Mr. Christopher McKinney to be Morris College’s Honors Day Convocation Speaker

October 20, 2021

Morris College’s best and brightest students from all academic disciplines are scheduled to be honored this Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 10 a.m. in the Neal-Jones Auditorium. The guest speaker will be Mr. Christopher McKinney, executive director of the Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments (COG). All are invited to view the live streamed event via Morris’ Facebook here. Only on-campus faculty, staff, students and invited guests are able to attend the in-person ceremony to allow for social distance.  

McKinney, a native of Texas, facilitates the strategic vision and oversees all assistance provided to a four-county region, consisting of Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee, and Sumter counties in South Carolina and all 12 cities and towns.  Based in Sumter, McKinney has a staff consisting of 24 subject matter experts who serve a population of approximately 223,000 people and is responsible for the stewardship of a $8.1 million budget. Originally formed as a planning district, the Santee-Lynches COG serves the region by working for and with local governments to bring public and private sector leaders together to solve emerging and persistent problems. By collaborating, communicating, and working together, Santee-Lynches COG seeks to find and create efficiencies across the region, set priorities, proactively identify challenges, and develop creative solutions that are mutually beneficial and advance the prosperity of the region. The COG is also a key organization utilized to administer federal and state grants across the region aimed at improving the quality of the workforce, regional planning to facilitating community and economic development, and facilitating our seniors aging in-place with dignity. The Santee-Lynches COG is also a designated Economic Development District under the U.S. Economic Development Administration. 

McKinney has a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership, a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management (Leadership Focus), and an Associate’s degree in Meteorology. He is also married to Danya and they have a beautiful, blended family of six: Chanel, Jamal, Khalil, Kareem, Khloe, Christopher Jr., and four grandchildren.