Mary Black Foundation Elects New Trustee and Officers
December 16, 2014
SPARTANBURG, SC – The Mary Black Foundation has announced the election of Hope Blackley to a four-year term as a Trustee beginning January 1.
Hope Blackley is a graduate of Spartanburg County District Six schools and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from South Carolina State University. Ms. Blackley began her professional career with United Way of the Piedmont Village Partnership as a preschool teacher and volunteered as a “back to work” facilitator to new moms. From there, she joined the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office as a Child Victim Advocate where she assisted and prepared children for criminal court. She also directed bond court and restitution hearings each court week under the supervision of assigned circuit court judges.
In 2004, Governor Mark Sanford appointed Ms. Blackley Crime Victims’ Ombudsman for South Carolina where she investigated complaints of crime victims against criminal and juvenile justice organizations and produced an annual report to the South Carolina General Assembly and the Governor.
Ms. Blackley also directed the Governor’s Office of Victim Services Education & Certification (OVSEC) where she assisted in writing legislation that was passed, creating this office where she trained/certified professionals throughout the state of South Carolina aiding crime victims. Ms. Blackley also established and implemented scheduled trainings for those who served crime victims through OVSEC.
In March 2010, Ms. Blackley was appointed Spartanburg County Clerk of Court. Subsequently, in 2012, Ms. Blackley was elected to this position, where she currently manages the day to day operations of the courthouse and court system as well as overseeing the docketing systems for Child Support Enforcement, Family, Civil and Criminal Courts. Ms. Blackley is the official keeper of all court records that come under her scope as well as the administrator responsible for overseeing all support fees and funds generated through collections within these courts divisions.
Ms. Blackley serves her community and state by serving on numerous boards such as: United Way of the Piedmont, Carolina Pregnancy Center, Mobile Meals-Council of Friends, Marcus Lattimore Foundation, University of South Carolina-Upstate Foundation, the Northside Development Corporation (NDC) Northside Initiatives-People Committee (Vice-Chair), South Carolina Governor’s Victims Service Coordinating Council and the South Carolina Coalition for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
One of Ms. Blackley personal joys is giving back to her community and lives by her personal motto, “Never allow anyone to set limits on your life because you never know who you might encourage by your determination.”
“We are delighted to have Hope join our Board. She will be a wonderful asset.” said Ruth Cate, Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Mrs. Doris Tidwell retires from the Board of Trustees on December 31. Mrs. Tidwell joined the board in 2005.
The Foundation also announced that A. Tony Fisher was elected to serve another four-year term as Trustee and named its officers for 2015: Mr. William M. Coker, Director of Relationship Management, Senior Vice President, at South State Private Wealth, was elected to serve as Board Chair. Mr. Jack McBride, CEO of Contec, will serve as Vice-Chair. Mr. Ethan Burroughs, Spartanburg Market President and Business Banking Manager of Wells Fargo Bank, will serve as Treasurer, and Mrs. Katherine Dunleavy, President/CEO of the Foundation, will serve as Secretary. In addition to these officers, Ms. Ruth L. Cate and Mr. Tony Fisher will serve on the Foundation’s Executive Committee.
The Mary Black Foundation is an independent private foundation. Since 1996, it has awarded more than $43 million to improve the health and wellness of the people and communities of Spartanburg County. The Foundation works to achieve its mission primarily through its efforts to improve early childhood development and encourage physically active lifestyles. It also awards grants under the Community Health Fund to improve health and wellness more broadly. Additional information about the Foundation is available at www.maryblackfoundation.org.
