Mount Pleasant Town Hall Magazine

21 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.MPTownHall.com MOUNT PLEASANT Town Hall supposed to be studying,” she said. After graduating from Clemson, Sims returned to the Lowcountry for graduate work at the College of Charleston. One of her classes required her to interview a public administrator. She did some research and discovered that Eric DeMoura had earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a master’s in Public Administration at Clemson – one degree she already had and another she was working toward. Even better, he was the town administrator of her hometown – Mount Pleasant. While interviewing him for the paper she had to write, Sims learned that the town had an internship program. Not long after, they got to know each other better when she took a Finance and Budget class that DeMoura taught at the College of Charleston. Later, now on the nonprofit administration track at C of C, she needed some working hours in her quest for a master’s in Public Administration. She decided that her future was in municipal work and contacted DeMoura about an internship during the summer of 2012. “I admire people who work for nonprofits, but I realized I was best suited to serve the community through local government,” Sims commented. That September, she was hired full-time, learning the ropes of town government by working on special projects. By 2013, she and DeMoura were co-managing the construction of the new Town Hall. DeMoura has never regretted giving her the opportunity to serve her hometown and to play a key role in the construction of the new Town Hall. “Lauren is a very talented and capable person. She is exceptional in working with people. She’s very smart and organized and works hard,” he said. “She has the fundamentals and basics to do whatever she wants to do. She’s got all the stuff you need to be really successful.” Sims pointed out that her job as day-to-day point- of-contact for the new Town Hall wasn’t all that difficult, but “it’s just a lot to do.” One of her major challenges was moving 250 employees from the town’s former collection “To be a part of this building is a very exciting and humbling experience,” according to Mount Pleasant Executive Programs Manager Lauren Sims. Photo by Jenn Cady.