Our annual Oyster Roast is to have fun and raise money for local scholarships.
Join us for this all-you-can-eat and drink event.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 8th, 2025 from 4pm-8pm at Wannamaker County Park.

Service Above Self

Scott Swartzwelter joined Elbit Systems of America in July 2024, where he assumed responsibility as the Senior Director of Operations and Site Lead for the Charleston Ground Combat Vehicle Assembly and Integration Center of Excellence.

Prior to his assignment at Elbit America, Mr. Swartzwelter held a variety of program management and operations positions within the defense industry at Defense Engineering Services, SAIC, UEC Electronics, and GDLS/Force Protection Industries Inc. Prior to joining Force Protection, Mr. Swartzwelter was employed as both a Product Engineer and Program Manager in the automotive industry with Kautex (a Textron company) and then TI Automotive.

In addition to his experience in the private sector, Mr. Swartzwelter retired from the US Army as a Major in the Corps of Engineers, having served 9 years active duty as a combat engineer and 11 years in the Army Reserve as a facility engineer. During his military career he served in a variety of capacities, including as a company commander in the 82d Airborne Division and platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division. He has been deployed to Panama, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (Automotive) from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri – Rolla (now Missouri University of Science & Technology).

Chris moved to Charleston SC in 1998 to attend CofC and graduated in 2002 with a degree in business. He started buying real estate in Charleston in 2001. He opened Recovery Room Tavern on April 15th 2008. Chris used the income to buy residential real estate and open more bars and night clubs. Chris has been married for 10 years to his wife Kelli who is a nurse practitioner. She owns Better Beauty and Wellness Medspa. Chris and Kelli have a 5 year old daughter and an 8 year old son. They live in Mount Pleasant.

Chris Ward is the Vice President of the Friends of Fisher House Charleston, a non-profit organization that supports the Ralph. H. Johnson Veterans Medical Center by providing lodging for families and caregivers receiving treatment in the Charleston area.

Commander Chris Ward concluded her Naval career in 2005 as Chief of Staff for Command, Control, Computers, Communications and Information Technology for Commander Naval Forces Japan. She
was responsible for communications ashore for US forces throughout Japan, Korea, Singapore, Diego Garcia and Guam. Throughout her tour, she worked with U.S. Allies to upgrade and improve their multinational secure networks, paving the way for joint coalition operations.

Previously, she served four years at Naval Communications and Telecommunications Area Master Station (NCTAMS PAC) as Chief of Staff for the Navy’s largest tactical communications hub providing IP services to ships at sea. In this position, she was responsible for the Department of Defense’s largest communications ground site, maintaining 100% operational efficiency while providing robust multiband connectivity to ships, submarines and airplanes of the U.S. Forces in the Pacific. She holds a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School where she helped design communications satellites.
Since retiring from the Navy, Chris Ward has worked as the Executive Vice President at Caribou Technologies, a consultancy owned by Admiral (Retired) Archie Clemins. In this role, she has assisted hundreds of Companies seeking to provide solutions for technology needs in the Department of Defense. Additionally, she performs Cyber Security Assessments and training for Companies seeking a strong cyber defense posture.

She served on the board of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association from 2007-2017. In this capacity she held dozens of events, conferences, lunches, etc. to bring Industry and Government together to solve complex technology problems. Additionally, she raised over $50K per year from events to give Scholarships to STEM Students from the Lowcountry.

Chris Ward led the Speakers Committee for the Charleston Defense Contractors Association from 2005-2017, bringing in senior Government Leadership from across Department of Defense to speak at the Annual Conference (over 1000 attendees).