Ernie Pusser:  

After graduating from Wingate and Coker College in 1979, I moved away from Chesterfield. For the next 8 years I would be dealing with athletics, like I never knew before. I was athletic director for The City of Bennettsville, and Camden/Kershaw County Recreation Dept. From here I made a bold move into Corrections in 1987. At first I was a Correctional Officer, and then I took a promotion to Recreation Specialist at Central Correctional Inst. in Columbia S.C. Once the institution closed in 1992, I moved to Walden Correctional Inst. in the Broad River Correctional Complex. Here again, I provided recreation activities to all inmates. In 1996 I made another bold move to Kirkland Correctional Inst. as a Correctional Officer again. From here, I made another move to The Women's Correctional Facility just up the street from where I was. This experience didn't pan out like I thought it should, so I made a move to leave state government and try County Government. I was a Detention Officer at Richland County Detention Center. I stayed here for almost two years until there was an opening at S.C. Dept. of Mental Health. Here, I was an Activity Therapist for Bryan Psychiatric Hospital. Unfortunately in June of 2001 the state went through hard times, and I was riffed out of my position. At this time I took a month off and decided to try going into the teaching profession. Luckily, I was at the right place at the right time. I was fortunate to enter into the Critical Need...Expand for more