About

Nancy Mace - President & Founder

Nancy Mace is the author of In the Company of Men: A Woman at The Citadel (Simon and Schuster 2001). Pat Conroy, author of the Prince of Tides and Lords of Discipline, dubbed this work “The best book about The Citadel ever written…” She is the first female graduate of The Citadel, the military college of South Carolina.

She holds a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Georgia, and a bachelor’s degree in business from The Citadel. She is a board member of Childspring International, and past president of the Greater Atlanta Citadel Alumni Club; a past district director for The Citadel Alumni Association; past panelist on the 12th Annual Conference of Women in Higher Education; and participant in the Corbin Council conference on Assimilation of Women at Military Colleges.

Mace is also the other half of South Carolina’s most-read political news and opinion site FITSNews.

She’s available for speaking engagements on the subject of crisis communications, public relations and social media…and of course the subject of The Citadel. She resides in Charleston with her husband and two children.

Adrian Grimes - Partner

Adrian Mitchell Grimes brings more than twenty years of communications experience to the table. She began in television broadcasting at WIS-TV and then on to WCSC-TV (LIVE5) where she worked as a News Producer and Public Affairs Director.

Grimes transitioned into the Public Relations and Marketing field where she held management level positions at the Charleston Naval Weapons Station, Charleston Southern University and CIGNA HealthCare of SC. She also began leading web content management efforts starting in 2005 and has experience with a variety of organizations and clients not only in the lowcountry but across the state of South Carolina.

Grimes most recently managed the online campaign of the U.S. Congressional campaign of Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and oversaw the implementation of that online communications after Scott’s election.

As a Partner with the Mace group, she will continue to focus her efforts in public relations, online communication vehicles and social media marketing for a variety of clients.

One of her passions is character-based educational programs for youth. She and
her husband facilitate and present at youth conferences, workshops, rallies and other assemblies.

Grimes earned a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from the University of
South Carolina and has begun work toward her graduate degree in Technology and Communications.

She resides in the Charleston, SC area with her husband and three children.

Desiree Watson - Consultant

Desiree Watson joined The Mace Group as a business development consultant in October of 2011.

Watson’s political background includes working for several statewide and congressional races in the Palmetto State and serving as the congressional liaison for Presidential Classroom, a civic education program in Washington, DC.

Watson is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in Economics and a cognate in Public Relations with an emphasis in Crisis Communications. Watson’s skills include managing an operational budget of a million-plus dollars in revenue annually and executing detailed grass roots action plans. Her fundraising capabilities are also well-established throughout South Carolina.

She is also the advertising sales representative for South Carolina’s most famous or infamous political news and opinion website, FITSNews.

Already her efforts are increasing The Mace Group’s business development efforts in the Carolinas. Watson will also serve as a public relations manager with The Mace Group’s small to midsize business clients.

Lauren Robirds - Consultant

As a New Media Consultant, Lauren maintains and oversees websites, social media accounts and various online media campaigns. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in Advertising.

Lauren joined the USC Student Advertising Federation and was selected to join the USC Ad Team as an Art Director. The Ad Team presented their campaign and plans book at the National Student Advertising Competition where they received a special commendation for Best Guerilla Marketing.

Her Senior Internship was spent working with FITSNews.com, the most read political news and opinion site during which time her work encompassed graphic design, public relations, advertising sales and talk-radio podcasts.

Lauren resides in Columbia, SC with her dog, Hampton.