COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Midlands community is honoring Vince Ford's legacy today after the leader passed away at 64-years-old.
Ford served as the senior vice president of community affairs for Prisma Health, he worked on the Richland One Board of School Commissioners and volunteered with many different organizations.
"When you hear Columbia, South Carolina, you cannot not hear Vince Ford," Robyn Ford said about her father. "It’s so amazing to me that he could consistently show up. I mean you could ask anyone whether they’re from Columbia, from the Upstate, from the Lowcountry, from a different state, a different country even. He showed up...his purpose was people."
He lived out that purpose every day, according to Melodie Hunnicutt.
"Vince cared about people of all ages, all races, people who had all kinds of different illnesses and diseases. He cared about all of them genuinely," Hunnicut said through tears. "You could tell that he lived what he believed. He wanted to help as many people in as many different ways as he could, particularly with regard to healthcare."
Hunnicutt is the executive director of James R. Clark Memorial Sickle Cell Foundation. Along with Yvonne Donald, Hunnicutt served alongside Ford for decades.
"Vince was the type of person who led with integrity but it was coupled with compassion," Donald shared. "He was not only a leader in business and at Palmetto Health, but he was a friend to the community."
It's a community he served continuously. Whether it was helping establish Prisma Health’s Office of Community Health Services or mentoring and serving alongside people like Richland One School Board Commissioner Aaron Bishop, Ford’s impact is deep.
"That was 12 years of tutelage, bonding, him showing me the way," Bishop remembered about his mentor. "He was not only a role model, but a real model to show me the pathway to success. And the pathway was service."
Service that Bishop says inspired himself and others all throughout the community.
"Instead of saying 'hello' or 'hi', he would always say 'how are the children?" Bishop smiled.
That catchphrase is something Robyn tells me she’ll always remember.
"What it means is prioritizing our future, it means giving our children a voice," she started. "It means pausing when there are so many competing priorities in whatever field you are and realizing at the heart of everything we do, our children must be taken care of."
Now, to honor his memory, Bishop tells me he will try to model the servant leadership Ford exhibited.
"That I bring equity to education, that I speak truth to power, that I always thinks about service before self," Bishop said about his plan.
For Robyn, honoring her father means remembering all he did for the community and for his family.
"He was strong, he was people focused, he was hilarious and he was authentic," she shared. "I was blessed to be reared by a man like him."