SERVE THE SERVANT

Tyler Servant’s life, from one perspective, isn’t much different than that of plenty of 24-year-olds who live on the Grand Strand.

He gets up in the morning and goes to his job as a broker at his family’s company, Surfside Realty. In his off-time, he likes to hang out at the beach when possible, play a little golf, watch and talk Gamecock football and occasionally play video games. Like many of his peers, he’s single. He likes to spend time with family and friends. Sundays will find him in a pew at Belin United Methodist Church in Murrells Inlet.

But Tyler Servant also has another life. And it’s a million light years away from the average millennial experience here on the edge of the continent.

Many people his age spend their nights after work checking out the scene at local bars and clubs, hitting the gym or queuing up their favorite shows on Netflix. Servant spends two Tuesday nights a month in council chambers at the Horry County Government Complex on Second Avenue in Conway as a newly-installed member of Horry County Council.

How many 20-somethings would willingly spend two nights a month seriously mulling over things like changes in zoning ordinances, how to fund the public transportation system, new radios for the county’s disaster preparedness team and the installation of video cameras at area boat landings?

That’s meat-and-potatoes stuff these days for Servant, who in December was sworn in as the County Council member for District 5, which covers much of the county’s south end, including the Surfside Beach and Garden City Beach areas.

He ran as a Republican in the 2014 election and won a run-off election in June against Reese Boyd, winning handily with 56 percent of the vote (more than 1,000 out of 1,875 that were cast). Servant cruised to the seat in November because he faced no Democratic opposition.

When he took his seat in the chambers for his first meeting on Jan. 6, he became one of the youngest people to ever serve as an Horry County elected official and joined a very small number of his peers in prominent public service in South Carolina. Two of the best-known are Joshua Putnam, 27, a Republican from Anderson in the Upstate who was first elected to his seat in the State House of Representatives at age 22 in 2011 and is the youngest member of the legislature. Another millennial politician of note is Terrence D. Culbreath, 31, who in 2014 was elected mayor of Johnston, a small town in Edgefield County in the western part of the state and is currently one of the youngest mayors in the entire country.

Admittedly, there is nothing that edgy or unusual about Servant (although his last name seems to be appropriate since he’s now a public servant).

It’s not like he stormed into Council Chambers covered in tattoos and piercings, yelling about controversial issues. On the face of it, Servant is about as mainstream as a millennial can get. At the County Council meeting on Jan. 19, he wore a neat, fitted blue suit, white shirt and rose-and-blue tie that seems to be the run of the mill outfit of choice not only for businesspeople, but for countless male politicians no matter what age. His strawberry-blonde hair falls in a side sweep across his forehead. He’s got a broad, disarming grin and in conversation with a woman he has just met drops the word “ma’am,” with military precision, at least 10 times in five minutes. If anything, the immediate impression you get is more Mayberry than Surfside Beach. Servant looks younger than his already young age.

But it’s precisely his youth that makes his presence in the Horry County Council chambers so different. Servant’s strawberry blonde hair stands out like an emergency flare next to the gray, white and salt-and-pepper dos that top heads on the rest of county council. But the difference is more than cosmetic. It’s in the numbers.

His age is especially significant when you consider just how young he is compared with some of his fellow council members.

Paul Prince of Loris, who has the longest cumulative time on the Council, was first elected to his seat in 1983, a full eight years before Servant was even born. James Frazier, who represents District 7, was elected for the first time a year before Servant was born.

Servant’s election, like just about every one that takes place in South Carolina, was not without its air of controversy. His campaign raised more money than any other for council, and some people in the county speculated that his fundraising success and eventual election came because of his family’s long history in the area’s real estate market and their influence in the community. There were accusations that they essentially “bought” the election for a political novice.

Servant, in a recent interview, good-naturedly swept aside this speculation, saying that it was his commitment to one-on-one contact with voters, as well as hard work and dedication from volunteers, that helped him achieve the seat at a young age.

