America's Public Television Stations

WASHINGTON – February 28, 2022 – America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) today presented the 2022 Champion of Public Broadcasting Award to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, in recognition of his support – and funding – of SCETV and its educational datacasting initiative.

“Governor McMaster’s early investment of $1.3 million was critical to expanding datacasting at South Carolina ETV (SCETV) to help provide educational content to students without broadband access in rural and remote areas across the State,” said Patrick Butler, president and CEO of APTS.

“There are 193,000 South Carolina households, or nearly one in 10 households, which lack access to broadband. Thanks to Governor McMaster’s support, SCETV’s datacasting technology, which reaches nearly 98 percent of the State, is bridging the digital divide by delivering classroom content to homes through datacasting over television spectrum, allowing them to receive the same content that broadband-enabled students can access.

“Governor McMaster has been an essential partner in educating children in South Carolina during the coronavirus pandemic, and ensuring that standards-based, curriculum-aligned digital educational content will be available to all beyond this crisis. America’s Public Television Stations are honored to present Governor McMaster with the 2022 Champion of Public Broadcasting Award he so richly deserves.”

“During the early stages of the pandemic it became apparent that we needed to find a solution to educate those that did not have reliable broadband access – we found that, in part, through datacasting,” said Governor Henry McMaster. “Through the hard work of SCETV, we were able to provide educational materials to children in even the most rural areas of our state. Once again, proving the tremendous value of SCETV to South Carolina."

Governor Henry Dargan McMaster, a longtime public servant of South Carolina, was born May 27, 1947, in Columbia, South Carolina. He received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Carolina in 1969 and as an undergraduate was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and the South Carolina Student Legislature.

In 1973, Governor McMaster graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was on the editorial board of the South Carolina Law Review. Later that year, he was admitted to the Richland County Bar Association. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves, receiving an honorable discharge in 1975.

Upon graduation from law school, Governor McMaster was a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond in Washington, D.C., and joined the law firm of Tompkins and McMaster in 1974. He was later admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Governor McMaster practiced law for over 40 years, as a federal and State prosecutor and in private practice in both state and federal courts.

In 1991, he was appointed to the state Commission on Higher Education and joined the Board of Directors of the nonprofit South Carolina Policy Council where he also served as chair. He chaired the state Republican Party from 1993 to 2002. He was elected attorney general of South Carolina in 2002 and reelected in 2006.

McMaster was sworn in as governor in January 2017.

Governor McMaster and his wife, Peggy, have two adult children and reside in Columbia.

The Champion of Public Broadcasting Award was presented to Governor Henry McMaster (R-SC) during the APTS Public Media Summit on Monday, February 28, 2022.