When Orangeburg city officials recently approved the completion of the Veterans Memorial in Veterans Park they commissioned the job to Pelion Stonecarver Ron Clamp of Memorial Design.  Clamp is well known internationally for his work and known in Wagener particularly for carving our WWII Memorial in 2009 and the Hootie and the Blowfish monument in Columbia in 2010.   Clamp immediately assigned the Orangeburg project to Wagener Salley High 2006 graduate, Tommy Sliker.  The Orangeburg Veterans Memorial would be Sliker's first Project Manager assignment as an apprentice to Clamp. 

Clamp had no doubt Sliker could handle the Orangeburg Project although Sliker had only been in the business less than a year.  “Tommy has enough artistic talent that he's going to be really good.” Clamp said.  “He's meticulous.   The problem with carving stone is that there is no margin for error, you have to be meticulous.”

“I love having Tommy on board,” Clamp continued.   “I've been really impressed with him.  I've had as many as 16 employees at one point, but he's picked it up the quickest.  He has a natural eye.  You can learn theory in school, but to learn balance and what looks good – you can't be taught that.  You either have it or you don't.  Tommy's got it.”  Sliker graduated from USC in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts Technology and admits that he's using a lot of the graphic design and computer skills he learned in school.  He had just returned from a convention in Orlando where he represented Memorial Design.  

Sliker is also responsible for sales and design, gilding, laser etching, and the art features on mausoleums and church monuments.  He's worked in several states already and claims his ultimate goal destination is American Samoa to learn to hand chisel.

Clamp has also been commissioned to do the First Responders Memorial in Columbia and has had Sliker working on that as well.