MEDAL OF HONOR recipient named IRONMAN
Maj. Gen. Jim Livingston of Mount Pleasant, S.C., recognized for service
By Alex Junes-Ward
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), received Global Eco Adventures’ (GEA) coveted IRONMAN award during ceremonies at the historic Charleston Visitors Center, Fri. evening, July 30, in downtown Charleston, South Carolina.
Attended by Charleston Mayor John J. Tecklenburg, Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie, S.C. Sen. Thomas Alexander, and throngs of well-heeled well-wishers; the awards presentation capped the SOUTH CAROLINA SEVEN (SC7) expedition, which led SC7 hikers, rafters, kayakers, and SCUBA divers across the state from the mountains to the sea throughout the month of July.
A retired two-star Marine and recipient of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest decoration for combat valor; Livingston was presented the IRONMAN award in recognition of his service to the state and nation.
“Gen. Livingston is the epitome of an IRONMAN,” said S.C. Floodwater Commission Chairman Tom Mullikin, who presented the award. “The IRONMAN award has so far been reserved for those who have not only served their country with distinction in peace and in war, but who also reflect the high-intensity military culture from which they have emerged and which has enabled them to continue their service to the nation and the world with the same intellectual acumen, physical prowess, and spiritual commitment we might aptly say describes an IRONMAN. That’s quite literally the point of this.”
Mullikin who also directed the SC7 expedition and serves as founding president of GEA, is a retired two-star commanding general of the S.C. State Guard, which was coincidentally organized in Charleston (specifically Charles Towne Landing) in 1670. Mullikin is also a former U.S. Army officer and former special assistant to the Military Commission’s lead prosecutor in the trial of terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other 9/11 terrorists.
“Tom Mullikin is himself an extraordinary man,” said Gen. Livingston, upon receiving the award. “For instance, when he [Mullikin] took command of the State Guard, he re-engineered that organization and established it as one of the premier emergency response organizations in this state.”
First presented in May 2021, the IRONMAN award is one of several within the GEA awards program which includes the GEA Lifetime Achievement award (GEA’s highest award), Environmental Educator of the Year, Legislator of the Year, Environmental Champion and others. Previous recipients of GEA awards have included Gov. Henry McMaster (Lifetime Achievement), Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (Lifetime Achievement), the late Jim Fowler of the Emmy winning WILD KINGDOM (Lifetime Achievement), Sen. Thomas Alexander (Legislator of the Year), Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Kathleen Parker (Environmental Educator of the Year), and others.
Following the July 30 presentation of Livingston’s award, Brig. Gen. Darlene Marie Goff, the first female brigadier general in the history of the S.C. National Guard, and her husband Col. Eddie Goff received GEA’s ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMPION award.
Gen. Goff and Col. Goff both hiked most of the SC7 2021 trek with Mullikin and others in July. The couple also participated in SC7 2020, and Gen. Goff has written a near-daily series about SC7, publishing stories and photographs of her and Col. Goff’s experiences in her online adventure magazine, Travel Notes and Storytelling [see – https://www.travelnotesandstorytelling.com/].
– For more information about Global Eco Adventures, please visit https://globalecoadventures.org/.