Laurens County Trails Association is a grass-roots, independent, and citizen-led non-profit charitable 501(c)(3) corporation.
Our Board
Bob Bryant, Executive Director
Bob arrived in Laurens County in 1998 and settled in Clinton, where he began teaching at Presbyterian College in the area of religion and philosophy. Because of his background and ongoing interests in outdoor recreation and the environment, he also helped the college develop its Environmental Studies Program and supported it with a number of courses on environmental history and ethics. He has led numerous outdoor high adventure trips over the years and is a member of the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina. He loves the outdoors, believes that Laurens County has many natural treasures, and hopes that everyone can have access to local trails for hiking, cycling, and paddling for their enjoyment and benefit.
Courtney Stonell
With a passion for and dedication to environmental conservation, Courtney Stonell excels in her role. A graduate of Clemson University with a B.S. in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Courtney is a native of Laurens County, residing on Lake Greenwood. She actively addresses the litter concerns within Laurens County. Courtney oversees the Keep Laurens County Beautiful Affiliation, collaborating closely with Palmetto Pride and local partners to organize county-wide cleanups, recycling initiatives, and beautification projects, focusing on impact, education, and enforcement. Also, Co-Chair of the Ag+Art Tour, and serves on the Preserving Lake Greenwood Board.
Jamie Adair
Jamie is regional marketing/community relations coordinator for Greenville Health System's Laurens County Medical Campus including Laurens County Memorial Hospital and its outpatient programs. She has served the healthcare system since its conception over 25 years ago and has been a strong player in its ongoing growth and expansion. An active county volunteer, Jamie has served in leadership roles in local civic and community organizations with the hopes of making Laurens County a "better place to live and work".
Laura Blind
Laura Tyler Blind is a professional educator with more than three decades of experience teaching preschool through graduate level students about nature. Many of her years were invested in using conservation easements and land trusts to encourage landowners who wanted to leave a legacy of land through the opening of outdoor education centers. Trail work was a joy and adventure in these classrooms without walls. Laura is now doing consultant work and sharing her new book, Forever Wild Parenting.
Andy Howard
After serving eight years in the Marines (in outdoor roles) Andy became a grounds keeper at Presbyterian College. He later took a role with the Laurens County Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism and, after earning his Bachelor’s degree in Parks and Recreation Management, became that the Director of that department. Through his leadership the accomplishments include finishing the Boyd’s Mill Park, major improvements to the Laurens County Park, improvements to local parks in several communities, and the current construction of a new park at Tumbling Shoals. Andy is motivated by his love of the outdoors and his desire to make Laurens County a better place to live through recreational opportunities and economic development. He is very encouraged by LCTA’s work towards those goals and hopes the result will be a network of land and water trails for walking, hiking, biking, canoeing/kayaking, and horseback riding.
Susan Johnson
Susan retired from Laurens County Healthcare System after 18 years of employment in Medical Record Administration and Medical Staff Services to be a full-time mom and wife. She continues to work on a part-time basis with a local rose-shipping business and with a local community-supported agriculture farm. With both of these, she can continue to nurture her love of nature and the outdoors. She has continued an active lifestyle through the years of hiking, biking, kayaking, swimming, and running, while participating in many of the exercise classes at the Laurens Y. She has been an avid user of Laurens area trails, roads, and waterways, as well as exploring the outdoors in other states and countries of the world. By her participation with the Laurens County Trails Association, she is hopeful to share her love of the outdoors by helping the people of the Laurens area become more active through the use of trails. She dreams of the day when the streets of Laurens have many more bikes than cars, as she was able to experience while living in other parts of the world.
James Nelson
Jim retired as a registered professional electrical engineer, after enjoying a varied career ranging from aerospace engineering for Boeing Aerospace, to defense contracts with Western Electric, to commercial design and management with Southwestern Bell Corporation. Jim grew up in both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, and went on to become a Boy Scout Master. Jim has enjoyed outdoor pursuits with Sierra Clubs in Texas, particularly canoe camping, backpacking and hiking, and has served as an outings leader and member of the ExCom in those organizations. Here in South Carolina, his love of the outdoors inspired him to pursue certification as a Master Naturalist in 2009. He continues to share his love of nature by volunteering with the Upstate Master Naturalist Association. His hope is that Laurens County Trails Association will provide a trail system that will enable all citizens of Laurens County to enjoy and benefit from outdoor recreation.
Jane Nelson
Jane retired after thirty years in public education in both North Carolina and Texas, having taught secondary English, reading remediation and English as a second language. Outdoor recreation, particularly hiking, canoe camping, wildflower identification, and birding have allowed her love of nature to flourish. She was certified as a Master Naturalist in 2009, and continues to volunteer and to take advantage of statewide training opportunities with the Upstate Master Naturalist Association. Jane hopes that the Laurens County Trails Association will serve as the catalyst that brings together the various cities, health providers, utility providers, civic organizations, and interested citizens in Laurens County who desire to provide quality outdoor recreation opportunities, through a trails system, for all residents of Laurens County.
Jervelle fort
Jervelle Fort works on the Community Engagement Team at the South Carolina Department of Public Health as a Community Engagement Manager in which she and her team provide technical assistance and resources to communities in the Upstate Region to create Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) policies, systems and environmental changes. She also serves as the Senior Health Educator for Laurens County.
