As we head toward election day on Nov. 8, two Upstate women have been traveling the state, sharing their stories and their qualifications for moving South Carolina forward. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R), running for re-election alongside Gov. Henry McMaster, and Tally Parham Casey (D), running alongside Joe Cunningham, represent different political parties, but what they have in common: inspiring careers, steadfast beliefs, and a desire to give back to their communities.
From fighter pilot to lawyer to candidate
Tally Parham Casey
New to the campaign trail—but not new to a life of service—is Greenville native Tally Parham Casey, who was hand-picked by South Carolina governor candidate Joe Cunningham to be his running mate for lieutenant governor. A veteran and former fighter pilot, family woman, and chair of Wyche Law Firm’s Executive Committee, Casey brings fresh perspective, enthusiasm, and a can-do attitude to the table.
“I was born and raised in Greenville, and growing up, I was always told that I could do anything I put my mind to,” reveals Casey, who had earned three black belts in karate by the time she was seventeen. “I had big dreams, and one of them was to fly airplanes—so I applied to the Air Force Academy as a senior in high school. I remember my academy interviewer asking, ‘What do you want to do?’ My dad was a pilot, and I’d been to air shows as a kid, so I had a pretty precise answer: ‘I want to fly F-16s.’ He said, ‘That’s cute, but girls can’t do that.’ I didn’t realize at the time (1987) that there was a federal statute that prohibited women from flying combat aircraft.”
Casey switched gears—at least in the interim—and attended Princeton University for her undergraduate degree before heading to the University of Virginia School of Law. “In between college and law school, I interned at a place called The Legal Action Center for the Homeless,” Casey recalls. “I had a caseload of clients who were homeless or indigent. There, I learned the power of the law to help the voiceless—to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.”
About six years later, Casey opened the newspaper to see that the Clinton Administration had repealed the statute that prevented women from flying combat aircraft. “So, that same day—literally!—I called the National Guard.” She took the bar exam, graduated from UVA and went to Texas to train to become a pilot, eventually serving on three combat deployments in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. She started practicing law in 2000, while still flying part-time and doing the occasional deployment with the National Guard. In 2008, she made partner at her law firm (Wyche) and was elected chair of the Executive Committee (CEO) in 2017.
Her newest mission: running for lieutenant governor in November. The fighting spirit that put her in the pilot’s seat is what drew Cunningham’s team to Casey. “A lot of people I admire have encouraged me to run for public office,” she admits, “but I’ve never wanted to be a politician, so I said no. But this [moment in time] was different. As a woman, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t sit on the sidelines and watch things happen that created a state where our daughters and granddaughters have less rights than we did. So, when Joe Cunningham called and asked me to be his running mate, I really felt it was a call to duty. I know what’s it like to serve in the military, and I knew how to recognize a good leader—and this is the service that I want to give back now,” Casey says.
Critical issues for Casey include women’s rights and veteran’s issues—including legalizing medical marijuana to help those battling PTSD. “It all comes down to individual freedoms,” she insists. “Fighting for those freedoms overseas was at the core of my military service, so when I see those same freedoms being threatened here at home, I’m called to fight for them again.”
Education, too, is something she’s focusing on. “I have children who go to school here, and many of my friends are teachers, so our education system is very important to me. Seeing our teachers being underpaid and disrespected, or not getting help from (state) leadership . . . for us to be a state that people want to live and work in, we’ve got to fix that.”
On the weekends, you’ll find Casey outside and on the move. “My family and I are all a bunch of runners—it’s what we do for fun. I’m also a yoga practitioner, and recently have gotten into clay shooting . . . turns out, I love shooting shotguns,” she laughs. “So sometimes you’ll find us out at the Hermitage Farm in Camden (on the Sporting Clays Course) enjoying the weather.” She has a soft spot for Cleveland Park, too: “The law firm where I work is based right there, and I love taking a stroll with friends around the river, bringing the kids for a bike ride on the Swamp Rabbit Trail.”
