WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The Brookland-Cayce High School Education Foundation hosted the 22nd annual Brookland-Cayce High School Educator Hall of Fame and first Alumni Wall of Honor Gala in February.
Dr. Sarah Jane Byars was the newest inductee into the Educator Hall of Fame, and the late Mike Stamps became the first person recognized on the Alumni Wall of Honor.
Byars retired in 2017 after 44 years at Brookland-Cayce High School. She was honored with the Young Teacher of the Year award in 1975 and a Top Ten Health Program recognition from the National Institutes of Health in 1980 for the Health Counselors Program she created at Brookland-Cayce. She added to her teaching career with a position at the University of South Carolina as an adjunct instructor and as a juvenile arbitrator for Lexington County.
Stamps, a 1969 graduate, was a leader in forming the Brookland-Cayce High School Education Foundation and led the group effort for Brookland-Cayce to have "The Cage." A successful West Columbia businessman, he supported the high school through the years in many ways, going the extra mile to ensure programs for Brookland-Cayce were funded and supported. Though he passed away in 2012, his legacy continues to support Brookland-Cayce students through an endowment scholarship fund.
A gala event was held at Seawell's in Columbia.