Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands announces new Board of Directors Members

Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands has announced the election of three new members to the Board of Directors serving a 22-county jurisdiction.

The three new members elected to serve are Phil Bargardi-Greenville, Michel Stone-Spartanburg, and Michelle White-Lexington.

Phil Bargardi is currently the Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service for the Greenville Drive Baseball Club where the mission is to foster an atmosphere where family fun, customer service, and community works merge with baseball to create long lasting memories and a stronger Upstate.

Phil has over a decade of experience working in Minor League sports, where the passion of connection to the community is key. Background includes strategic sales planning, customer service and retention, and event execution. Most recently, Phil has worked with the Toledo Mud Hens and Toledo Walleye, both nonprofit sport organizations, which brings a likeminded attitude to Greenville.

Michel Stone earned her BA degree from Clemson University and her M. Ed. From Converse College. She was born in Charleston and grew up on Johns Island. Stone is the 2018 recipient of the Patricia Winn Award for Southern Literature and a winner of the South Carolina Fiction Award. She’s the immediate past board chair of the Hub City Writers Project and currently serves on the President’s Advisory Council for Wofford College and is a Trustee of Spartanburg Day School where she co-chairs the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee. She also volunteers with the Edisto Island Open Land Trust.  She has served on Clemson University’s Humanities Advancement Board, the Spartanburg Regional Foundation Board, the board of the Junior League of Spartanburg, and the board of Episcopal Church of the Advent’s Episcopal Church Women. Michel is a Liberty Fellow, a Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, a Spartanburg Regional Fellow and a Ucross Fellow. She has been awarded numerous writing residencies and has been invited to speak across the country.
Her novels have been favorably reviewed by The San Francisco Chronicle, The New Yorker, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Charlotte Observer, The New York Journal of Books, Charleston Magazine, Kirkus (starred review), and many others.

Michele’s novels have been selected by numerous colleges as Common Reads. Michel lives in Spartanburg, SC with her husband and their three children.

Michelle White is the Vice President of Field Development and Client Management for Colonial Life.  She oversees the strategy for the national recruiting, onboarding, training, and development of Colonial Life’s sales organization as well as the strategy for maintaining strong relationships with over 100,000 employer clients.  Michelle frequently volunteers with the Girl Scouts and is passionate about the organization as it provided meaningful experiences and opportunities to her as a child.  She earned her Girl Scout Silver and Gold awards.  Michelle has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Maine.

The Board of Directors Members are supported by the following officers:  Board Chair Meredith Manning, Board Vice Chair Frances Griggs, Board Treasurer Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, and Board Secretary Carolyn Harbison.

Meredith Manning is Assistant Vice President and Senior Deputy General Counsel at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina.  She has a B.A. in Political Science from Agnes Scott College and a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law.  Meredith is a Sustaining Member of the Junior League of Columbia.  She has also served as board member and chairman of Sandhills School; Youth Committee member and chairman at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral; and was a member of Leadership Columbia. Meredith is serving her third term on the Board.  She has served on the Finance, Nominating and Governance Committees, and was Chair of the Capital Campaign Committee of the Midlands Team. Meredith is a lifelong Columbia, South Carolina native, along with her husband, Bobby Stepp. Her passion is leadership development for girls, which is why she enthusiastically supports Girl Scouts and the Girl Scouts Movement.

Frances Griggs is Sr. VP & General Counsel at AgFirst Farm Credit Bank.  She has a BA, History from Clemson University and Juris Doctorate from University of South Carolina School of Law.  Frances is WIP member and volunteer of Richland County United Way, a volunteer with Interscholastic Equestrian Association, and a member and volunteer at Grace Episcopal Church.  She has previously served as a board member of Kershaw County United Way, a member of Rotary International, and board member of Clemson Women’s Council.  Frances was also a Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader and Volunteer in Kershaw County.

Mary Anne Fitzpatrick  is the Emeritus Vice President of System Planning at the University of South Carolina, and holds a current appointment as a Carolina Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Communication. Mary Anne has served as the Interim Chancellor at USC Upstate and received the 2017 Spartanburg County Commission of Higher Education Founder’s Day Award for her extraordinary leadership. She was the USC Vice Provost for Special Academic Initiatives and created the On Your Time program to facilitate shorter times to graduation for undergraduate students. She served as the founding Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Carolina, and in 2015 was recognized by the South Carolina Legislature for her outstanding and dedicated 10 years of service in that role.

Mary Anne is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, the International Communication Association, the National Communication Association and the International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships.  She is a past President and former board member of Council of Colleges of Arts & Sciences and past President and former board member of International Communication Association.  Mary Anne serves on the Girl Scout’s Finance Committee and chairs the Development Committee.

Carolyn Harbison attended Converse College and has a BA from the University of Georgia.  Active in community affairs, she is on the board of the Charles Lea Center in Spartanburg, member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Spartanburg City Public Safety Committee.  Carolyn is a former member of the Spartanburg Bike & Pedestrian Commission, a graduate of Spartanburg Regional Hospital Fellows Program, Spartanburg Water Matters Academy, and Spartanburg Citizen Academy.  She is a graduate of Leadership Spartanburg, and a member of Leadership Spartanburg Alumni.  Carolyn is a previous Chair and charter member of the Emerald Circle, and a lifetime member of Girl Scouts.  She and her husband Robert Harbison III are the parents of three Gold Award Girl Scouts, and grandparents of four Girl Scouts.  Carolyn currently works part-time at Spartanburg Regional Hospital.

Returning Board Members include, Serita Acker, Director of WISE/Peer at Clemson University; Jackie Blakley, Dean at Tri-County Technical College, Anderson; Anna Blanton, HR Manager of Milliken & Co., Spartanburg; Kavita Borsum, Vice President of Unique Enterprises, Inc., Anderson; Ruth Cate, Attorney of The Cate Law Firm, Spartanburg; Gloria Close, Owner of Webb Close Consulting, Spartanburg; Debbie Hamm, Education Consultant, West Columbia; Rhonda Hunt, Michelin Environment & Prevention Manager, Simpsonville; Latrice Spann Johnson, Operations Area Manager at Colgate-Palmolive Company, Greenwood; Maggie Meekins, Attorney with South Carolina Department of Social Services, Columbia; Lesley R. Moore, Attorney with Freeman and Moore, PC, Greenville; Leigh Ann Puryear, Duke Energy Community Relations Liaison, Greenville; Phyllis Ward Rich, Retired Sales Director Fisher-Price/Mattel and community volunteer, Anderson; Liying Shen, BMW Manufacturing Senior Engineer, Greenville; Robin Stack, Greenville County Schools Finance Department, Greenville; Courtney Thomas, Director of Communications, WREN, Greenville; Shawn Williams, Chief Human Resources Officer, Richland Two School District, Columbia.

For more than 105 years, Girl Scouting has helped girls develop positive values and become active, responsible leaders in their communities. Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands serves nearly 10,000 girls and adults in 22 counties of central and western South Carolina, including Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, and Union.