“Greenville is home,” Casey concludes. “As a young person, we take where we grew up for granted. I wanted to leave and explore the world, and I did that—from New York City to Washington, DC, and Phoenix, Arizona—but I’ll never forget the feeling I’d have when flying back to Greenville. The smell of the air, the sound of the trees . . . this whole environment wraps you in a warm hug. That moment is when I realized just how much the Upstate is a part of me, and how valuable a place it is—and I think that magic is why so many of us who live here work hard to conserve it and preserve it.”
From business founder to public servant
Pamela Evette
Elected the ninety-third lieutenant governor of South Carolina in 2018 and now serving alongside Governor Henry McMaster, Pamela Evette followed an unexpected path to her current role. For the businesswoman and busy mom, avid hiker and daughter of immigrants, the best parts of her journey thus far all point back to one thing: building relationships.
“I started my own business here in the Upstate, Quality Business Solutions, and was fortunate to turn that business into a national company,” reflects Evette. “It was great to be able to grow this business, employ people, and get to know their families, but I reached a point where I knew I wanted to do more. I wanted to take what I learned in business—we’ve worked for clients of all sizes across different industries—including what their roadblocks to success were, and really apply it . . . do something bigger with it. I’d never run for office before, but I have a servant’s heart. I think a lot of that came from my grandparents, who were all immigrants. My grandmother believed that if you had an opportunity to serve, you should—you should always give back what God gave to you.”
This call to champion change was something Evette only shared with her closest confidantes—until a fateful networking event with other female entrepreneurs months later, where she connected with then-Governor Nikki Haley and voiced her desire to serve aloud. “That was the first time I’d said it out loud in public, and it’s amazing how quickly everything came together,” Evette admits. “With just the power of women talking to each other, eleven months later the governor called me and asked me to run as his lieutenant governor. I was in shock—I hadn’t expected it, and I was extremely honored. It proves that if you throw something out into the universe, it just may come back to you.”
That phone call marked the beginning of Evette’s transition from full-time businesswoman to public servant—but her past experience still impacts the issues she focuses most on in office. “One of our main goals is helping South Carolina business owners thrive, listening to their pain points. I’ve spent a lot of time traveling the state, talking to families and businesses, seeing what they need . . . I’ve really loved my role.”
Also top of her list: education in all forms. “I’m really passionate about early childhood education. I have three kids, and I’ve always thought reading was important—I was that ‘book fair’ mom,” Evette laughs. She mentions the critical time window of entering kindergarten, and her focus on making sure that those gaps in early childhood education are filled—as well as pushing for school choice and better mental health initiatives.
“It used to be that a four-year college degree was your key to success,” she continues, “but now, we’re seeing that technical colleges—and we have some world-class schools here in the Upstate—are making a hugely positive impact on the workforce of tomorrow. Here’s the big takeaway: this is a shift in the type of career choices our young people have today, and we have to stop looking at our technical colleges as a second-tier option. By changing the stigma around that, we’ll fuel a thriving workforce—which, as a business owner, is key to success, and as a parent or grandparent, it means we’re giving our children great career path options that don’t leave them burdened with debt.”
Outside of the office, you can find Evette and her crew lacing up and hitting the trails. “My family and I are really passionate about the environment. On vacation, we take a bag and clean up plastics left on the beaches so that they don’t end up in our oceans. We’re often hiking and golfing together as a family.” Living in Travelers Rest, it comes as no surprise that Paris Mountain is her go-to, as well as nearby Sassafras Mountain. “We have some of the most beautiful waterfalls in Oconee County—I think they rival what you’d see in Hawaii. Just breathtaking.”
Evette lights up with excitement as she reflects on the past four years—and is looking to continue her work after the election in November. “It’s been great to see how people have come together in the Upstate. When I was active in my business, we’d have clients travel to this area and stay, and they just couldn’t believe how amazing this place we call home is. We’ve been honored to continue to support that growth. Downtown is amazing; Greer at night on Trade Street could be in a Hallmark movie. So I say ‘kudos’ to the vision of everyone here in the Upstate to keep this place a destination city for travelers across the globe.”
