Anderson disabilities agency names new director

Feb. 10--A troubled Anderson County agency that exists to serve people with intellectual disabilities hired a new executive director Tuesday night, and officials said they hope his leadership will improve the organization.

Tyler Rex will begin working for the Anderson County Disabilities and Special Needs Board on March 1. Rex, 42, has spent nearly 15 years working with the Oconee County Disabilities and Special Needs Board, which is headquartered at the Tribble Center in Seneca. Rex has served as an assistant executive director of the Oconee board for the last five years, where his responsibilities have included overseeing finances, human resources, a quality-assurance team and a day program for intellectually disabled adults.

Rex will make $89,200 a year in his new role. John King, the interim executive director of the Anderson agency, said that he will remain in this part of the Upstate through at least the end of the month and will continue to help Rex periodically after that. King is a regional director for the state Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, with territory covering the Upstate and the Midlands. He was assigned to oversee the troubled Anderson agency about seven months ago.

The agency's former director, Dale Thompson, went on an extended leave in 2015 and never returned to his post. During Thompson's leave, a scathing audit of the agency was made public, highlighting mismanagement, financial problems and overcharging clients there.

"We're ecstatic about having a new executive director," said Horace Padgett, chairman of the Anderson agency's board of directors. "We look forward to putting this agency back the way it should be, and making sure that this board serves consumers as it should."

For Rex, the job is personal. Two of his four children have special needs. His oldest daughter, 17-year-old McKenzie, was born with Goldenhar syndrome, a rare condition that affects the formation of the face and head. She is blind and has several special needs, her father said. He also has a 10-year-old son, Christian, who is autistic.

"Providing these services has become a passion of mine, because I know what a difference they can make in helping a person reach his or her full potential," the elder Rex said.

Rex has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He has a master's degree in business administration from Southern Wesleyan University in Central.

Rex's hiring was voted on during a brief special meeting of the Anderson disabilities agency's board of directors Tuesday night. The vote to hire him was unanimous. Rex was previously interviewed by the full board of directors two weeks ago, but no votes were taken that night.

"I believe what has happened tonight is a landmark decision that will put us on the right path," said Jake Hudson, one of the newest members of the board of directors. "It is my hope that we will savor differences of opinion and discourage any behavior that would stifle those differences of opinion. I hope that we will put the agency's objectives above our own and regain the position that we once held."

Follow Nikie Mayo on Twitter @NikieMayo

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