Meet the Faculty & Staff
Charles H. "Chip" Browne III, BIC/Owner
Chip Browne is the President and Owner of the Real Estate School of
South Carolina. No one has successfully prepared more real estate
students in South Carolina than Chip Browne. Period. Licensed since
1978, he began teaching real estate sales and broker courses in 1982
with his father, the late Charles H. “Charlie” Browne. Chip has earned
the reputation s an extremely thorough educator who possesses the rare
ability to communicate effectively with beginning students as well as
seasoned professionals. He has taught real estate courses throughout
South Carolina, Florida and abroad. In fact, recently Chip was honored
to be asked by a major international developer to instruct many Florida
real estate agents at the $150,000,000 Club at Hammock Beach resort in
St. Augustine, Florida. Additionally, he is the Broker In Charge of
South Carolina Realty, a real estate brokerage, development, and
property management company.
Chip is the author of the textbook, South Carolina Real Estate Principles, a reviewer of Dearborn Real Estate Education’s Ethics in Today’s Real Estate World,
and is a founding member of the American Association of Real Estate
Schools and Colleges. In 2011, he contributed his time and assistance
as an invited member of the South Carolina Real Estate Commission's
License Law Task Force. A Clemson University graduate, his
post-graduate work includes Constitutional Law and Political Science. In
his spare time, Chip enjoys scuba diving in exotic locales, tropical
gardening, and actively participating as a member of the South Carolina
Chapter of the Ferrari Club of North America.
Melissa Sprouse Browne, Vice President
Melissa Sprouse Browne holds the roles of Vice President and
Co-Owner of the Real Estate School of South Carolina, President of
The Marketing
Division
, a full service advertising agency, co-owner of South Carolina
Realty, LLC and owner of
Seniors First Home Care. Melissa has extensive experience in the marketing, advertising and
public relations field. She has served as creative director of a multi-million
dollar advertising agency, the regional marketing director for Trane Comfort
Solutions, publications manager for the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce and
was the marketing director for one of the larger real estate firms on the East
Coast.
Congratulations to Melissa for being chosen as one of the "20
Under 40" Honorees by The State Newspaper for 2009. This honor is given to the top 20 business leaders in the greater
Columbia, SC area who are under 40 years of age and meet the criteria of
excellence in business and are active in their communities.
Melissa has always had a special
place in her heart for seniors. Her involvement in the field of senior
issues gives her a unique perspective on the challenges we all face when
dealing with aging parents who need care. Her book,
The Caregiver's Training Program: What You Need to Know to Take Care of Your Parents in Their Golden Years, is a comprehensive resource for anyone caring for an aging parent. This
book provides the step by step instruction you need to understand what
to do, who to call and how to find help when you need it.
The Caregiver's Training Program is available on www.amazon.com
and in your e-reader's bookstore through the Kindle, the Nook, the Sony
e-Reader and in the Apple iBookstore. For more information about this
valuable resource, please visit
www.caregiverstrainingprogram.com.
Her devotion to the elderly led her to open a separate company in 2011 called Seniors First Home Care, a non-medical companion care and wheelchair transportation firm.
She has also authored, "Unit History: The 755th Field Artillery Battalion," a day
by day account of the Battalion's movements during World War II from December
1944 to May 1945. She compiled this small bit of history as a gift for her
father. Her latest book, "My Best Friend is a Liar: The Real Life Story of a World Class Con Artist," is also available on
amazon. It is a true crime expose and the first in the Liar series.
A firm believer in community service, she has volunteered with
Children's
Hospital of Palmetto Health and received the Governor's Year of the
Child Hero
Award in 2002. In
February 2009, she and her husband Chip were honored by the SC Purple
Heart
Society for their contribution to the mission of that organization. She's currently the chairman of the West Columbia Beautification Foundation and the president of the Three Rivers Region of the Porsche Club of America. Her
previous
community involvement includes serving on the board of directors for
Trustus
Theatre, performing in The Singing Christmas Tree at Shandon Baptist
Church, and
as secretary and chairman of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Midlands.
