Mack Edisto (Paul Kirby) – Ms. Sadie Kirkland Wannamaker has filed to run for the open seat on Lexington School District Four’s Board of Trustees. She served for eight years on that board and in 2016 was presented the Outstanding Boardmanship Level VI Award from the SC School Board Association, before losing the seat in 2018. This is a special election to fill the seat of Doris Simmons who was elected to the Swansea Town Council.
Ms. Wannamaker is a retired employee of the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control. She worked there for 31 years . When she retired, she was the human resource director for a region that encompassed six counties.
Not one to sit around after her retirement, Ms. Wannamaker became involved in leadership positions of several groups and associations. She’s an active member on the board of directors of the SC State Retirees’ Association. She is the South Regional Director of the SC Association of Legal Investigators and a lifetime member of the SC Public Health Association. She was presented the Investigator of the Year Award in 2018 by the SC Association of Legal Investigators. She was also honored to receive the Larry G. Ellis SC Outstanding State Retiree of the Year Award in 2009. Ms. Wannamaker has received numerous other awards and recognitions.
Ms. Wannamaker serves on the board of the SC State Employees Association. Just recently, she’s been advocating for an increase in SC teachers’ pay while still maintaining their high-quality benefits. She believes this will help with recruitment and retention of the best of the best educators. She recently attended a rally at the SC State House where she and others supported teachers in these requests.
In talking to The Ledger this week by phone, Ms. Wannamaker said, “I’m retired so even though I stay busy, most of the other commitments I have require just one meeting a month. That gives me the time to devote to school board responsibilities where I can advocate for the children and teachers.” She went on to say, “I want to see the children of this district get the best education they possibly can, not just the minimum required by the state.”
Ms. Wannamaker and her brothers and sister attended Swansea area schools from the 1st through 12th grade. Several of her oldest siblings for a short while attended a school called Mack Edisto, closer to Poole’s Mill until it combined with the Swansea school. She’s attended Ebenezer United Methodist Church her entire life and her family has lived in the area for decades.
She’s always been extremely involved in the community where she grew up. She’s assisted with the community helping to raise funds to install a lighted helipad beside the Mack Edisto fire station. She says she cares deeply for the people of the southwest portion of Lexington County. She’s related in one way or another to most of the established families that have called the community home her entire life.
She feels with her ability to meet and initiate dialogue, listen, effectively communicate, be assertive, and look at situations with a positive problem-solving approach, she can bring a high level of experience, personal attributes, and competency to the board. She also believes she will continue to be a good representative and role model and represent the best interest of the community’s educational needs.
You can contact Ms. Wannamaker over Facebook by clicking on this LINK.
