{"id":17342,"date":"2020-07-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sasee.wpenginepowered.com\/?post_type=essay&p=17342"},"modified":"2024-03-26T15:08:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T19:08:40","slug":"a-life-of-service-barbara-blain-bellamy","status":"publish","type":"essay","link":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/essay\/a-life-of-service-barbara-blain-bellamy\/","title":{"rendered":"A Life of Service: Barbara Blain-Bellamy"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have heard a lot of wonderful comments about Mayor Barbara Blain-Bellamy \u2013 and when I finally met her, I understood why she is so admired by her beloved City of Conway and our entire community. The day we chatted, Barbara had been running errands with her husband of five years, Bobby Bellamy. \u201cAlthough acquainted since our teen years, I didn\u2019t care much for Bobby until I was a senior citizen. I performed a legal service for Bobby, by then my established client, and did not attach a fee. He invited me out to dinner, I thought, in gratitude.\u201d Laughing, this vivacious woman continued her story. \u201cI went, and the rest is a very nice story!\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbara started her career as a social worker and worked in her field for 25 years. \u201cIn my youth, I was told I could only be a nurse or a teacher, because I was a black woman, but I wanted to do something different.\u201d This would be the theme of Barbara\u2019s life \u2013 her strong will and intelligence have led her to pursue three different careers. \u201cI had a remarkable 25 years learning how difficult it is for people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps \u2013 I was always happy if I could pull one of the straps for them. It was through this work that I became interested in becoming a lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who couldn\u2019t afford an attorney were sort of thrown to the wolves,\u201d Barbara told me, remembering her social work days. \u201cAt 46, I was the least likely candidate to go back to a professional school. I was working as a social worker, was a member of the Conway City Council and was helping raise my two nephews in a single adult home. I had just divorced and committed to a new mortgage \u2013 and drove a less than dependable car. But, I was compelled to go to law school.\u201d<\/p>\n

And this determined woman did indeed become an attorney, finishing law school in record time and passing the bar exam on her first try. \u201cI was motivated to get back home; I had a mortgage and bills that others were helping me with,\u201d Barbara remembered. \u201cI started practicing law in the summer of 2001 and practiced full time until 2014. I married Bobby in 2015 and he convinced me I didn\u2019t have to work full time. I had worked year around since I was 14 years old, and work had become the heart of my being, but I did take him up on his offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbara\u2019s career in politics started before she became a lawyer. She was at the end of an 18 year marriage and felt she had no real identity or purpose. \u201cI had no interest in politics or local government, but after I moved from the outskirts of town into the city, I read in the newspaper that three seats were coming open on City Council.\u201d After spending time with then Conway City Administrator, Adam Blume, and the current mayor, Greg Martin, Barbara threw her hat into the ring \u2013 and won her first election. \u201cOnce I jumped in, I knew it was exactly where I belonged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Barbara attributes that first victory to her father. \u201cPeople in Conway in 1992 didn\u2019t ask about party affiliation or platform \u2013 they wanted to know who I was. It was my great honor to say I am Jobe Blain\u2019s oldest daughter.\u201d Continuing, this proud daughter shared her dad\u2019s amazing legacy. \u201cMy father, after a long military career, became Horry County\u2019s first black police officer. He went through the trials and fire of being the forerunner, a pioneer, and slowly developed friendships and mutual respect with his colleagues. He was so admired, and that gave me credit I didn\u2019t earn. It is a testament to the fact that parents impact the lives of their children, and future generations, negatively or positively, more than they know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbara\u2019s father had a huge impact on the way she lives her life and she continued, saying, \u201cDaddy\u2019s lessons were fundamental; say hello to everyone, whether or not they say hello, hold the door open for people, even if they don\u2019t say thank you.\u201d Her voice broke a little as Barbara shared a little of the prejudice her hero encountered in his life. \u201cWhen Daddy joined the police force, he wasn\u2019t the most welcomed kid on the block. But, slowly, one after another of his colleagues realized the caliber of man he was, and he became one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in 1952, Barbara herself experienced the Jim Crow south. \u201cI graduated from a still-segregated high school, but a number of things happened to shape my life.\u201d Barbara\u2019s father moved his family several times while he served his country. \u201cWe went to Fallon, Nevada, when I was seven years old, where there were no Jim Crow laws. I was my elementary school\u2019s first black child.\u201d The other children were friendly, and curious about this little brown girl. One of young Barbara\u2019s most pivotal moments happened in Fallon, when she was cast in the school play. \u201cI remember standing in a line with the other girls, and a teacher was putting lipstick and rouge on every child. I just knew she wouldn\u2019t use that same lipstick on me and then on the white child next to me, even though I didn\u2019t have the words to explain it. I became more and more anxious the closer she got to me.\u201d Tightly closing her eyes, Barbara waited to be passed over by the teacher. \u201cThen I felt the brush of the rouge and the tube of lipstick on my lips. I was transformed by that moment. It occurred to me that everyone saw the difference in me, but not everyone felt that difference mattered.\u201d Barbara told me that since that day, she has been comfortable with everyone \u2013 whether they are like her or completely different.<\/p>\n

