Membership Elects 2015 Officers and New Members to Board of Directors
October 22, 2014
COLUMBIA, SC – The South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association (SCWCEA) announced the newly elected 2015 Officers and new members to the Board of Directors at its annual business meeting on October 15, 2014.
President Roy A. Howell, III, Esq., Trask & Howell, LLC, Mt. Pleasant, SC
Vice President Andrea C. Roche, Esq., Mickle and Bass, LLC, Columbia, SC
Secretary Denise Godwin, Clemson University, Clemson, SC
Treasurer William B. “Bret” Salley, Esq., Salley Law Firm, Lexington, SC
Roy A. Howell, III., Esq., is a founding partner of Trask & Howell, LLC and practices in the firm’s Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina office. Roy received his BA degree, from the College of Charleston and his JD degree from Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law where he served as articles editor for the Campbell Law Review and a member of the Order of Barristers. Roy is a member of the SC Defense Trial Attorneys Association where he previously served on the Executive Board. Roy has served on numerous boards in the Charleston area, including the College of Charleston’s Cougar Club Board. He currently serves on the Bishop England High School Advisory Board. Roy has served on the Board of Directors of the SCWCEA for the last four years as well as Chairman of the Annual Medical Seminar for two years. He is an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Holy Name Society. He practices exclusively in the areas of Workers’ Compensation and Federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Law.
Andrea C. Roche, Esq., joined the firm of Mickle and Bass in Columbia, SC in August 2014. Prior to joining, she was a Commissioner with the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. She was first appointed to the Commission in June 2006 and served as chairman from 2008 – 2010.
Before serving on the Commission, Mrs. Roche was a partner in the law firm Barnes Alford Stork and Johnson, practicing primarily workers’ compensation defense and appellate advocacy. She is a graduate of Yale Law School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Following graduation from Yale, Mrs. Roche clerked for the Honorable Robert F. Chapman on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She also clerked for the Honorable Carol Connor of the South Carolina Court of Appeals and served as staff attorney for the court. Prior to law school, Mrs. Roche was manager of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in New Orleans. She has served on the Board and as Vice President of the SCWCEA for numerous years and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Kids’ Chance of South Carolina.
Denise P. Godwin is the Workers’ Compensation Coordinator for Clemson University Office of Risk Management, where she has managed claims for the past six years. Denise holds the Certified Workers’ Comp Counselor and the Certified Professional Insurance Woman designations. She is a member of the International Association of Insurance Professionals , University Risk Management and Insurance Association, Risk Management Society and the Public Risk Management Association.
Denise currently serves as secretary in the Western Carolina RIMS Chapter. She serves on the URMIA Southeastern Regional Conference Planning Committees for the 2012, 2013 and 2014. She competed at the IAIP International Confidence While Communicating competition (2012) in Dallas Texas and was named the International Speak-off winner. She serves on the board of directors of The Presentation Literacy Initiative Foundation. Denise holds an associate degree in General Education from Emmanuel College, a Bachelor of Arts from Holmes Bible College and an associate degree in General Insurance from the Institutes.
William B. “Bret” Salley, Jr., Esq., is the founding attorney with Salley Law Firm, PA in Lexington, SC. Mr. Salley practices extensively in the area of workers’ compensation. Mr. Salley served as president of Injured Workers’ Advocates from 2008-2009. Mr. Salley currently serves on the Board of Directors for the SCWCEA and was Chairman of the 2014 Annual Medical Seminar Committee. He is also a member of the South Carolina Association for Justice, the South Carolina Bar Association and its Workers’ Compensation Section, the Lexington County Bar Association and the Richland County Bar Association. Mr. Salley has also served as a member of the South Carolina Bar Workers’ Compensation Section Council and the Injured Workers’ Advocates Board of Directors. He is a former assistant solicitor for the 5th Judicial Circuit, former special federal prosecutor, and former law clerk for the Honorable Edward B. Cottingham. Mr. Salley received his BA from the College of Charleston and his JD from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Four new Board of Directors were also elected and they are Grady L. Beard, Esq., Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, Columbia, SC; Tracy P. Campbell, Learning Services, Charlotte, NC; Andrea C. Roche, Esq., Mickle and Bass, LLC, Columbia, SC and Tosca Walls, Companion TPA, Columbia, SC.
Re-elected to the Board for a second three year term were Lynne Fairey, General Electric Energy, Spartanburg, SC, A. Mundi George, McAngus Goudelock & Courie, LLC and Kenneth W. Harrell, Jr., Esq., Joye Law Firm, North Charleston, SC.
“We are pleased to welcome the four new members to the SCWCEA Board”, says Roy Howell, President, “The additions of these professionals shows the broad scope of workers’ compensation community with all segments of the industry well represented. We look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead to advance the programs of the SCWCEA.”
Grady L. Beard, Esq. is a founding Member with Sowell Gray Stepp and Laffitte, LLC, in Columbia, SC. He focuses his practice on Workers’ Compensation Defense, Workers’ Compensation Mediation, Alternative Dispute Resolution and also practices in the Firm’s Appellate Practice Group. Mr. Beard attended Louisiana State University and received his BS degree from Northwestern State University, Summa Cum Laude. He received his JD degree from Emory University School of Law. Grady is a Fellow in the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, and is an Advisory Board Member for Larson’s National Workers’ Compensation Group. Grady has previously served as co-chair for the Workers’ Compensation Section of the SC Defense Trial Attorneys Association, and is a former Board member of Palmetto Place Children’s Emergency Shelter. Mr. Beard was unanimously elected by the SCWCEA Board of Directors to fill an unexpired term vacated by a current Board member.
Tracy P. Campbell is the Business Development Liaison for the Southeast Region of Learning Services. Prior to joining Learning Services, LLC, Tracy was regional sales director for One Call Care Management and before that was director of professional relations for The Rehab Center. She is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Tennessee with a BS in Business Administration – Finance. Tracy currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the Charlotte Chapter of NCARP. She is also an active volunteer with the Joe Martin ALS Foundation in Charlotte and has served on the SCWCEA Educational Conference Steering Committee for several years.
Tosca Walls is the Director of TPA Operations at Companion Third Party Administrators, LLC. She is responsible for the overall management of TPA operations, which handles claims in multiple states throughout the country. Tosca has worked in the insurance industry for over twenty years with a primary focus on workers’ compensation for government entities and self-insured clients. She holds a BS in Business Administration (Finance) from Austin Peay State University. Tosca is licensed in multiple states, has earned the Certified Workers’ Compensation Professional (CWCP) designation and currently serves as President of the South Carolina Self Insurers Association.
About the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association
The SCWCEA is a non-profit organization of over 800 workers’ compensation professionals from throughout the United States. It conducts educational programs and provides educational resources for its members and the general public pertaining to the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act and its administration by the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. These programs and resources keep our members up-to-date on the very latest on medical and legal issues related to workers’ comp. For information, visit http://www.scwcea.org.
