While many of us mourn the death of former President Jimmy Carter on December 29, for some, his passing is more personal and hits much closer to home.
Brunswick County resident Bob Bannerman met with the former President twice, and helped build a house for the homeless with Carter. At the time, Bannerman was in the Foreign Service and working in the Philippines as Commercial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy, and his wife was serving as the FAA Office Manager also at the Embassy.
That was in March, 1999, when Carter and his wife Rosalynn visited Manila. For about a year, Bannerman said, he had been part of a volunteer team from the U.S. Embassy that was helping construct around 200 housing units in conjunction with the Habitat for Humanity program. The effort was supported by the former President’s foundation, and the Carters were visiting to check on their projects.
The check-up also happened to include assisting with construction. We had committed to spending the weekend building homes, Bannerman explained. “The President arrived early to thank us all, donned his hard hat and then pitched in with the other volunteers. So, there we were, my colleagues and I, for a full weekend working shoulder to shoulder with the former President building homes for the homeless.”
“We may disagree with some of his policies or how he faired as President,” Bannerman said, “but when you spend a weekend working side by side with the man doing acts of kindness for those who have so little, you see the mettle of the man—he was sincere and caring—a genuinely good person. I suspect there was not a kinder, nicer person that ever graced the Oval Office.”
Bannerman’s belief in Carter was reinforced in 2013 at the U.S. Consulate in Dubai when the former President stopped by to talk to staff while in transit involving an event in Africa where he was promoting democratic elections. “We remember him for taking the time to meet with the U.S. and local Consulate staff and thanking us for the work that we were doing.”
“This,” Bannerman noted, “further embedded in my mind an image of the man as someone who was truly dedicated to serving our country and who was passionate about helping others less fortunate than us.”
After his retirement from the Foreign Service, Bannerman and his wife, Uyen, retired to their home in Supply, overlooking Holden Beach, where they have resided for eight years.
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