Mount Pleasant Magazine May/June 2019

www.ChsWomenInBusiness.com | www.ChsWomenInRE.com WIB - 7 Evette and David incorporated their own PEO, Quality Business Solutions (QBS), in Ohio, and then opened an office in Greenville, South Carolina. The original plan was for Pamela to stay in Ohio while David ran the South Carolina operation. They immediately saw growth in Greenville, and, after getting engaged, she joined him in Travelers Rest, South Carolina. They married and now have three children. Evette’s parents told her from a young age that she should always be mindful of her blessings and instilled in her a sense of duty in public service. “I had been an armchair quarterback (in politics) for most of my adult life,” she explained, so, when former Governor Nikki Haley appointed her to the South Carolina Small Business Regulatory Review Committee, which was founded to encourage small-business growth, she felt she’d stepped into a role that was a perfect fit — she was an experienced business advocate in a political setting. Evette acknowledged the worlds of politics and business are vastly different, so, in this role, she was able to merge the two. When Henry McMaster ran for governor in 2018, he asked Evette to be his running mate. With their subsequent win, she became the state’s first female Republican lieutenant governor. In March, Evette attended meetings of both the Republican Lieutenant Governors Association and the National Lieutenant Governors Association and believes “learning from peer groups is important and insightful.” But when she is in Columbia, she is hard at work on issues that reflect her own and the administration’s priorities in public policy. Issues regarding the elderly are particularly poignant for Evette. Her grandmother lived with her family when she was a child, and her mother now lives with her. “People who don’t have older relatives nearby may not realize that older people don’t always have the support they need, especially in this fast-paced world driven by technology. So, helping them is crucial.” By the same token, she acknowledges how important the members of a previous generation can be to a family, and she credits her own mother with helping and supporting her to get where she is today. Evette is also passionate about education and excited about upcoming reform proposals in the South Carolina Legislature. She tries to be available when young leadership groups visit the Capitol in Columbia and said she wants to be a role model for them. “It’s inspiring to