Visionary Leadership Award celebrates Minor Shaw’s past, present, and future
United Community presents the Visionary Leadership Award.
Keeping up with Minor Mickel Shaw is a major undertaking. At 79 years old, she has amassed a portfolio of board seats that put her in a league of her own. At a stage and age many would prefer to stop and smell the roses, the grandmother of ten is tirelessly fertilizing projects that improve lives across the region. With that high-energy leadership, focus, and determination, it’s no wonder she’s the recipient of the Community Foundation’s Visionary Leadership Award.
“I was overwhelmed when they called to tell me about it,” she says. “It means so much to me personally to get that particular award.” You see, vision for Greenville’s growth and success is genetically seared into her DNA. Shaw comes from the family that helped build Heritage Green, The Peace Center, and Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Even as she presides over Micco LLC, a private investment company, her justification to serve at full-speed is simple. “I look at all of the people in the community,” she explains. “And as exciting as it is, and all the people moving here, and all the accolades, we still have so many issues that we face in Greenville.”
Economic mobility is a primary focus right now, as she sits as a trustee upon multiple boards, including Hollingsworth Funds and Duke Endowment. She also continues work with the United Way of Greenville County, the SC Institute of Medicine & Public Health, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC Foundation. “I think almost everything that I’m involved in has identified people and things that need improvement and attention,” she says. “We’ve got to move the needle. There are opportunities for all of us to come together. What I’d like to see us realize and admit is that there are issues in our community and we can solve those issues together, and be excited for our future here.”
Noting that unwavering commitment, United Community Bank’s Michelle Seaver nominated Shaw for the award. “She has been at the center of many of the initiatives that have transformed Greenville,” Seaver says, “yet she has never sought the spotlight for herself. Instead, she has focused on bringing people together, building consensus and helping organizations succeed long after her involvement. Perhaps her greatest legacy is not just in the institutions she has helped build, but the people she’s influenced along the way. She has a remarkable ability to see potential in others . . . and then quietly open doors.”
Minor Shaw’s Visionary Leadership
Among Shaw’s many accomplishments was founding Roper Mountain Science Center and spearheading fundraising to build the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Her eyes light up when she talks about her continuing work with the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport Commission. “It’s exciting to see how much we’ve grown,” she reveals. “We got No. 1 Best Small Airport from the Airport Association again. We’re bringing in new direct flights and have big plans for the future. We want to make it the best airport it can be for this region.”
While project goals and achievements roll off her tongue, she grows quiet when asked about adding her name to an award that has been given to Joe Erwin, Knox White, and longtime friend Merl Code. “We’ve worked together since we first met in 1981,” she reveals. “In terms of vision for the community, in order for us to be able to continue to be the kind of community that’s allowed us to be successful, we need to work together and create partnerships.”
As she prepares for the future, she looks to the past, relying upon the lessons and legacy of her parents, Buck and Minor Mickel, who helped grow the Greenville we live in today. “It’s your responsibility to get involved in this community,” she says. “If you love it and want something to be better, then you need to work hard for it. Don’t sit back and think it will happen without you. Get your hands dirty. It takes a lot of work and time, but it’s worth it.”
