SC Club for Growth’s Board of Directors is a diverse group of citizens who believe prosperity and opportunity come through economic freedom. They are:
Bill Baker of Kiawah Island
Bill Baker is Chairman and founder of The Baker Companies, a residential and commercial real estate development corporation. Since its founding in 1966, the companies have grown into one of the largest real estate development companies throughout the East Coast. Bill is a member of the Board of Trustees of Georgetown University Medical School where he has been a leader in the school’s expansion. He is also a member of the Board of the MUSC Foundation.
Fred Dent of Spartanburg
Frederick B. Dent served from 1943 until 1946 in the United States Navy. From 1958 to 1972 he was the president of Mayfair Mills in Arcadia, South Carolina. Mr. Dent served as United States Secretary of Commerce from February 2, 1973, to March 26, 1975 in the cabinets of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. From 1975-1977, he served as United States Trade Representative under President Ford. In 1977, he returned to Mayfair Mills, serving as president until 1988 when he became chairman of the board. Mr. Dent was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1994.
Dave Ellison of Greenville
Dave Ellison joined Northwestern Mutual in 1981 after a five year banking career. He has served or is currently serving on several community boards including the Furman University Board of Trustees, the United Way of Greenville County Board of Trustees and the Board of Directors of Southern First Bancshares, Inc.
Dave’s leadership positions include serving as past chair of the Furman Board of Trustees, past president of the Furman Alumni Association and past chair of the United Way’s Palmetto Society. He was inducted into the Furman University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. Dave is also a member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. He is married to Frances DeLoache Ellison and has three sons.
Dave earned BA from Furman University and an MBA from the Clemson-Furman program.
Dr. Cleave Ham of Charleston
Biography coming soon.
Bill Lowndes of Spartanburg
William Lowndes was born in Greenville in 1931 and graduated from Greenville High in 1947. He graduated from The Citadel in 1951 and served two years in the U.S. Army Corps fo Engineers. Mr. Lowndes then worked for ten years in textile manufacturing and before joining Tindall Corporation where he now serves as Chief Executive Officer. He currently also serves on the board of the South Carolina Policy Council and the Converse College Board of Trustees.
Mr. Lowndes has also a formerly served as president of the Spartanburg Rotary Club, a member of the Citadel Foundation Board of Directors, a member of Precast Prestresed Concrete Institute Board of Directors, and as Advent Vestryman and Warden in the Episcopal Church.
Don McLaurin of Charleston
Mr. McLaurin is President of Leeward Management Consulting, LLC. Through LMC he works with clients in the IT services industry to assist them in structuring and managing their firms so as to reach their goals and maximize profits. He advocates success through the application of disciplined management techniques and excellence in execution. Mr. McLaurin has spent most of his career as an entrepreneur, having been involved in the start up of at least ten companies – most in the IT Services and staffing fields. In 1998 he retired as CEO and founder of Computer Consulting Group, a leading regional IT Services firm with offices throughout the Southeast.
Subsequent to his retirement, Mr. McLaurin was named CEO of the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), headquartered in Washington, DC. NACCB is the largest trade organization in the US exclusively representing the IT Services Industry. It is noted for its advocacy of market oriented solutions to industry problems rather than dependence on governmental solutions. He served in that capacity from 1998 – 2002.
In addition to having served on the boards of several technology related firms, Mr. McLaurin has served on the boards of The National Association of Computer Consulting Businesses (NACCB) and The Employment Policy Foundation, both in Washington, DC and King College, Bristol, Tenn. He also is a member of the South Carolina Workforce Investment Board.
Ben Rast of Columbia – Vice Chairman and Treasurer
Ben Rast is the founder and senior partner of The Rast Group, a team of financial planning and asset allocation specialists in the Columbia office of a major NYSE firm. His team works with a limited number of individuals and institutions to develop appropriate investment and financial planning strategies. Mr. Rast holds the title of Senior Vice President – Wealth Advisor, and is a Certified Financial Planner. He is also an Estate Planning Consultant, through the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He completed executive education programs at the Stern School of Business, NYU.
Mr. Rast is a weekly guest on NBC affiliate WIS-TV, the leading television news organization in the state. He hosted his own radio program for over thirteen years, and was a regular commentator on South Carolina Public Radio. Mr. Rast has published numerous articles in local and national periodicals, including work for Barron’s. He is a member and past president of the SC Chapter of the Financial Planning Association. Mr. Rast frequently speaks to professional, civic, and fraternal groups on the topics of business, economics, investments and financial planning.
Mr. Rast has been an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College, has taught courses for the Department of Continuing Education at the University of South Carolina, and has served as an adjunct professor in the USC School of Business. Mr. Rast also has participated in continuing education for the South Carolina BAR.
Mr. Rast is a member of the Partnership Board of the SC Honors College, the Partnership Board of the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Palmetto Opera. He is a member of the Columbia Economics Club. He is a Past Chairman of the SC Club for Growth. Mr. Rast graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BA/BS in 1979, and a MBA in International Business and Finance in 1986. He is married, has five children, and attends Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church.
Dr. Bauer Vaughters of Aiken
Dr. Bauer Vaughters is a practicing endocrinologist in Aiken, SC. He grew up in Aiken and returned home after finishing training at the University of North Carolina, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Wake Forest University and the Medical College of Georgia. In addition to being in private practice, he founded The Aiken Center for Clinical Research, a research facility performing trials on drugs for diabetes, osteoporosis, growth disorders and other endocrine abnormalities.
He is active in state and local politics. He is currently a board member for the MEDPAC, the political action committee for the South Carolina Medical Association. As Dr. Vaughters recently stated, “I believe the only effective way to achieve optimal medical care is through free market principles and legislative reform. This gives patients more say and more responsibility in their medical care. Reforms should limit barriers between patients and physicians, allowing for more efficient, effective, and less expensive healthcare.”
He and his wife, Deedee, have 3 children and are active members at Saint Johns United Methodist Church in Aiken.
Chad Walldorf of Sullivans Island – Chairman
Chad’s first government experience came when he took a year off from college to serve in President Reagan’s Office of Political Affairs. After the 1988 election cycle, Chad left the White House to return to the University of Virginia. Shortly after graduating, he and two high school friends moved to Mount Pleasant to create the first Sticky Fingers restaurant.
Their original concept has grown to over 1000 employees in their sixteen restaurants, catering, mail order, and wholesale businesses. Chad and his partners have been named Ernst and Young “Entrepreneurs of the Year” for the Carolinas as well as the Lowcountry’s “Most Philanthropic Company.”
In 2003 Chad took a two-year sabbatical from his business to serve as a Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Mark Sanford. It was largely through that experience of seeing sound fiscal policy fall prey to legislative gamesmanship that lead to his current involvement with the South Carolina Club for Growth.
Buzz Yount of Hilton Head
Mr. Yount attended Hampden-Sydney College and later the American Graduate School of International Management. His marketing and consulting career at IBM spanned 25 years in the United States and the Far East, where he lived in Atlanta, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.
Upon moving to South Carolina in 1992, Mr. Yount founded and later sold a construction company. Since then, Mr. Yount has served on several corporate boards, a private school board and the vestry of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. He is married to Rhetta Yount from Florence, South Carolina and has three grown children.