Regional Maintenance Manager George Hargrove

George Hargrove was born and raised in Ridgeville, South Carolina. He holds the titles of husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather (three times over!) and Sandhills Regional Maintenance Manager. As Sandhills Regional Maintenance Manager, Hargrove travels between 14 different parks and helps with any maintenance issues that may arise. 

Hargrove started his career with the South Carolina State Park Service almost thirty years ago. He worked his way up the ranks and worked in many different facets of park operations and in many different parks. He began his career at Huntington Beach and continued on to work at Woods Bay, Givhans Ferry, Lee, and Rivers Bridge and spent 12 years as the manager at Barnwell State Park. In his current role as Regional Maintenance Manager, Hargrove facilitates equipment purchases, inspects grounds and facilities, and helps with park staff on numerous projects across his region. He says his favorite park he’s worked at is Barnwell State Park. He has lived in the town of Barnwell for 18 years and it has become his home. Even his funniest story on the job came from Barnwell. He once fell out of a boat into the lake on the park in full dress uniform!

We asked Hargrove if he would recommend a career as a park ranger. He said, “Yes, if you love the outdoors and enjoy meeting people and doing something different every day, this is for you.” And when we asked him to sum up his job in one phrase: “LIVING THE DREAM, BABY! EVERYDAY!” Thank you George, for all you do for the parks across your region and the entire South Carolina State Park Service!