2019 Governor’s Award Winner: Ron Daise

Ron Daise, a native of St. Helena Island, SC, is an author, performing artist, and educator who has shared stories, music, and lectures about history, culture, and faith across the country. Since 2004, he has served as Vice President for Creative Education at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, SC, and has created and implemented programs, events, and exhibits that showcase the significance of Gullah Geechee heritage, including Gulla Geechee Gaardin. 

Daise is known by many as “Mr. Ron” from “Gullah Gullah Island,” the Nick Jr. TV’s award-winning children’s program of the 1990s. He also is a past chairman and charter member of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission and a charter member of the Sea Island Translation Team & Literacy Project, which began translation of the Gullah Bible. His current affiliations include the Furman University Diversity Leadership Initiative, the SC Arts Commission’s Leo Twiggs Advisory Council, SC Rural Resource Coalition, and House of God Church in Pawleys Island, SC. A graduate of Hampton University in Hampton, VA, Daise and his wife Natalie reside in Georgetown, SC, and are parents of three adult children.