Speaker: George Johnson

George Johnson serves as President of the UUCC Board of Trustees for 2025–26. He and Anita Grossman have been married for almost 47 years. George retired after a distinguished career in communications and public affairs. He spent 32 years with BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina as Vice President of Public Relations and Public Affairs and later helped found the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation. A member of the Public Relations Society of America since 1972, he was accredited in 1984 and elected to the Society’s College of Fellows in 1996, and most recently chaired its national Board of Ethics and Professional Standards. A native of Sumter, George previously worked at Furman University, The Liberty Corporation, and as a journalist in Greenville. He helped manage the 1978 campaign of Nancy Stevenson, the first woman elected to statewide office in South Carolina. He later served as board chair of Planned Parenthood of South Carolina, guiding its merger into what is now Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and helping ensure the Columbia clinic remained open. George earned his BA at Furman University and his MA at USC, where he also was an active adjunct professor for over 20 years. He has served numerous civic and nonprofit organizations, including the South Carolina Office of Rural Health. the ElderCare Trust Fund, Upstate and Midlands Urban League, and the Workshop Theatre Board. He’s a graduate of the Riley Institute Diversity
Leadership Initiative.