United Way and Main Street Manning Advisory boards, the Clarendon County Chamber Board of Directors, the Clarendon School District 2 Board of Trustees, the Relay for Life Steering Commitee, the Friends of Weldon Advisory Board, Clarendon County First Steps, Santee-Lynches REC Advisory Board, the Clarendon County Habitat for Humanity and the MAC Booster Club.
She is the daughter of Sen. Kevin L. and Gloria Johnson.
"I am grateful to the YWCA for selecting me for this award," Johnson said.
