Hazel Carroll
York, SC

 Hazel Carroll has made a bequest of property to the Medical Center because she wants to leave a legacy that will benefit others. Mrs. Carroll's late husband, Charles, was debilitated by illness late in life, and she suffers from chronic arthritis. Her gift will establish the Hazel B. Carroll Fund for arthritis research and interdisciplinary research in nutrition, which addresses another of her primary health concerns, the prevalence of obesity.

Mrs. Carroll dropped out of high school to get married, but over the years she built a career, first in retail and then in social work, while completing high school and college degrees. When her husband became ill, she launched a business venture of her own by developing their 40-acres of land into a mobile home park. She now manages 60 homes on more than 80 acres at two sites. Her parks are distinguished for their unusually large lot size and the immaculate grooming of the neighborhoods.

A long-time advocate for affordable housing, Carroll is a former president of the York County Manufactured Housing Association and is active at the state level also.

"I like to provide a nice place for people to live," she said. "Although there has been a bias against manufactured housing, I focus on the integrity of the sales process, the continued improvements in construction, and the importance of maintaining attractive neighborhoods."