Travis and Jennifer Olmert are drawn to helping others, both in the work they do and through financial gifts. As the executive director of the Upstate Mediation Center, Jennifer helps recruit and train volunteer mediators to help families resolve custody and support issues quickly and peacefully. As a family law attorney with Carter, Smith, Merriam, Rogers & Traxler, Travis often guides clients through some of the most challenging times of their lives. “My calling was to try to carry some of those burdens,” he says.
Service is a family legacy. Travis’s grandfather, J. Verne Smith, served in the State Senate for more than 30 years. As the longest-serving state senator from Greenville County, J. Verne Smith is remembered for helping lure BMW to Greer, building Lake Robinson, funding the Peace Center for the Performing Arts, locating the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in downtown Greenville, and supporting facilities for the disabled. The beloved “Senator from Greer” always fought for issues close to his heart, particularly public education, health care, the aging, and alcohol and drug abuse.
Travis, who has served twice on the CFG board, currently serves on the board of the Greater Greer Education Foundation as well as the board of John I. Smith Charities, founded by his grandfather’s cousin.