Deacon Wilfred L. Pace
Secretary
Wilfred L. Pace is a retired State Executive Director of the USDA Farm Service Agency in South Carolina, capping a distinguished 38-year career in civil service. His professional journey began with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in both Georgia and South Carolina, where he developed a deep expertise in agriculture, conservation, and rural community development.
Pace’s leadership extended beyond state lines when he served as USDA Small Farmers Liaison for 13 Southeastern states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico— advocating for the needs of underserved farmers and ensuring equitable access to federal resources. He holds a degree in Agricultural Education and has nurtured a lifelong passion for American history, with a special focus on African American studies.
Today, Pace is Chief Executive Officer of Pace & Associates of South Carolina, LLC, a consultancy dedicated to helping landowners achieve sustainable farm and land-use objectives. His firm provides strategic guidance to address environmental, financial, and technical challenges while promoting land conservation and best management practices.
For more than 40 years, Pace and his wife, Sharon, have shared a life rooted in faith, service, and community. Since joining the historic Bull Swamp Baptist Church in 1988, they have remained active in its ministries and outreach—supporting a rural congregation committed to faith, family, and community care.
In January 2024, Pace was appointed to the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission, following a recommendation from Elizabeth Johnson. His deep commitment to heritage preservation inspired him over a decade ago to champion the restoration of the Bull Swamp Colored School—a 1930s era educational landmark originally built with $3,000 in federal funding through President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA Project No. 34).
A dynamic 14-member Project Board of Directors, along with Pace’s consultation and experiences, the long-neglected historic structure—once valued only for its history—is now a restored community asset worth $625,000. This achievement reflects years of dedication from church members, community partnerships, and grant support from private citizens, county officials, the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Central Carolina Community Foundation | Midland Gives, First Citizens Bank, and many others.
The Times and Democrat in August 1937 once noted that WPA projects represented “…City, County, State Projects Greatest in Country History.” Today, Pace’s work continues that legacy. In line with the vision stated in the 1959 deed to Bull Swamp Baptist Church, the school will serve as a vibrant community center—a dream more than six decades in the making, brought to the brink of reality through faith, passion, and perseverance.