From staff reports
Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections Director Marie S. Smalls recently received the South Carolina Association of Registration Elections Officials’ (SCARE) coveted Moore Award.
The Moore Award is the highest award the SCARE organization presents to its members. The Moore Award was presented to Smalls at this year’s 48th Annual Legislative Conference, in Myrtle Beach. The award was established by 4th District Congresswoman Liz Patterson in memory of Betty Moore, the founding member of the association. Moore worked tirelessly to form a state association of registration and election officials. The Moore Award is fashioned after the J. Mitchell Graham Award of the S.C. Association of Counties, of which SCARE is an affiliate.
The award is presented to a member of SCARE who best exemplifies the spirit of the organization through their continued sacrifice in service, time, energy, and effort to make the Association a more informed, knowledgeable, and committed group of professionals.
Experts that promote networked training for individuals, as well as sharing valuable information to every county, collectively.
“Marie Smalls’ leadership, dedication, and innovative initiatives have undoubtedly made a significant impact on SCARE’s mission. Her unwavering commitment to promoting education, concern, and training within the organization reflects the values that the Moore Award represents,” Charleston County Director Isaac Cramer said in a release.
“In addition to helping me overcome the struggles of the redistricting process, Marie has taught me the resilience and tenacity to weather the storm of elections and its battlegrounds,” Georgetown County Director Aphra McCrea said. “With the softest voice in the most chaotic times, she was still strong, tough, and calm.”
Smalls began working in the field of elections as a volunteer in 1988, while working as a Human Resources Specialist for Beaufort County, later becoming the Director. She joined the Voter Registration and Election staff in 2005 as an Elections Administrative Registrar (Deputy Director), and a member of SCARE in 2006.
Smalls obtained her National Certification as a Certified Elections/Registration Administrator (CERA) through the Election Center Program in August 2008. She was one of the first 500 people to become nationally certified in the Country and one of only two active members in South Carolina. Smalls has been the Director for the Board of Voter Registration of Beaufort County for longer than 10 years.
Under her leadership with the Beaufort County Board of VR&E, the office has received three Excellence in Elections Award (“Best Practices”) within a five-year period.
