A second South Carolina Arts Commission board member has resigned following an Oct. 1 board decision to deny two LGBTQ+ groups state grant money. Board member Russell "Rip" Parks, who cast one of the five votes against funding the two groups, will resign following the board's next meeting in Greenville.
The commission said Gov. Henry McMaster and Secretary of State Mark Hammond were both informed on Oct. 8 of Park's upcoming resignation. Parks will join Board Chairwoman Flavia Harton in resigning Oct. 16. As chair, Harton only votes in the event of a tie and did not cast a vote in the grant decision unlike Parks.
The board is expected to vote on a new chair at its Oct. 15 meeting.
McMaster appointed Parks to the position March 2025, which means his board tenure will end after serving for about a year and a half. Board members are appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate for three-year terms.
Although the commission gave no reason for his resignation in its Oct. 12 news release, Parks said in a letter to McMaster that he would not be able to continue in the role because of anticipated time restraints. He made no mention of the vote influencing his decision.
Governor's spokeswoman Michelle LeClair confirmed Parks' letter of resignation was received Oct. 8 and shared a copy with South Carolina Public Radio.
"I wish to inform you that I intend to resign from the South Carolina Arts Commission on October 16th following our board meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 15, 2026. I cannot properly serve this commission in its important mission given the all-consuming time demands that I anticipate in the foreseeable future. It has been an honor to serve in this capacity," he said in the letter.
Shannon Wiley, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's Office, said the office had received the same letter.
Parks was a key player in the board's decision to deny the two groups their grants. He piloted the board's request for the Greenville Gay Men's Chorus and the Proud Mary Theatre Company in Spartanburg to defend their artistic merit.
"What we question is the artistic merit of these two programs. And so, what we're going to request as a commission is that these two organizations return to the commission and further explain and actually defend the artistic merit of these two programs," he said during discussion at the board's Aug. 20 meeting.
Parks had, too, in private discussed how he could not justify using state taxpayer dollars to fund the organizations.
In a June 12 email sent to outgoing Executive Director David Platts and Interim Executive Director Ashley Brown, Parks said he was alarmed to see the two requests.
"While these organizations have every right to promote their agendas privately, it is not the role of a state funded agency to promote them. I cannot support these requests. In the future, I would appreciate your bringing controversial requests to the commissioners’ attention in advance for discussion. What if I had not seen these two line items and had approved them? I could not defend these programs to concerned legislators who could pull funding for the entire Commission over support of these organizations," he said in the email.
Arts commission Communications Director Jason Rapp had nothing extra to share when asked for further comment on the resignation.
The two LGBTQ+ organizations were the only potential grant recipients that had their requests denied; an external panel had already recommended the groups for grants.
The board in August approved $3.7 million in other grant requests for about 180 other organizations. Its next meeting will be the last for Parks and Harton.
