Brack named Champion of Change

WASHINGTON D.C. - Charleston publisher and city council candidate Andy Brack was in the nation's capitol earlier this week to receive an honor from the White House for the work he did on Gulf of Mexico restoration in the wake of last year's BP oil spill.

"I think it's because what we did was regional and the Secretary of the Navy asked us to do this," Brack said about the work that led to him being named a Champion of Change on July 19.

Brack serves as president of the Center for a Better South, a 7-year-old regional non-partisan think-tank that addresses issues including: nurturing economic development and education; boosting wellness; improving energy efficiency; tax reform; infrastructure investment; cultivating governance; ensuring opportunities; and fostering safe communities. The organization includes members from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina.

“On behalf of the center, I am honored to receive this recognition because the kind of work we do is changing the South for the better,” Brack said. “By working with some very smart people across our region, we were able to craft a dozen ideas at the request of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to consider as he developed the Administration’s Gulf recovery plan last year.”

In addition to coming up with creative ideas to improve the economic, environmental and educational landscape of the gulf, during the oil spill recovery effort, the Center for a Better South created bettergulf.org. The daily photo blog that ran June through November last year allowed Gulf residents to contribute their own photos of the impacts from the spill and cleanup efforts during and after the spill, allowing the people of the region to share their experiences.

"One of the things we're interested in is restoring the Gulf and moving forward," Brack said. "Out of the 10 poorest states in the U.S., seven of them are in the south, of the 10 states with the lowest per capita income, seven are in the south."

Brack added that the best part of receiving the honor on behalf of the Center was getting to meet and speak with the other 17 individuals being named Champions of Change that week, all of whom were also involved with Gulf Coast restoration efforts.

"We talked a lot about the Gulf and how to connect with federal agencies to get things done," he said.

Brack has announced he plans to seek the Charleston City Council seat being vacated by Tim Mallard.

"There was also a lot of discussion on clean energy," he said. "That got my wheels turning on some things I hope to do on city council."