South Carolina Humanities is pleased to welcome two new gubernatorial board members Brendon Barber of Georgetown and Tom Gottshall of Columbia.
“I am very pleased that Governor McMaster has appointed Brendon and Tom to our board. Both bring a wealth of knowledge of our state and expertise that will enhance our ability to plan and implement quality programs and initiatives for our citizens”, said Dr. Randy Akers, Executive Director of South Carolina Humanities. “They join Cal McMeekin and David Hodges as gubernatorial appointees. Appointees join elected members ensuring that the state has an active interest in and awareness of what SCH is doing.”
Brendon M. Barber, Sr. is the former Mayor of Georgetown, South Carolina. He and his wife, Pamela, are the proud parents of one daughter, a University of Southern California graduate and three sons, two of whom are Naval Academy graduates. Mayor Barber attended Howard High School for two years before graduating from Winyah High School. Mayor Barber received a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s Degrees in Urban Development from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan where he attended on a football scholarship. He is also a graduate of the Municipal Association of South Carolina Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government.
Mayor Barber is retired from the Georgetown County School District. He has held positions as Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinator, Interim Assistant Principal, Schools Safety Consultant, School Counselor and Career Specialist for the district. He is a former Head Basketball and Assistant Football Coach for Georgetown High School.
Mayor Barber is also the former Executive Director for Helping Hands of Georgetown and serves on the SunTrust Commercial Bank (now Truist) Advisory Board. He also served on the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments Board of Directors, the South Carolina Floodwater Commission, the Association of South Carolina Mayors and the Municipal Association of South Carolina Board of Directors. He is a proud member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
Tom Gottshall has practiced law in Columbia beginning in 1974, primarily product liability defense and environmental litigation. He retired in 2020 from Haynsworth, Sinkler, Boyd. Previously, he served in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and originally practiced in Philadelphia. He graduated from Yale and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. His undergraduate major was American and British History and he speaks on various historical subjects. He and his wife Susan live in downtown Columbia; they have three grown daughters and four grandchildren.
Board Members continuing to serve are: Chair, Jennifer Thomas of Greenville; Vice Chair, Brenton Brown of Columbia; Secretary/Treasurer, Alli Crandell of Conway; Leslie Walker Bickford of Rock Hill; J. W. Nelson Chandler of Mount Pleasant; Bill Comer of Lexington; Eric Crawford of Columbia; Tom Crosby of Columbia; Jay Dowd of Bradley; Jennifer Gunter of Columbia; Bonnie Hargrove of Beaufort; David Hodges (Past Chair) of Columbia; George D. Jebaily of Florence; Charles McDonald of Hanahan; Isaiah McGee of Orangeburg; S.C. (Cal) McMeekin, Jr. of Columbia; Lucas McMillan of Greenwood; Dollie Newhouse of Irmo; Floyd Nicholson of Greenwood; Otis Pickett of Clemson; David Stone Jr. of Florence; Ashlye V. Wilkerson of Columbia; and Benjamin T. Ziegler of Florence.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
