Heritage means family, community

March 1, 2026

If memory serves, I don’t think I’ve ever missed a Heritage golf tournament. I can remember going out to Harbour Town with my dad when the electric substation was just going up there. Not long after, I walked through the sand and grass to get over the fairway and watch Arnold Palmer win the very first Heritage in 1969. That victory surprised the golfing world and put Hilton Head Island and the Heritage on the map.

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of champions and a lot of changes. One of my favorite memories comes from when my wife, Martha, and I were dating, and I introduced her to my parents for the first time at the annual Friday night shrimp boil my dad hosted at the tournament.

That’s why, to me, the RBC Heritage has always been about more than a week of elite competition. It’s about memories. It’s about family and community. It’s neighbors opening their homes, folks working behind the scenes and generations coming back to the same place year after year. It seems to also be that way for the PGA players, whose families look forward to accompanying them to Harbour Town each year.

Since the beginning, Palmetto Electric has supported the Heritage to meet the tournament’s power and logistical needs. For the past 18 years, Palmetto Electric has partnered with Santee Cooper to provide Green Power for the tournament, making the RBC Heritage a leader in sustainability on the PGA TOUR.

That work is mostly behind the scenes, but it’s part of what makes a PGA TOUR event of this caliber possible in our region. We don’t just flip a switch for tournament week. Our operations folks are on site and on standby during the event to respond to whatever is needed.

As tournament director and president of the Heritage Classic Foundation, Steve Wilmot, points out, “We’re in this thing together. Palmetto Electric’s attitude has always been, ‘Yes is the answer; what’s the question?’”

Beyond the golf, the most important work of the Heritage Classic Foundation doesn’t always happen on the green. It happens in our communities.

Since 1987, the Heritage Classic Foundation has donated $61.8 million to charities in our community. One of those charitable initiatives is a scholarship program that has benefited approximately 400 area students. Palmetto Electric is honored to help sponsor the scholarship luncheon where those students are recognized. I have the privilege of saying a few words at that event each year, and it’s one of my favorite days on the calendar.

When I think back to seeing the first Heritage with my dad or when my wife first met my parents, I see in those moments what this tournament has come to mean to our members and our community. Palmetto Electric’s partnership with the Heritage Classic Foundation is about more than lights and scoreboards. It’s about helping make sure that this world class event continues to feel like home.

A. Berl Davis Jr.

President and CEO