5265 Camden Highway Rembert SC, 29128
BJ graduated from Thomas Sumter Academy in 1989. She went on to play Division 1 basketball at Wake Forest University where she graduated in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. She currently works as the Strategic Initiatives Manager for the City of Sumter. She is responsible for overseeing the Sumter Aquatics Center and the Palmetto Tennis Center. She and her husband, Jeff, have two children, Luke, TSA Class of 2016, and Josie, TSA Class of 2018.
Deseree Allen and her husband, Brent, are residents of Liberty Hill, SC. They are blessed to have two children, Ayden (TSA Class of 2022) and Audrey (TSA Class of 2029). Deseree is a Realtor with Home and Land Pros. Deseree is originally from Terrell, Texas, she spent 5 years on active duty in the USAF as an aviation resource management specialist, attending the Community College of the Air Force and Rose State College. She was honorably discharged in 2008, turning her focus to her own military family and serving the other military families of the SCANG as Treasurer of the Key Spouse volunteer Group family support organization of McEntire. She is a current sustaining member and the former President of the Camden Junior Welfare league where she supervised the fund raising for thousands of dollars in scholarships and grant funds to children of Kershaw County. Deseree is an active member of the Kershaw County Board of Realtors and is the residential realtor and president of the Kershaw County Business Network International chapter. She is also excited to be TSA’s 2020-2021 assistant Varsity Cheerleading coach, Go Generals!!
Kate is a native of Augusta, Ga. Before moving to Camden to join her husband, Mitch, she studied and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Retail/Fashion Merchandising in May of 1999. She is currently the Secretary of Springdale Hall Club. Kate and her family enjoy being active at New Life Christian Outreach where she is the director of Night to Shine, a Tim Tebow Foundation sponsored Event Prom for special needs worldwide.
Kate is the mother of three children: Gracie, Wil & Lila Kate. Gracie is a student at Clemson University and Wil is attending Horry-Georgetown. Lila Kate is a two sport athlete & upper class student at Thomas Sumter Academy.
In her downtime, Kate is all things Faith, Family, Friends and of course the Gamecocks!
Paul Font is the Senior Practice Manager for the Joint Department of Defense (DoD) team within Amazon Web Services (AWS) Professional Services. In his current role, Paul is responsible for the overall performance of service delivery across his global customers with the goal of helping the DoD consume cloud services to bring breakthrough results in support of their missions. He is a transformational leader providing Sales and Services leadership accelerating digital modernization through aligning business objectives with information technology strategies with the goal of improving customer satisfaction, cross-group collaboration, and leading the required cultural changes to help adoption of new product and services. He is a Seasoned IT Executive specializing in: Enterprise IT Services, Federal Government, Air Force, Joint Operations, Military Healthcare, Military Retail, Air Force Communications, Joint Combatant Commands, and the Department of Defense Agencies.
Prior to his current role, he worked at Microsoft and at L3 Communications in distinct roles where he implemented and managed a portfolio of programs focused on streamlining, simplifying, and improving customers Enterprise IT experience across a multitude of technologies to include network, security, telephony, and application development. Paul Font received a bachelor’s degree in information technology from Saint Leo University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Webster University. Paul served 10 years in the United States Air Force and has traveled all around the world in a multitude of operations providing communications support and leadership. Paul is actively involved in community mentoring and recruiting people into the Information and Technology fields as well as assisting former military members transitioning into civilian life. Paul also serves as the Finance Chair of the Board of Trustees for Thomas Sumter Academy in South Carolina and the Supervisory Committee for the SAFE Federal Credit Union board of directors.
Paul Font and his wife Michelle have called Sumter South Carolina home since 1998. Paul and Michelle are high school sweethearts and have been married for over thirty years. They have three daughters Kennedy, Makayla, and Lilly Marie.
Homer Stanley Rose, born November 29, 1953 of Homer E. Rose and Faye H. Rose in Columbia, SC. He grew up in the Horrell Hill Community, attending Horrell Hill Elementary School and graduating from Lower Richland High School. Immediately upon graduation, he became inducted into the South Carolina National Guard for a six-year commitment. He became trained and served for six years in the Security Force Unit. During the same period, Homer pursued the Electrical Construction Field and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Work. He received apprenticeship training at Midlands Technical College Evening program while working full time. After working five years of electrical construction for various contractors, he became employed by SCE&G; in 1977. Homer worked at the Wateree Station as a Plant Electrician until December of 1998 (21 Years). In 1985, still employed with SCE&G;, he incorporated and established Rose Electric, Inc. to help supplement his income to send his two children to TSA. In 1998, Homer married Lisa Phillips whom he is presently married and retired from SCE&G; making Rose Electric, Inc. his fulltime business. Homer places his faith in Jesus Christ above all else. He has been an active member of Beulah Baptist Church for 26 years, serving as a Deacon, singing in the choir, and teaching Sunday School. Homer became a Master Mason in 1987 and served as the Master Lower Richland Lodge 406 in 1994. He remains a current member. Homer has sent both of his children, Clinton Homer Rose (Class of ’99) and Lori Amber Rose (Class of ’01) to TSA starting from the Four-Year-Old class. Homer’s grandchildren, Landen Rose (Class of ’19) and Kaylee Rose (Class of ’20) have also attended and graduated from TSA. Homer’s deeply rooted passion and commitment for TSA prompted him to apply and become a TSA Board Member in July of 2018. In his spare time, Homer enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, playing golf, hunting, and fishing.
Married to Leah Dawkins with four children, Erin ( Tyler-SL) , Ethan (Madeline- DL) Jarred and Charlotte and one grandson Park. Member of Christ Community Church. Professionally- Snack Foods Industry. Hobbies- Traveling with Leah to visit kids and grandkids – Golf, Fishing, Relationships. Blessed to have the opportunity to serve as TSA board member.
Lonnie and Lisa Long came to Sumter after joining the Air Force in 1996 where he started his long IT career. Lonnie served a total of 10 years in the Air Force with 4 years active duty at Shaw AFB and another 6 at McEntire Air National Guard Base. Lonnie is the father of Logan Long (Class of 2021) who has been attending TSA since P3 and Sadie Long (Class of 2028) who started at TSA in K5. Both are active students in the school and community. Lonnie and his wife Lisa are the owners of Business Technology Partners headquartered here in Sumter; an IT Management Services company supporting small and medium IT/Computer infrastructures throughout the US. Lonnie is a graduate of the University of SC and has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with a minor in Information Security along with holding several high level IT industry certifications. He also worked as an Adjunct IT instructor at Central Carolina Technical College where he taught for several years including working with ReadySC and CCTC to develop an IT training curriculum for new hires at Sykes Call Center here in Sumter. He will also be filling a spot on the CCTC IT advisory board this fall.
Michael Hill and his wife, Ashley, live in Eastover, SC. Their two boys, Carter (Class of 2026) and Mason (Class of 2030) are currently attending TSA. Michael attended TSA beginning in preschool and throughout middle school and graduated from Lower Richland High school in 1995. Ashley went to TSA from preschool through high school and is a graduate of Thomas Sumter Academy Class of 1998. Michael is very active at TSA assisting with many sports as an assistant coach. Michael enjoys the outdoors and raising his boys on the family farm. After graduating from high school, Michael started working at International Paper in September 1996 and is currently a Team Manager there. He also owns his own farm, Michael Ray Hill’s Farm. Michael comes from a long line of farmers. He is also an avid hunter and fisherman, spending most of his spare time at the farm and enjoying the outdoors. Michael is a member of Eason Memorial Baptist Church in Eastover, SC. He has served as a deacon of the church and is a respected member of the community.