She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Community Health from Johnson C. Smith University, a Master's Degree in Public Health from Purdue University, as well as a Certified Health Education Specialist certification and a Child Passenger Safety certification. She was named one of the de Beaumont Foundation’s 40 Under 40 in Public Health in 2023.
Ms. Fort sits on numerous boards and actively participates in numerous organizations, most notably serving as the Vice President for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Epsilon Tau Omega Chapter, Church Clerk, Trustee, and Health Ministry Chair for Springfield Baptist Church, and Secretary for the South Carolina Public Health Association.
Ms. Fort currently resides in Greenville, SC. She is an aquarist, a plantswoman, and fur mama to a cat named Sage.
Mary-Wallace Riley
Mary-Wallace Riley currently serves as the Executive Administrative Assistant at the Laurens County Water and Sewer Commission (LCWSC), where she provides executive-level support to leadership and manages a range of internal communications and outreach initiatives. Before joining LCWSC, she held administrative and community-focused roles with the City of Clinton, where she contributed to public engagement, event coordination, and interdepartmental communication.
During her time with the City of Clinton, Mary-Wallace also served on the Laurens County Trails Association Board. She stepped away from board service during a five-year career shift with AstenJohnson, but was pleased to resume her position upon joining LCWSC. She values the connection between strong infrastructure and vibrant, healthy communities, and believes utilities can play a key role in supporting trail initiatives through thoughtful planning, collaboration, and shared use of utility rights-of-way.
She and her husband own Carolina Stitches, a small business specializing in custom embroidery and gifts. In their free time, they enjoy camping adventures to the lake and beach with their family.
Renee Gibbs
Renee grew up and spent most of her life on the family farm in Laurens. She still lives there now, in the original Gibbs homeplace, with her husband, 2 cats, and countless house plants. She never really knew what career direction to head in until she accidentally found her dream job with the Laurens County Conservation District, where she has worked for over 10 years. She is also on the board of the Joe Adair Outdoor Education Center, where she helps organize most of their events. Renee ran a successful photography business for about 15 years, but her camera is now reserved for nature. When she isn't trying to save the planet, her free time is filled with paint brushes & camping adventures.
Justin Brent
Justin has always been drawn to big visions (see headshot), and perhaps this is why he joined the Trails Association. He is a professor of English at Presbyterian College, where he remains romantically devoted to the literature of the late medieval period—romances, tale collections, lyrics, saints’ lives, plays, debates, and fables. But to be truthful, other intellectual beauties have caught his eye: It's pretty difficult to pull him away from his bicycle, and he's obsessed with public design, particularly when it encourages people to go outside and hang out. Recently, he wrote a Safe Streets for All grant that will make walking and biking safer in his hometow,n Clinton, SC
David Hardy
David is a retired Clemson Civil Engineer Graduate who spent over 33 years working for the SCDOT in construction project engineering, and still does some consultant inspection work. Over his career, David has been actively involved in church and community service organizations. He has been a part of design, layout and construction of recreational facilities involving baseball/softball, soccer, nature trails, and 400 meter running tracks. David was born and raised in Laurens and enjoys the fresh air and open country side on horseback, as well as, floating the Enoree and Saluda Rivers and biking through the country side. He loves Laurens County and believes in the goals and objectives of the LCTA. He realizes the health & other positive benefits of having trails and blueways available here in Laurens County. He also knows that these type facilities will not be available here unless volunteers get involved to make it happen. He would like to be a part of making it happen.
Brie Holmes
Brie is the Wellness Director for the Family YMCA of Greater Laurens and is actively involved in community-wide efforts to make Laurens County a healthier place to live, work, and play. Her passion for the outdoors started as a young girl camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains and continued into her adult life through adventure trip leading along the east coast, wilderness therapy work with teens, to guided kayak tours in the Outer Banks of North Carolina where she met her husband. Having a “free-range” childhood motivates Brie to be involved in creating the same type of environment for her children and the future of Laurens County; an environment supportive of healthy eating and active living.
Janice Long
Janice is the type of mom who always expects your best and won’t take anything less. To say she’s been active her whole life is an understatement – she makes the Energizer Bunny look sluggish. She's ran in 9 marathons, is constantly heading up the workouts at Crossfit864, and is always the one who’s willing to do whatever crazy activity someone suggests. Her commitment to fitness and her clients has led her to obtain her CrossFit Level 1 Certification, CrossFit Level 1 Nutrition Certification, and CrossFit movement and mobility certification. She is your biggest encourager and supporter regardless of the results. To be a successful trainer, one must be supportive, motivating, caring, and compassionate; Janice is all of the above. Janice's desire to be a part of the LCTA team stemmed from the major impact that the Swamp Rabbit Trail had on the Travelers Rest community. There is a great need for a trail in our county; a trail that would benefit the community in many ways, not only in a fitness manner but in a manner that would help many communities become one.
Mike Pitts
Mike was born in Laurens, graduated from Lander University, and retired from the Greenville Police Department. He has represented District 14 in the South Carolina House of Representatives since 2003 and has served as Vice Chairman of the Laurens County Council. Mike is an avid outdoorsman and, in addition to being very familiar with the outdoor recreation opportunities in Laurens County, he’s a member of the North American Hunting Club, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the NRA, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and is President of the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses. Mike hopes that the LCTA can help to capitalize on the natural beauty of Laurens County and help to conserve the County’s natural resources.