Leaving a Legacy

We’ve chosen to highlight several leaders who have worked to leave a lasting legacy in Spartanburg County.

Kathy Dunleavy helped establish Spartanburg’s Way to Wellville.

Dunleavy was president and CEO of the Mary Black Foundation from 2013 until retiring earlier this year. During her tenure, Spartanburg made major strides in active living, healthy eating and early childhood development.

Before joining the Mary Black Foundation, Dunleavy was CEO of the United Way of the Piedmont for eight years, and she is a past recipient of the Neville Holcombe Citizenship Award from the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce.
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What has been the most rewarding, and most challenging, part of your time at the Mary Black Foundation?
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When I am able to put people together who have common interests and goals to create something even more dynamic than what exists, that is rewarding.

Anything worth doing is challenging, but I always look on that as an opportunity. Barriers may be up but I love to figure out how to bring them down.


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Why is it important for you to be involved in moving Spartanburg forward?
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I fell in love with Spartanburg 30 years ago and the love affair continues. I am energized if I can find a way to make this community better for all. Some people ask me if I have a hobby and I reply, “yes … it’s Spartanburg!”

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What have been some encouraging developments in Spartanburg over the years?
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Having worked hard at community work for the last 25 years, I am so happy to see some of the fruits of the labor of many community leaders and organizations in the last few years. This community enjoys a unique characteristic that is not found in many communities … leadership works together very collaboratively. We are not interested in who gets top billing. We just want what is best for Spartanburg.

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What do you think your legacy is or hope your legacy will be?  Why is that?
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I hope someone would say, “She was enthusiastically passionate about the community and was always looking for ways to bring people and organizations together to make it better for everyone.”

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Karen Knuckles helps others find the career opportunities they’ve been looking for.

Knuckles, along with her husband, Tony, owns Express Employment Professionals in Spartanburg. The couple started the full-service human resources and staffing company in 2007 to connect qualified job-seekers with organizations looking for a workforce boost.

Before opening Express Employment, Knuckles spent 15 years in various HR positions in her native Cleveland.

Proving her dedication to Spartanburg’s future, Knuckles has spent time serving the community on many boards, including the executive board of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce and the Mary Black Foundation. In 2013, Knuckles was named Minority Business Person of the Year and Volunteer of the Year by the Chamber.

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What is most rewarding about your work at Express Employment?
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Every day my Express team and I help others succeed. We do more than place people in jobs, we try to make the right match and then serve as coach and cheerleader to help facilitate success. I still get a rush when I see how excited some of our candidates are when we help them land the right job. It makes my heart sing when the administrative assistant we placed at a company later becomes the manager, then calls in a job order. Nothing is more rewarding than helping our clients find talent and watching their businesses grow as a result.  

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Why is it important for you to be involved in moving Spartanburg forward?
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There were a number of different cities where I could have chosen to start my franchise, but I chose to make Spartanburg my home. After my first visit here, it just felt right: the location, the people, the business environment, and sense of community pride. I want Spartanburg to be the best place to live, work and play for my family and my extended Express family.  
 
I currently serve as the vice chair of inclusion for the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce. I am passionate about this work and creating a community where all its members can thrive and enjoy economic inclusion. Creating a community that recognizes, appreciates and values diversity is an important component to attract talent. Solid progress is being made as the Chamber, with assistance from community partners, recently invested in hiring talented professionals dedicated to focus on this important work.

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What have been some encouraging developments in Spartanburg over the years?
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The economic development in our area over the past several years has been phenomenal. It is exciting to see new companies choosing to locate and/or expand in our community. We see construction of manufacturing sites, restaurants, retail space and new homes in our county. The growth of our downtown area includes numerous restaurants and venues that make it truly a destination.

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What do you think your legacy will be?
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I want to be remembered for my efforts to help people succeed in life and work and for consistently acting with integrity. Putting God and family first and measuring my success by the lives that I have positively impacted.

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John Stockwell has long been a force in Spartanburg County’s education system.


Stockwell became Chancellor of USC Upstate in 1994 and he served at the university until 2011. During that time, the university expanded both physically and in terms of program offerings. Stockwell helped institute the Metropolitan Mission of USC Upstate, an effort to meet the specific needs of Spartanburg County.

USC Upstate doubled in both enrollment and square footage under Stockwell’s tenure.

Now, he leads the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM), an organization that works with all of the county’s seven school districts.

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What about your longtime work in Spartanburg County’s education system has been most rewarding?

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Over my years at USC Upstate and at SAM, I have witnessed a growing commitment to the core human value of learning, of academic achievement. Our ambitions for all our children are slowly but surely moving beyond the requirements of any given job market toward the incredible potential of well-educated daughters and sons, not just ours alone, but others’ as well. Our future will rise or fall with the strength of this commitment.

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What have been the most significant changes you’ve seen at SAM?
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Year after year our public schools are growing stronger, measurably stronger. They are committed to the future of all children, of course; but they manifest that commitment by an equal emphasis on innovation and continuous improvement. Our seven districts compete; they learn from one another; they know well the communities they serve. And they do it all a lower per student administrative overhead than the average of the state’s counties, including single district counties.

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What is it like to see the growth USC Upstate has seen?

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It is exhilarating. USC Upstate is filling out its regional mission with a reputation expanding well beyond the region and the state. As with Spartanburg’s other higher education institutions, the university is blessed with strong leadership, a great faculty and a clear vision for engagement with the demands of the 21st century.

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Why is it important for you to continue being involved in Spartanburg going forward?
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Attention to the future of one’s home community is addictive. It’s hard to disengage. And why seek to? There are so many role models in Spartanburg who have asked themselves the same question and answered it the same way. They continue on, setting the pattern for others of us to emulate.

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What do you think your legacy is or hope your legacy will be? Why?
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I’m still working on the “legacy” bit. That’s tomorrow’s question.