Chandler Worley, a Columbus County native and farmer by trade, was sworn in to the Southeastern Community College Board of Trustees with a mission to improve Columbus County’s agricultural job market through education. He wants SCC to play a big role in helping find the next “cash crop” that will return Columbus County to the days when tobacco was the top crop.  

“I want SCC to continue to increase the standard of living for the people living here,” Worley said. “While serving on this board and when I ride through Columbus County, I want to see people proud of where they live and work.” 

With his contributions to the SCC Board of Trustees in mind, Worley said to “be proud of the place you live, so the place you live will be proud of you.” He hopes to instill that saying in the students at SCC and its graduates, so they will become successful in the workplace. As technology advances and students learn valuable skills at SCC, Worley wants Columbus County to “yield a better crop” more efficiently. 

After celebrating the grand opening of SCC’s new greenhouse facility in September, Worley commended SCC’s growing support in the agribusiness technology industry. Worley explained that students using new technology at SCC would benefit the older generation of farmers in Columbus County if they worked on their farms.    

“I recently learned that farmers are using drones to take pictures of the crops from the sky,” Worley said. “It’s amazing how much this new technology would benefit our older generation of farmers who may not know about drones.” 

Worley described Brenden Jone’s recommendation of him severing on the SCC Board of Trustees as “a real honor.” His favorite aspects of SCC are the small class sizes, one on one attention from the instructors and the growing technical programs.  

“It’s local, it’s simple and it’s hometown people,” Worley said. “We need brick layers, we need mechanics and we need people who can work on computers.” 

Worley said SCC’s president, Dr. Chris English, is an ideal leader who has positively impacted his life. He described English as a “go getter.” 

“Talking to him over the past couple of years, I like the direction the college is going and what it’s wanting to do,” Worley said.  

When Worley was a SCC student, he remembers most the big snow and ice storm of 1973. He said the storm paralyzed Columbus County for several weeks. He remembers his chemistry and math instructors and said they had big impacts on his decision to transfer the N.C. State University.  

Worley’s farm and home has a Cerro Gordo address, but he considers Fair Bluff his hometown. He is a 1972 graduate of West Columbus High School, and he started his college journey at SCC. Worley transferred to NCSU in 1974, and he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy two years later. 

“I would have never made it to State if I didn’t start at Southeastern,” Worley said. “I did all my reading, writing, history and math classes at SCC and was able to focus on all my sciences at State.” 

While specializing in corn, oats and beans, Worley has strawberry fields and grows tomatoes with hydroponics. He started his farming career in 1977 with tobacco but grew up in the farming industry.  

“I’m a sixth-generation farmer, and my farm is the oldest in Columbus County,” Worley said. “It started in 1791.”