FILM VIEWING & DISCUSSION: To Have a Name Worth Owning

The Poetry Society of South Carolina invites the public to view the Savannah River Archaeological Research Program’s production, TO HAVE A NAME WORTH OWNING: Aiken’s James Mathewes Legaré. Following the film will be a Q&A session with Dr. Tom Mack and with the film’s producer/director, George Wingard.

Dr. Tom Mack, USC Distinguished Professor Emeritus who served for 39 years on the faculty of the University of South Carolina Aiken, has been frequently recognized for his teaching, scholarship, and public service, has been the author/editor of eight books, has written the “Arts and Humanities” column each weekend since 1990 in The Aiken Standard, and was honored by the South Carolina Press Association for his museum and gallery reviews in the weekly Post and Courier/Free-Times (Columbia, SC). In 2008,the USC Board of Trustees awarded him the prestigious Carolina Trustee Professorship; and in 2014, he received the Governor’s Award in the Humanities. In addition to his long service on the board of the SC Academy of Authors, Mack is also Chair Emeritus of the board of SC Humanities, the state’s affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

George L.  Wingard serves as the Program Coordinator for the Savannah River Archaeological Research Program (SRARP) working on the Savannah River Site (SRS).  A recipient of the 2024 Aker’s Prize, George has won over eighty film society accolades including: Best South Carolina Historical Filmmaker, Best Faith-Based film, and Best South Carolina Director.  He has also been awarded the 2017 Alexander S. Sally Professional Service Award by the Confederation of South Carolina Local Historical Societies.