07/01/2008
CONTACT: Gary Selvy, 615-872-5326 or Todd Pack, 615-872-5897
Government relations consultant now heads the state's largest small business association
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Wendy Nipper Homeyer, founder of the government relations firm Homeyer Strategy Group LLC of Columbia, started today as state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. She succeeds Jay W. Ragley, who left in December 2007.
"We're pleased to have Wendy on board," said Gary Selvy, NFIB's Regional Public Policy Director. "Her experience as a small business owner and government relations professional in Columbia make her uniquely suited to lead the National Federation of Independent Business in South Carolina."
NFIB/South Carolina is the state's leading small business association, with almost 5,000 members throughout the Palmetto State. Four out of five South Carolina members have fewer than 15 employees, and 56 percent have five or less. Unlike some other business groups, NFIB bases its public policy positions solely on the input of its members; each member gets one vote, so no single member has more of a say than any other member.
Homeyer previously was executive director of the Palmetto Leadership Council, a pro-business political action committee, where she increased membership 100 percent in five months and created and managed one of the largest PACs in South Carolina.
Before that, Homeyer served as the public information officer for South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, a comprehensive results-oriented initiative for improving early childhood development. Homeyer also worked for President Bush in the White House Office of Media Affairs and the White House Office of Global Communications from 2001-03.
Homeyer holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and master's degree in business administration from the University of South Carolina. She is married to Benjamin Homeyer, and they have a daughter, Sophie.