After her marriage to Bobby, and some well deserved relaxation, Barbara was ready for the next challenge. Her political career had included serving on City Council and two stints as Mayor Pro Tempore, and she felt serving as Conway\u2019s mayor was the next logical step. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge responsibility and hard to do if you\u2019re working a 40 hour a week job, especially as an attorney.\u201d During her career, Barbara had seen how government works from the inside and knew she was capable of leading her beloved city. Barbara began her bid for the office of mayor; taking the risk that she would lose both the election and her seat on City Council. Reaching out to hundreds of friends and supporters, Barbara put together what turned out to be a very successful campaign. She was sworn in as mayor of Conway on January 4, 2016.<\/p>\n

Today, Mayor Barbara Blain-Bellamy proudly serves her hometown in a time of tremendous growth and change \u2013 and is the first African-American to hold this office. \u201cI\u2019ve seen Conway move from maybe six square miles to approximately 30 square miles today \u2013 and a population of 28,000 people. And, this all occurred in a relatively short period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cConway is my home,\u201d Barbara said. \u201cEven during the Jim Crow years, I was given the best possible treatment.<\/p>\n

If I walked into a department store where black people weren\u2019t allowed to use the dressing rooms, the sales people would apologize to me. Even our dentist, who was required to have a \u201ccolored\u201d entrance, would apologize to me for the way things were then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many of Barbara\u2019s high school and college classmates took an exodus north after graduation for a better living and a place to raise their families where they were more accepted. \u201cI never left. There was never a need. In Conway, we take care of each other. I seriously can\u2019t imagine living anywhere else. I\u2019ve traveled extensively around the country and abroad, and I will always be proud to be from Conway. I love New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome, but I love Conway more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our growth is retirees,\u201d Barbara said as we began talking about Conway\u2019s future. \u201cWe also have many young families moving here \u2013 even though we haven\u2019t quite kept up with the higher level jobs, people can work from anywhere these days.\u201d Conway is also the home of Coastal Carolina University and is becoming a desirable location for millennials. \u201cOur city is becoming more attractive to the needs and wants of younger people,\u201d said the mayor. \u201cWe have a brewery, food trucks and entertainment for people who enjoy night life. Downtown Conway is a wonderful place to live. \u201c<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mayor Blain-Bellamy gives a lot of credit for Conway\u2019s positive growth to her staff. \u201cI\u2019m so proud to work with bright and creative people who think outside of the box. We had an ugly little corner lot on Main and 4th Avenue, and our staff came up with a plan to make it a beautiful gathering place \u2013 that formerly non-descript lot is now the magnificent Kingston Park, arguably, the backdrop for more photos than anywhere else in the Greater Grand Strand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want people to know I don\u2019t give up easily,\u201d Barbara told me as we came to the end of our chat. And age is only a number for this determined woman, who first learned to swim at age 61. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be who you always were. We have a responsibility to continue to learn, to grow and to seek knowledge. That\u2019s what life is all about. I\u2019ve learned never to say never!\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have heard a lot of wonderful comments about Mayor Barbara Blain-Bellamy \u2013 and when I finally met her, I understood why she is so admired by her beloved City […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":17343,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_gspb_post_css":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"essay_type":[50],"essay-category":[],"class_list":["post-17342","essay","type-essay","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","essay_type-meet-your-neighbors"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay\/17342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/essay"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay\/17342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"essay_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay_type?post=17342"},{"taxonomy":"essay-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/essay-category?post=17342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}