Call that answer smooth politics. It might be, but whatever got him elected to the county council, he still is a rarity, a 20-something with a voice in a part of the state where the political clout and the money largely belongs to people old enough to be his parents -- and grandparents.

The question is, of course, just what will Servant do with the chance he’s been given?

It’s too early to tell, of course. The best thing you can say right now is that Servant approaches his Tuesday nights in Conway with wide-eyed enthusiasm. At the Jan. 19 meeting, he spent time before and after the meeting talking with constituents, listened with a smile on his face to special resolutions honoring a local Cub Scout troop and the Myrtle Beach High School girls’ tennis team, and voiced his opinion on amendments to several zoning ordinances. Nothing exciting or groundbreaking, but it’s the kind of thing he’ll be dealing with over and over again in his role on council.

Who is this guy?

The basics about Tyler Servant: He’s a local dude, grew up on the South Strand, the son of Emil John “Mil” Servant III and Judy Servant. He’s got one brother, Miles Servant, attended local public schools and graduated from St. James High School in 1999.

After graduation, he headed to Columbia to attend the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, where he earned degrees in real estate and marketing with a minor in political science. During those years, he caught the political bug while working in State Senator Ray Cleary’s office for three years. Cleary is a Republican who serves District 34, which covers parts of Charleston, Horry and Georgetown counties.

When Servant got out of college, he headed back to the South End to live in Surfside Beach and took up a job in the family real estate business at Surfside Realty, the third generation in his family to join the field. He works as a broker and handles rentals at the company. Servant also belongs to the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors, where he serves on the legislative committee.

His bio includes a laundry list of local memberships, including the Grand Strand Sertoma Club, the Greater Burgess Community Association and the Garden City Beach Community Association. He’s also participated in Leadership Grand Strand.

For our interview with Servant, things went a little differently than most profiles. Servant at this point in his political career doesn’t do sit-down interviews and he doesn’t do phone interviews. He requested questions through e-mail and answered them through e-mail. It’s a little unorthodox compared to the usual profiles reporters do, but not unusual in the realm of politics these days. (During the 2012 elections, your Surge reporter did several interviews with candidates for the then-new Seventh Congressional District race, and all of them requested the e-mail route. E-mail interviews, obviously, allow the subject a little more chance to consider the questions before sending back their answers, and of course there isn’t the pesky possibility of being misquoted or misheard. It also, of course, takes the spontaneity out of the situation and conveniently avoids the possibility of a verbal misstep or an uncomfortable moment, but as noted it’s the way many politicians do things these days. Servant, both during the election and now, is obviously careful about what he says and how he says it.

We sent in a list of questions compiled by both the reporter of this story and the editor, and the following answers were what Servant sent back after a couple days to consider what we asked. There were certain issues Servant didn’t want to weigh in on, such as his opinions on the recent legalization of gay marriage in South Carolina and the ongoing discussions over legalizing medical marijuana in the state. They’re hot button topics for a lot of folks, not just millennials new to elected office, and it would have been interesting to hear what he had to say, but they’re obviously something that Servant, for whatever reasons, doesn’t want to discuss at this point in his political adventure.

Q. and A.

What in your life most influenced you to want to go into local politics? Have you always been interested in it or was there something about your college experience or work experience that led you to run for election? I started to pay attention to the political process in my teens, not really sure what my involvement might be. When I got to college, I worked in the Senate and saw firsthand what type of positive impact a local and state elected official can have. After college, when my friends and I faced the decision to either come home or seek opportunity somewhere else, I felt like far too many of Horry’s best and brightest chose not to come home. That was like a little light going off in my head, because I saw this as a major problem that required my unique perspective now versus some other time in the future.

