USC Union and the Union/Laurens Commission for Higher Education will honor Barham (Bannie) F. Kennedy at the 14th Annual Founder's Day celebration on Monday, Aug. 31. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. in the USC Union auditorium. A reception will follow. The public is invited to attend.

Bannie is a native of Union and graduated from Union High School in the class of 1946. Subsequently, he graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Chemical Engineering and was employed by E.I.DuPont at Chattanooga Tenn. His 40+ year career with DuPont was primarily in the fields of production and project management. At various times his responsibilities included operations in many places in the U.S. and other countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Immediately prior to his retirement he was vice president of manufacturing for DuPont in the Asia/Pacific Region, residing in Tokyo and Singapore. After retiring from DuPont in 1992, he continued his interest in the general field of production management as a consultant for DuPont in the U.S. and overseas with a variety of companies; i.e., Argonne National Laboratories, BHP Steel, Australia Postal Service and Carlton United Breweries for an additional eight years.

During the Korean War he served in the Air Force as Electronics Officer for the 22nd Troop Carrier Squadron in Japan, 1953-54.

Since returning to Union, Bannie has been active in civic affairs serving on the Union County Health Care Foundation Board, Union/Laurens Commission on Higher Education, South Carolina Policy Council, Executive Advisory Council for the School of Business at USC Upstate, Chamber of Commerce and Union County Forestry Advisory Committee, past President of the Union Rotary Club and ad hoc community projects.

Upon retirement in 1992, Bannie and his wife Myrna moved to Union. Myrna was a native of Appomattox County, Va. They had three sons, Gibert in Aiken; Perrin in Bluffton, Ohio: and Foster, who lives in Spartanburg. Myrna passed away July 6, 2006.