Dr. Herbert P. Cooper
District 1 Map
Term Expires 2016
241 Pendleton Road, Clemson, SC 29631
654-1517

Dr. Cooper has served as the District 1 (Clemson area) representative since November 1992.  After graduating from Clemson University with a B.S. degree, Dr. Cooper then graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina with an M.D. degree.  He is a physician and owner of Pendleton Medical Clinic.  Dr. Cooper and his wife, Traudl, have two children--Herbie and Heidi.  His hobbies include sports and travel.  As a board member, Dr. Cooper's priorities are "to improve the education opportunities for the children of Pickens County" and "to improve facilities."

Mr. Jimmy Gillespie
District 2 Map
Term Expires 2014
413 Chastain Road, Central, SC 29630
639-4544
jimmygillespie@pickens.k12.sc.us

Mr. Gillespie was elected to represent District 2 (Central/Six Mile area) in November 2010. He is a graduate of Easley High School and is employed by Easley Custom Plastics. He and his wife, Katie, have one son. Mr. Gillespie's goals as a school board member are to eliminate wasteful spending and improve academic performance.

Mr. Alex Saitta
Secretary 
District 3 Map
Term Expires 2016
112 Fairway Drive, Pickens, SC 29671
878-1961
alexsaitta@pickens.k12.sc.us

Mr. Saitta represents the Pickens area (District 3).  After receiving a B.S. in Business Management and Economics from New York University, he worked for seventeen years with Citicorp as a financial analyst. In the annual Institutional Investors Magazine survey of 1999 and 2000, he was voted the number one market analyst by Wall Street clients. Mr. Saitta is now a stay-at-home dad, working part-time as a financial consultant and preparing tax returns. He and his wife Carmen are the parents of two daughters, Scarlett and Amber. Mr. Saitta's hobbies include restoring classic cars and working out. Elected in November 2004, he has several priorities as a board member--to help the board in setting spending priorities, eliminating wasteful spending, and getting more money into the classroom.

Mr. Ben Trotter
Vice Chairman
District 4 Map
Term Expires 2014
520 Rotterdam Road, Easley, SC 29640
436-5572
bltrotter@aol.com

Mr. Trotter was elected to represent the Liberty area in 2010. An exterminator and electrical contractor, he enjoys spending time with his three children and four grandchildren. His hobbies include working on model trains. Mr. Trotter's goals as a board member are to improve the graduation rate by encouraging all students to graduate and to keep the good teachers in the School District of Pickens County.

Mr. Jim Shelton
District 6 Map
Term Expires 2014
1510 Hunts Bridge Road, Easley, SC 29640
630-0726
jimshelton@pickens.k12.sc.us

Mr. Shelton has represented the Dacusville area (District 6) since November 2006. He is graduate of Pickens High School and Clemson University. Mr. Shelton and his wife Ginger have two children: John, a PHS graduate who is enrolled at Southern Wesleyan University, and Caroline, a student at Pickens High School. Mr. Shelton is the past president of both the Dacusville Recreation Department and the Dacusville Business Association and currently serves on the board of directors for the Pickens County chapter of the American Red Cross. Establishing the School District of Pickens County as the academic benchmark by which other state school districts are measured is Mr. Shelton's goal.  Mr. Shelton also serves as region 16 director of the South Carolina School Boards Association (SCSBA).