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Review Board Member Bios
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Paula Harper Bethea
Chair
Appointed by Speaker of the House
Harper-Betha is director of external relations for the McNair Law Firm. She has served as a board member and past chairwoman of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, as chair emeritus of the United Way of America’s Board of Governors, and as past chair of the United Way of South Carolina. She is a founding board member of the Palmetto Institute, a member of the board of the Health Sciences Foundation, and vice-chair of the Presbyterian College Board of Trustees. She is a past member of the South Carolina State Ethics Commission and a recipient of The Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest award for volunteer service. She and her husband, William L. Bethea, were honored as the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce’s 2006 Business Leaders of the Year. They reside in Hilton Head. Serving first full term (ends 8/26/08).
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Donald Babb
Vice-chair
Appointed by President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Babb is a partner for Wind Tunnel eXtreme, based in Charlotte. He previously served as CEO of Amick Farms Inc., Jackson Companies of Myrtle Beach, and the Foster Dixiana Corporation. While at Foster Dixiana, he created Sandhills, a 350-acre, multi-use industrial park and soil remediation company. Babb serves as a director of a number of real-estate firms, including Grubb & Ellis/Wilson/Kibler; Palmetto Preservation, Inc.; and Sandhills Development Company. He attended the University of Illinois and Eastern Michigan University, earning a B.S. and an M.B.A. He spent six years in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Flight Officer. Serving first term (ends 8/14/08).
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Robert W. Pearce, Jr.
Secretary
Appointed by Speaker of the House
Pearce is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. His practice focus includes real estate finance, lender representation, corporate law, private securities offerings, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and trademark law. He has served as general counsel for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce; as past local board member of BB&T Bank; as past board chairman and cofounder of ThinkTEC; and has recently been appointed to the SC Council of Competitiveness. Pearce was honored by the Governor in 2004 as an Economic Development Ambassador. He is the cofounder and editor of the technology newsletter, CyberWatch®. Pearce has a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law, an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina, and a B.A. in Economics from Washington and Lee University. Filling vacated term (ends 8/26/09). |
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Melvin C. Williams
Appointed by President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Williams is the business developer of the Charleston branch of SM&E, a southeastern engineering firm. He is director at-large of the South Carolina section of the American Society of Civil Engineers and serves on the board of the American Subcontractors Association of the Carolinas. He is a member of the Charleston Civil Engineers Club, the Charleston Contractors’ Association, and the Society of American Military Engineers. He is an alumnus of South Carolina State University and was recognized as a “Stellar Alumnus” in 2006. Serving first term (ends 10/14/09).
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Patricia E. Wilson
Appointed by Speaker of the House
Wilson has chaired several state and local cultural organizations including the South Carolina Arts Commission, the South Carolina Arts Foundation, and the Columbia Arts Task Force. She has also served on the boards of the Columbia Museum of Art and the South Carolina State Museum. She is a member of the National Arts Society and is a recipient of the Yale University Award for Cultural Achievement. Serving first full term (ends 8/26/10).
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Keith D. Munson
Appointed by Governor
Munson is an attorney with Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, PLLC in Greenville. He is a trial lawyer with nearly 20 years of experience in the areas of product liability defense, mass tort defense, class action litigation, director and officer liability, and civil/securities fraud. His civic activities include serving as a member/spokesperson for Governor Mark Sanford’s Transition Team, 2002–03; board member of the South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper), 2003–05; and board member of the Upstate Alliance (10-county economic development organization). His military service includes serving as a U.S. Army Captain with the 24th Infantry Division during the first Persian Gulf War. He has a J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from Clemson. Serving a vacated term (ends 7/8/09). |
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J. Lyles Glenn
Appointed by Governor
Glenn is a principal with Keenan Development Associates, LLC, a real estate development firm focused on public/private partnerships. He also serves in an Of Counsel capacity with the law firm Ellis, Lawhorne and Sims, P.A. His previous positions include vice president, chief operating officer, and chief executive assistant to the president of the University of South Carolina, and he has served as executive assistant to a former lieutenant governor of South Carolina. He has a J.D. and B.A. from the University of South Carolina. Serving a vacated term (ends 7/8/08).
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Pamela P. Lackey
Appointed by President Pro Tempore of the Senate
Lackey is president of AT&T’s South Carolina operations and lives in Columbia. She has worked with BellSouth since 1997, first as sales manager for education and government markets, then as the government relations director. Before her tenure with BellSouth, she served the S. C. Department of Education as a senior executive assistant, managing technology, curriculum and testing standards. Lackey has been active in numerous community and civic organizations, including the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, Palmetto Center for Women Business Advisory Committee, Junior League of Greenville and Columbia, and the SCETV Midlands Citizen's Advisory Committee. Serving a vacated term (ends 8/21/10). |
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Charlie Condon
Appointed by Governor
Condon runs his own law practice, Charlie Condon Law Firm, LLC, in Mount Pleasant with an emphasis on governmental relations, criminal defense, licensing issues, personal injury, and litigation. Condon served as South Carolina Attorney General from 1995 to 2003. He has also served as Ninth Judicial Circuit Solicitor (Berkeley and Charleston counties), as Assistant Solicitor in Charleston County, and as Securities Commissioner of South Carolina while he was Attorney General of South Carolina. He received his J.D. from Duke University and his B.A. from Notre Dame. He is married to Dr. Emily Y. Condon and they have four children. Serving first full term (ends 7/8/10).
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Robert "Bobby" M. Hitt III
Appointed by Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee
Hitt is public affairs department manager for BMW Manufacturing Company in Greer. His previous positions include director of planning and development for Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough and various editor positions for major South Carolina newspapers. Currently, Hitt is the first vice chair of the board for the S.C. Manufacturers’ Alliance, vice chair of the Pubic Affairs Steering Committee for the Southeast Region of the National Association of Manufacturers, and president and tournament chairman of S.C. Charities Inc. (BMW Charity Pro-Am). Additionally, he serves on the executive committees of Advance SC and the Upstate Alliance and on the boards of the Hollings Cancer Center and the S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics. Hitt is also involved with New Carolina and the Greater Greenville Forum. He has served on the board of directors for Artisphere and the Spartanburg Economic Futures Group and was an Ambassador for Economic Development for Greenville County. Hitt is an alumnus of the University of South Carolina, where he was named distinguished alumni of the year in 2002. He was recognized as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Serving first term (ends 7/2011).
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Regan Voit
Appointed by Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
Voit is the retired president of Chem-Nuclear Systems in Columbia, where he led two corporate mergers and managed the transition to a state Pubic Service Commission–regulated operation. While at Chem-Nuclear Systems he received the 1997 S.C. Governor’s Total Quality Award and the 1996 Tennessee Valley Authority Key Supplier Award, among other accomplishments. Voit previously worked in for LN Technologies Corporation, NUS Process Services Corporation, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Plant. Prior to this, he was a U.S. Navy Officer in Norfolk, Virginia. Voit has served on various committees related to the S.C. Education and Economic Development Act and is a past participant of the S.C. Teachers Education Performance Standards Steering Committee and S.C. 2020 Vision Steering Committee. He is a member of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Education Council, New Carolina Education and Workforce Development Task Force, S.C. Quality Forum Advisory Committee, U.S. Power Squadron, and the S.C. Philharmonic. Voit received an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia. Serving first term (ends 7/2011).
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Dr. Todd Hubing
Michelin CoEE Endowed Chair in Vehicle Electronic Systems Integration
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