Mayoral candidate biographies

Mel Pennington

Mel Pennington is a Hartsville native, son of a funeral director and educator. He is a fourth-generation funeral director and embalmer at Brown-Pennington-Atkins Funeral Home, the oldest family-owned business in Hartsville.

Pennington was educated at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, received a Bachelor of Science degree in retail management from the University of South Carolina and an associate’s degree in funeral science and funeral arts from Fayetteville Technical Community College. He is a certified funeral service practitioner.

In addition to his work in the funeral industry, Pennington has been a serial entrepreneur for 10 years. His most recent start-up, Pennington & Bailes, is a national apparel line of collegiate licensed products geared for higher end apparel.

In 2005, he became the youngest recipient of the Businessman of the Year Award.
In 2006, he created Leadership Darlington County, the first ever leadership school that combined both the Hartsville and Darlington chambers of commerce in an effort to train leaders for the future.

Pennington serves as an ambassador for the city of Hartsville and currently serves as vice chairman of the Hartsville Planning Commission. He serves with several local boards and charitable organizations. He is a member of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Hartsville, a past master of the Hartsville Masonic Lodge and past president of the Hartsville Kiwanis Club.

He is married to Kerri Byerly Woodham Pennington and they have two children, McCanless, 4, and Mary Clare, 1.

Pam Sansbury

Pam Sansbury is a native of Hartsville and served in city government for 32 years.

She is a graduate of Hartsville High School and Bauder Fashion Institute in Atlanta, Ga.
Sansbury served on Hartsville City Council from 1975 to 1988. She was 27 years old when she became the first woman elected to council. She resigned from council in 1988 to take the position of finance director for the city, a post she held until she retired in 2007.

She currently works part-time for Medical Arts Pharmacy.

Sansbury has been active in a number of organizations and activities. She served five years on the Board of Directors of the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce and served as a former United Way Chairman, worked with the Hartsville Christmas Parade Committee, the Hartsville Community Players, the Prestwood Country Club Board of Directors and the FEMA Board of Directors. She also served as president of the S.C. Business License Officials Association, as a trustee with the S.C. Municipal Insurance Trust and on the Board of Directors of the S.C. Utility Billing Association.

She served for nine years on the Board of Directors of the Darlington County Mental Health Association, including two years as president. In addition, she served on the Board of Directors of Meals on Wheels. She was named Young Career Woman of the Year by the Business and Professional Women of Hartsville and was nominated as an outstanding Young Woman of America.

She was also appointed to the Advisory Board of the Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) by Gov. James Edwards.

Sansbury is a member of St. Luke United Methodist Church, where she served on the Administrative Board and as a Sunday school teacher.

She is the daughter of Ruth Newsome Parrott and Rex Parrott. She is married to Jerry Sansbury. She has a daughter, Traci Rogers, step children Dr. Kimberly (Dr. Rick) Zimlich and Todd (Heather) Sansbury and six grandchildren.