For more information, contact James Jolly, director of marketing and communications, at 843.383.8018

Hartsville, S.C. ­ Charles W. Coker, Sr., the former chairman, chief executive officer and president of Sonoco Products Company, will discuss globalization and international business at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, November 14 in the C.W. Coker Auditorium in Davidson Hall at Coker College. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

Sonoco, founded in 1899 in Hartsville, is a $3.2 billion global manufacturer of industrial and consumer packaging products and provider of packaging services, with more than 300 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations. Coker was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonoco from 1990 until May 2005. He also was chief executive officer of the company from 1990 to 1998, and president from 1970 to 1990. Coker was reappointed president in 1994, serving until 1996, while maintaining the title and responsibility of chairman and chief executive officer. He began serving on Sonoco’s board in 1962.

Coker is a Director of Bank of America Corporation; Progress Energy, Inc. and its subsidiary companies, Progress Energy Carolinas, Inc. and Florida Progress Corporation; and Sara Lee Corporation. In 1985 he was named Businessman of the Year by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. He was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1991.

In 1994, the Governor of South Carolina awarded Coker the Order of the Palmetto, the state's highest civilian honor bestowed for a lifetime of exceptional dedicated service. In 2001 he was named Distinguished Citizen of the Pee Dee Area of South Carolina.

Active in civic and business affairs, Coker is a past member of the Palmetto Business Forum, a past president of the Hartsville Rotary Club and the Pee Dee Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He is a recipient of the Silver Beaver Award for outstanding service to Scouting.

In 1955 Coker received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Princeton University and in 1957 he was awarded a master’s degree in business administration from the Harvard Business School. Coker holds honorary degrees from Clemson University, Coker College, the University of South Carolina and the Medical University of South Carolina.

Coker’s speech at Coker College is part of International Education Week, November 14-18, a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education to recognize the global exchange environment between the United States and other countries.

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November 4, 2005