SPARTANBURG, SC The South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind (SCSDB) has selected Senator and Mrs. Dick Elliott and Eagle Nest Golf Club to receive the 2009 Hearts & Hands Award. The award, which recognizes those who have helped further SCSDB and its mission, will be presented to the Elliott family at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, during the special opening of the fifth annual SCSDB benefit golf tournament at Eagle Nest Golf Club in the Little River area of North Myrtle Beach.

The school is grateful to have individuals in our community, like the Elliott Family, who demonstrate they care about others in active and meaningful ways, said Carol Mabry, SCSDB interim president. The Elliott familys leadership of the benefit golf tournament for the last four years has netted a $28,000 profit, which has directly supported programs for individuals who are deaf, blind and sensory multidisabled. The family has also contributed in other ways by raising awareness of the school and needs of the individuals we serve.

Senator Elliott is the owner of Eagle Nest Golf Club. The Elliott family has joined together in support of the annual golf tournament with Anne Elliott serving as a volunteer each year, attorney Angela Elliott chairing the event for three years, and Rick Elliott of Elliott Realty contributing as a major patron.

Specific programs supported through the golf tournament include free cane loans for students who are blind; interpreter services for consumers who are deaf to participate in community education programs such as CPR classes; loaning libraries of American Sign Language (ASL) books at SCSDB Regional Outreach Centers; and national-level ASL seminars for parents and professionals.

The Hearts & Hands Award honors the continued efforts of local civic clubs and organizations to the school. Award recipients have been chosen each year since 1997 by the SCSDB Board of Commissioners.

The SC School for the Deaf and the Blind offers services to individuals who are deaf or blind, their families and the professionals who serve them through: K-12 education programs on the main campus in Spartanburg; specialized vision and hearing services in local K-12 school districts statewide; early intervention programs for infants and toddlers; family and program assistance for students with deaf-blindness; braille and large print services; distribution of free assistive phones and alerting devices; family and professional conferences; sign language interpreting services; community sign language classes and summer camps.

SCSDB is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf and the SC Department of Education. The SC Department of Education named SCSDB a Red Carpet School for its outstanding customer service and a Palmetto Gold School for academic accomplishments.

The schools web site address is www.scsdb.org and its toll-free telephone number is 1-888-447-2732.