TCTC Commission elects New Officers

Tri-County Technical College’s Commission, its governing board, elected officers for 2014 at its April meeting.  Leon (Butch) Harris, III, of Anderson, was elected chairman.  He has been a member of the Commission since 2008 and previously served as vice chair. John Powell, of Walhalla, was elected vice-chairman.  He was appointed to the Board in 2010.  D. Pruitt Martin, of Anderson, a member of the Board since 2004, was re-elected secretary-treasurer.  They took office April 14.  Harris represents Anderson County on the Commission.  He is former chair of the finance committee and a past member of the building committee.  He is project manager for new business growth at Koyo Bearings, USA, (formerly Torrington and later Timken).  He began his career at Torrington in 1976 after earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Clemson University and has been a licensed professional engineer since 1981. He has worked in various engineering and management capacities at plants across the state, beginning at the Clinton plant as project engineer and later engineering group leader.  In 1983 he moved to the Walhalla plant as manufacturing superintendent for four years and was back in Clinton for another five years as engineering and manufacturing manager.  In 1992 he was named plant manager of the Timken Honea Path plant, where he remained until 2007.  He spent a short time at the Canton, GA, plant as plant manager before returning to the Walhalla plant as its manufacturing manager, then as its plant manager. In 2010 he was named project manager for new business growth. His professional and civic affiliations include serving as a board member and past chair of the Pendleton District Workforce Investment Board and past president of the Honea Path Civitan Group.  He is past chapter chairman of the American Society for Metals, previously chaired the Laurens County Chamber of Commerce, and was former campaign chair for the Laurens County United Way.  He served as a board member for the Honea Path Rescue Squad, Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, Anderson County Vocational Rehabilitation Center and the Anderson County Business-Education Partnership.  He has been a board member for the Anderson County Local Emergency Planning Committee and a member of the Walhalla Rotary Club. Powell is the second alumnus in the history of the College to serve on its governing board.  He is owner/broker of Powell Real Estate in Walhalla.  He also owns a cattle farm and has been involved in the creation of 36 subdivisions, including being a partner in Falcon’s Lair Golf Community in Walhalla.  He also is a partner in eight Subway franchises in Upstate SC. He maintained close ties to Tri-County over the years, as past president of the Alumni Association and as a longtime member of the Business Technology Advisory Committee. In 2009 he received Tri-County Technical College’s Distinguished Alumni Award, which highlights his dedication to his alma mater.  In 1992 he was elected to the Oconee Medical Center Board of Directors and served as chairman from 1995 – 1998.  He also chaired the Hospital’s Building Committee and the Oconee County School Task Force.  He is a former member of the State Disabilities and Special Needs board and currently serves on the board of directors for Table Rock Retreat Center and the Business Education Industry Organization in Oconee County.  He is very active in his church, Welcome Wesleyan Church, where he leads a Small Group and sings in the choir. Martin represents Anderson County on the Commission.  He has 35 years of banking experience and currently is senior vice president at Carolina Alliance Bank.  He holds a B. S. in Banking and Finance from the University of South Carolina and is a graduate of the School of Retail Bank Management at the University of Virginia.  He is a former chairman and member of the board of directors for the Anderson Area YMCA and a past member of the Anderson Rotary Club.  He is a former president of the Anderson Country Club and past chairman of the Young Bankers Division of the South Carolina Bankers Association.  He also served on the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The Tri-County Technical College Commission, the governing board of Tri-County Technical College, meets bi-monthly in the Board Room of the Ruby S. Hicks Library/Administration Building on the Pendleton Campus located at 7900 Highway 76 in Pendleton.