Our President-Elect, Charles “Charlie” M. Compton, AICP, has served as Planning Director for Lexington County, South Carolina, for 32 years.  He was a member of the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) for six years, serving as President for two years. 

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of County Planners.  In 1997 Charlie was appointed to the national “Growing Smart” Directorate, a 20-member panel charged with drafting model planning enabling legislation for use by states, the first time this had been done since 1915.  This project was funded cooperatively by five federal agencies, two private foundations, and the Siemens Corporation, with the final product published in the spring of 2002. 

Charlie is co-creator of “KIDS CITY” (a planning education program for kindergarten through grade 12) and “Our Town” Mock Hearings (Planning Commission and Zoning Board training), both demonstrated at the 1996 American Planning Association Convention.  He is the 1994 recipient of the APA Distinguished Planner Award for South Carolina and the 2003 recipient of the Conservation Award for Environmental Protection presented by the Lexington Soil and Water Conservation District.  Charlie has a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of City and Regional Planning from Clemson University.