EDITOR’S NOTE: The EOC held a full committee meeting February 10, 2014. The election of chair and vice-chair occurred at this meeting.

Columbia – David Whittemore, an Easley businessman, has been elected as the new Chairman of the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee (EOC), a term which will begin immediately. Whittemore replaces Neil Robinson, who served as Chairman since 2009.

Whittemore stated “I am very honored and humbled to be elected to this important position in a very critical time for education in South Carolina.”

Whittemore, a self-employed insurance broker, was appointed to serve as the House Education and Public Works Committee’s business representative to the EOC in January 2011. The appointment was made by Representative Phil Owens, Chairman of the House committee.

A graduate of Easley public schools and Clemson University, Whittemore was a member of the Easley City Council for 19 years, including three terms as Mayor Pro Tem. He also served as SecretaryTreasurer of the Pickens County Municipal Association for 18 years and served as President of the Greater Easley Chamber of Commerce.

Whittemore presently serves on the Upstate Advisory Board of Carolina First Bank/TD. He is a member and Past President of the Easley Rotary Club, where he has twice been named a Paul Harris Fellow. He is a graduate of Leadership Pickens County, where he served on the Board of Regents. Whittemore also served on the Board of Visitors at Presbyterian College.

Active in his community, Whittemore served as President of the Pickens County United Way and on the Board of the Pickens County YMCA. He is active in the District Council of the Blue Ridge Council of Boy Scouts of America and is a 20-year volunteer for Pickens County Meals on Wheels.

Whittemore is a member and Deacon at Easley Presbyterian Church. He and his wife Cindy Blackston Whittemore have three children.

The SC Education Oversight Committee is an independent, non-partisan group made up of 18 educators, business persons, and elected leaders. Created in 1998, the committee is dedicated to reporting facts, measuring change, and promoting progress within South Carolina’s education system.