ROCK HILL, S.C. — Happy Birthday to our good friend, former Rock Hill Mayor, Betty Jo Rhea who today is celebrating her 90th Birthday.
In 1986, Betty Jo Rhea became Rock Hill’s 1st Female Mayor, serving the city during her 12 year-tenure.
When she was elected as mayor, Rock Hill’s unemployment rate was more than 17 percent with just one of the city’s 13 textile mills still open.
Rhea along with others helped to revitalized Rock Hill, turning it into what we now call a sports tourism destination.
One of the highlights of her time as mayor included Cherry Park, in which the tower at the park is named after her.
Betty Jo Rhea holds a special place in our hearts here at CN2 News.
She is the host of the program City Minute that talks about Rock Hill’s past, celebrates the present and provides a glimpse into what the future holds for our city.
Betty Jo is also a former CN2 Hometown Hero.
Of course, Betty Jo Rhea is known for her collection of scarfs and for being the classic southern woman.
Current Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys stopped by my WRHI’s Palmetto Mornings this Thursday to celebrate Betty Jo’s 90th Birthday, saying she was a mayor who was kind, positive and included the residents of the city in the decision making process.
“In my opinion the one thing she did that still resonates throughout our community is she always put the people in the middle of the decision making process, from empowering the vision to seeing how the community came together to decide what they wanted to they wanted their community to look like for generations to come,” Mayor Gettys said.
Betty Jo is getting more love on her Birthday. South Carolina ETV announcing today that Rhea is one of the women to make its list of Women Vision South Carolina initiative.
This program recognizes 11 women leaders from across the state.
She’ll be featured in a tv program set to air on South Carolina ETV Thursday July 2nd at 8:30 p.m.
