First woman named CEO at Grand Strand Water & Sewer

After a months-long search, Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority named its former Chief Operating Officer, Christy Everett, to CEO, making her the first woman to lead the agency that provides water and sewer services to Horry County.

She was formally named to the role Monday.

Everett, a 20-year veteran of the agency, replaces longtime CEO Fred Richardson, who led the authority for nearly 30 years and had worked there since 1984. Everett joined the organization in December 2002 as an engineer before being promoted to chief engineer. She served in that role from 2005 to 2013 when she was promoted to COO.

Everett, born in Myrtle Beach and raised in Socastee, holds an engineering degree from Clemson University and a master’s degree from Coastal Carolina University. She has two college-age children who are twins.

Everett also serves on a number of boards in Horry County, including the United Way of Horry County, the Chanticleer Athletic Foundation Board and the Conway Medical Center Board of Trustees.

Everett said Wednesday she was “grateful” and “humbled” to be named as the agency’s new CEO.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” she said. “I’m very honored and humbled by the selection of CEO.”

Grand Strand Water and Sewer provides clean water and waste water treatment services to much of Horry County and has played a role in the county’s rapid growth over its 50-year history. Because so much new building has occurred in the county in recent decades, the authority has pushed water and sewer infrastructure into places where it hadn’t been built previously.

Everett said Wednesday that she would work with county planners and others to manage the area’s growth effectively and ensure that infrastructure is matching the needs of the growing population. She’d previously been part of Horry County’s future land use planning process.

“We always are looking at trends, trends for growth, trends for water demand, trends for wastewater treatment,” she said. “You want to stay well ahead of that growth. We want to be 20 years ahead of the growth.”

Everett said she would work to improve water service around the county, and particularly in more rural areas. She said she’d like the agency to apply for federal grants made available through Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act and his infrastructure package to help expand the Bull Creek water treatment plant, adding transmission systems and installing a new water main in Conway that would improve pressure and service to Western Horry County.

A job posting for the CEO position last year listed the salary for the role as $220,000 to $250,000, plus benefits. The headhunting firm Raftelis conducted a nationwide search to fill the CEO position.

In the job posting, GSWSA outlined a series of big-picture tasks the next CEO would be responsible for including: planning and large infrastructure projects, keeping water and sewer rates low, environmental stewardship, growing the agency’s customer base, remaining a competitive employer and upgrading agency technology systems with a focus on cybersecurity.

The agency was founded in 1971 and today provides water and sewer services to 110,000 people. It leases wholesale services to Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Conway, Loris and the Little River Water and Sewerage company. The agency owns assets totaling $849 million and has annual revenues of more than $138 million. The agency has 350 employees and an annual operating budget of $119.2 million.

Everett said it was “meaningful” and “exciting” to serve as the first woman CEO of Grand Strand Water & Sewer, noting that when she entered engineering school several decades ago, few women were in the field. She said she’s seen that change over the years, and said both of her children, including her daughter, are considering pursuing engineering at her alma matter.

“It is extremely meaningful to me, it’s excited to be selected,” she said. “It’s exciting for young women.”

In a statement announcing Everett’s new role, Sidney Thompson, the chairman of Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority’s board, said Everett was an appropriate replacement for Richardson.

“Fred leaves big shoes to fill,” Thompson said. “However, we’re confident Christy is the right choice to lead Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority into the future.”