Rita Berry, President and CEO of the Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce, received the Summerville Lunch Club Rotary’s 2019-2020 Thomas A. Bryce Memorial Award for Distinguished Leadership at the rotary meeting on April 7, 2021. 

Bryce was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and one of Admiral Rickover’s boys in the start-up of the Nuclear Submarine Program. He commanded one of the first nuclear subs and was truly a pioneer in that field. After retiring to Summerville, he continued his service connection as the naval science instructor at Summerville High School. His students were always eager participants, in uniform, at various community events and functions.

Captain Bryce became a Rotarian on November 10, 1976 and never stopped serving. One of the outstanding projects he led was the aluminum can recycle project from 1980 through 1983. During the project’s duration, it removed 18,885,640 cans off our roadsides, by-ways, and backyards. This resulted in the Summerville Lunch Club’s ability to put more than $140,000 into the community and $25,259 into their scholarship fund.

The award is given each year to a member of the Summerville Lunch Club Rotary that displays outstanding leadership both personally and professionally. This year’s recipient, Rita Berry, has served as the President and CEO of the Summerville Chamber since April of 2007.   

Rita currently serves on the board of directors for the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, Joint Base Charleston Advisory Council, Carolina Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (past president), and the board of regents for the U.S. Chamber’s Southeast Institute of Organizational Management. 

She has previously served on the legislative task force agenda and small business committees for the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the board of the Palmetto Military Support Group, and previously was named an Honorary Commander for Joint Base Charleston. She is involved in and supports many of our local community organizations.

Rita holds a business degree from The Baptist College of Charleston and has earned designations as an I.O.M. with the United States Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management and a Certified Chamber Executive for the Carolinas. Her leadership resulted in the 5-star Accreditation status of the Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce by the U.S. Chamber. Rita is also a graduate of Leadership Dorchester. In 2010, she was recognized by the Carolina Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives as South Carolina’s Chamber Executive of the Year. Rita is married to Chris Berry and has twins, Hannah and Christopher.