Greenville Magazine - August 2008 - (Page 28) Collins, now 26 years old, went on to become the youngest sales manager in his company, Liberty Mutual. As Sales and Operation Manager, Collins oversees a sales team across two offices in the Upstate for the sixthlargest property and casualty insurance company in the United States. “My strength lies not in knowledge or creative whit, but in my work ethic,” Collins says. “I truly feel that no one can outwork me.” Collins has his sights set on becoming Manager of the Year in 2008 and a Regional Director of Sales and Operations by 2010, and he’ll work hard to get there. “I fear failure, and for me failure is mediocrity. I have very high expectations of myself.” Sid Collins ceo Pickens countY YMca “Explaining leadership is like explaining love,” says Sid Collins. “You could study it for a hundred years but never quite understand it.” Though he doesn’t have a concise definition of a successful leader, Collins measures his own abilities by his mentors’ qualities – strength, intensity, compassion and wisdom. As CEO of the Pickens County YMCA, he is responsible for the organization’s operation, health and vision, but, most importantly, ensures the YMCA’s impact on residents’ lives. Collin’s desire to see people improve their place in life has led him to participate in numerous service capacities, holding membership in the Easley Rotary Club, serving on the boards for Pendleton District Regional Educational Center and Pickens County Vision 2025, volunteering for SHINE (Stop Hunger in Nearby Easley) and acting as a judge for the 2008 Jefferson Awards. He previously co-chaired the Pickens County United Way PaceSetters campaign and served on the board for the county’s Red Cross. Collins is dedicated to doing things that bring people happiness and says “knowing my efforts are helping someone else, even in the smallest way, is what I enjoy most about community service.” Claire Counts interior designer, fluor enterPrises One of Claire Counts’ favorite memories goes back to a trip to France she took during college. Counts remembers sitting in a Parisian café, sipping a latté and eating French onion soup after wandering through the Rodin Museum for hours. “Being in the Rodin Museum was the most moving experience of my life,” she says. “It’s beauty and energy is indescribable. We were lost in it and late for the bus, but it was well worth it.” Counts draws from that experience and her passion for art for inspiration as an interior designer for Fluor. She prepares floor patterns, furniture packages and space plans for large-scale biotech manufacturing plants around the world. She also puts her skills to work as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. “I have a passion for making people feel good in their surroundings. I have a firm belief that you are affected by your from left to right: cathy stevens, heather clark, Bernie Pritchard and chris collins 28 Greenville MaGazine | aUGUST 2008
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