Presser

  I am very proud of my brother.  He has done some amazing things for our state and elsewhere.  Most of the things have been behind the scenes.  John does better, when he doesn't get the credit.  He has been a speechwriter for a Governor and a Senator.  He has run political campaigns.  He was the driving force to get Olympic teams from other countries come to Columbia and train before the 1996 Atlanta Games.  He carried the Olympic torch.  One of the only things he has done out front was when Governor Hodges asked him to be the Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism for the State of South Carolina.  John was the PRT Director during the 9/11 attacks and had to build back the Tourism industry after that awful day.  He has a passion for sports, especially Golf and Baseball.  He just retired from being the President of the Restaurant and Lodging Association for SC and had to deal with the issues surrounding the pandemic.  John is a problem solver.  

 In our family, John asked us early on to support his work for him to succeed.  His candidates were our candidates.  His passions were our passions.  He was known all over the community for his successes in getting things done.  I had learned a lot from him over the years about working with others in a constructive manner.  You can get a lot more done working with people instead of being angry.  It had taken me a long time to get to that point.  Just ask those folks I went to college with.  Back then, I was vicious.  I didn't care whose toes I stepped on.  I got in trouble for some of it, but it was worth it.  As I matured, I found that wouldn't work in the "real world", so I toned it down while still being persuasive.

 My family name is known by many people.  Some knew my father as a man of faith.  Some knew my uncle in Charleston for being a doctor.  Some knew my uncle in Greenwood for being the founder of The Museum.  Some recognized the street name next to Lander University.  Some knew my brother from his work.  Some knew me from my acting and retail work.  The Durst name was known.  My father used to tell me:  "Don't forget who you are."  He was talking about my last name.  Early in 2013, I went to the SC Secretary of State's office to get an application for non-profit status for the MTRA.  When I walked in the door, the secretary asked my name.  I told her, and her mouth dropped open.  She said, "You're a Durst?!!"  I said that I was.  She told me that we were related.  It turned out that she was from Batesburg, where there are a lot of Dursts.  We aren't closely related, but I let her think so.  She rushed through my application, and the MTRA was approved on the spot.

 In the early days of the MTRA, I had a conversation with my brother about what I wanted to do to be an advocate for the bus riders.  At first, he had some misgivings about my participation.  He knew of my history of being a bulldog.  I could alienate people with my rhetoric.  I told him that we were going to have a press conference one afternoon behind the Transit Station.  We had invited local TV stations and print media to come.  Some showed up.  We got on the local news and reported the next day in the paper.  When my brother saw the coverage, he gave me his blessing and a word of advice.  "Stay positive".  By being positive about issues, rather than negative, people will listen.  I listened.