Who has been the most influential person in your life and in your decision to go into politics? My father, E.J. “Mil” Servant III, set an exceptional example for me on what it means to be honest in dealings, keeping your word and being loyal even when doing so is difficult. He inherited a great work ethic and business sense from his father, E.J. Servant Jr., and I am forever grateful that he invested the time to share those lessons with me. I was also taught that being community-minded and giving back is the obligation of those who are greatly blessed. These principles and many others serve as the roadmap for my public service.

Your age obviously makes you stand out from the others on County Council and in local government. Do you hear positive and/or negative comments about your age and experience? It is a positive and a negative, but to be honest with you, what is said to my face is mostly positive. The naysayers rarely share their feelings with me directly.

Has anyone on County Council taken you under his or her wing yet and shown you the ropes? In the few months since I was elected, numerous members have mentored me and given me solid advice. While I value everyone’s explanation of “the way things are done,” I made it clear during the campaign and after that the value of the new perspective I bring will often be a departure from council politics as usual.

There were accusations and rumors that your family virtually helped to “buy your way” and helped you to get onto County Council? What is your response to this? Most people that have ever run a successful campaign owe a debt of gratitude to their close friends and their family for hours of unpaid volunteer work. I am no different. While social media, mailers, ads and signs have their place, I believe that good old fashioned campaigning wins elections. By any objective measure, I shook the most hands, knocked on the most doors, and made the most phone calls. My friends and family honored me by leading in those areas too.

As a local resident in your 20s, what do you bring to the table as a County Council member that is a game changer? My unique age and my real estate experience with both residents and tourists gives me a specific perspective. I can understand and relate to young people and families who are concerned about more than just tomorrow, but what kind of community this will be in 20, 30 or 40 years. Also, no one will argue that real estate and how it is developed or used has been an integral part to what our community is today and what it will become in the future.

As a young adult living and working along the Grand Strand, what things about the area make you the happiest? What frustrates you the most and what do you think most needs to change? The natural beauty and a climate conducive to year-round outdoor activities. I don’t think I’m alone in being frustrated by traffic, but even more concerning is the increasing level of violence, especially that associated with Memorial Day weekend. I know firsthand that most who visit that weekend are hardworking, law-abiding folks as many of them are our customers. I believe our approach should be encouraging those who peacefully want to visit and visit often, while at the same time discouraging people who bask in and contribute to lawlessness.

You’ve grown up along the Grand Strand and seen the changes. What do you think are the most pressing issues we’re dealing with right now, and how can you help solve the problems or bring about changes that you think are needed? Expansion of roads and infrastructure as well as other emergency preparedness steps are essential. We also need to implement as many of FEMA’s Community Rating System natural disaster related upgrades as possible, as they will prepare us for future storms and lower our insurance rates.

Many politicians--especially Republicans, including many in South Carolina -- have gotten in hot water with inflammatory social media posts. How are you going to handle your social media presence? As a millennial, I’m very comfortable with expression through social media. Most of these “hot water instances” are a result of a politician from an older generation having an awkward interaction with an unfamiliar mode of communication.

You’re a member of Belin United Methodist Church. What role does your faith play in your daily work and in your work on County Council? I feel like a good elected official’s service reflects his or her values, and for most of us our values are derived from our faith. Helping the less fortunate, treating others like we would like to be treated, and doing what is right even when nobody is looking. Our family values were strongly reinforced at church during the early development of my personal Christian faith. I think those faith-based values will serve me well in office.

Your work on County Council and in the realty business obviously take up a lot of your time. What do you like to do in the free time you have? I know it sounds like a cliche, but I really love football, both college and pro. I like to go to the games, watch it on TV and occasionally enjoy it on PlayStation. Like so many that live on the coast, I enjoy all aspects of the water and play my share of golf. Collecting and studying various sports memorabilia is another fulfilling hobby.

What are your political aspirations, if any, beyond County Council? Most of my aspirations are related to personal development, family and business. I’ll consider each opportunity to serve the public and make decisions not about what will be good for me, but what is the best way to make a difference for people and places I care so much about.

This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 3:58 PM with the headline "SERVE THE SERVANT."