In her duties to the Real Estate School of South Carolina, Melissa is
responsible for the overall marketing of school courses, as well as the daily
operations of the Columbia headquarters. She has created several courses that
are now approved by the South Carolina Real Estate Commission and the South
Carolina Appraisers Board. A reviewer of Dearborn Real Estate Education’s
textbook, “Ethics in Today’s Real Estate World,” she is always happy to
contribute to the advance of real estate education.
As the leader of The Marketing Division, Melissa and her team provide focused
advertising solutions for individuals and companies in the real estate industry.
Her lengthy experience in real estate marketing gives her the unique advantage
of knowing the difference between effective advertising and wasteful spending on
useless marketing gimmicks. She is a strong communicator and her work is always
highly professional – you can be sure that a brochure designed by her team will
use proper grammar and spelling, unlike some of her competitors!!
A licensed real estate broker and real estate course instructor,
Melissa is the co-owner of South Carolina Realty, LLC with her husband, Chip
Browne. She has been licensed as a real estate professional since 1999. She
attended the University of South Carolina and majored in Criminal Justice and is currently working towards a degree in the field of health care administration. Her
passions include traveling to Caribbean islands, her four cats, writing, and
her husband, Chip!
Steve Grooms, Instructor
Steve Grooms is a licensed broker with over 20 years of real
estate experience. After growing up in, and working in real estate
construction, Steve began selling real estate in 1984 while pursuing a
masters degree in business at the University of South Carolina. As a
practitioner, he has experience in both residential and commercial real
estate. Steve's working experience includes a background in public
relations, training, supervision, and administration.
Steve has an extensive teaching background, in addition to
being certified by the South Carolina Real Estate Commission to teach
pre-licensing, post-licensing, broker classes, and property management;
he is a certified instructor for numerous continuing education courses.
Steve has taught public speaking, human relations, and business law at
the college level and has been a real estate trainer.
Steve has been a volunteer with the American Cancer Society and
the March of Dimes and has received community service awards from both
governmental agencies and private business including the "Outstanding
Public Service" award of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
James Hufham, Managing Partner and Instructor for Charleston, SC
mail: jameshufham@aol.com
As a managing partner of the Real Estate
School of Charleston, Jim Hufham has been a practicing real estate
attorney for more than 25 years. He has a strong background in teaching
real estate, paralegal and business courses. His easy-going manner makes
students feel comfortable and immediately at ease in the classroom. Our
Charleston location enjoys an incredibly high pass rate for students!
IN MEMORY OF JOE KUHLMANN, OUR APPRAISAL INSTRUCTOR FOR MANY, MANY YEARS
Sumter, SC ……….. (Ret) Lt. Col. Joseph (Joe) Frederick Kuhlmann, Jr,
age 84, beloved husband of 57 years to Janet Kuhlmann, died on Sunday,
December 16, 2018 at his residence. Born in Ellenville, New York
on October 20, 1934 to the late Joseph Frederick Kuhlmann and Margaret
Ward Kuhlmann and raised in Manchester, CT. Joe retired from the United
States Air Force as a Lt. Col. after 20 years of loyal service. He
earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses while serving as a pilot in Cuba
and Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star and eleven Air Medals for
his service in Vietnam. He also served as an Instructor pilot. Joe was
the owner of Kuhlmann and Associates Real Estate and Appraisals. He
loved teaching appraisal courses. Joe was a member of the First
Presbyterian Church, where he served as a Deacon. He will be remembered
as a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. He will be
dearly missed by all who knew him.
George Wise, Instructor
George is a Certified General appraiser, AQB certified USPAP
instructor and an IAAO certified in state instructor. With over 20 years
of experience in both Fee and Mass appraisal, George likes to use real
life applications combined with interactive discussion to help students
to not only learn the material, but to understand it. George has been
certified as an appraisal instructor in South Carolina, North Carolina
and Georgia and has enjoyed teaching both pre-licensing and continuing
education for the past eight years.
Cain Denny, Instructor
Cain has been a licensed broker since 1999. In addition to being a
real estate broker with Intercoast Properties, he is also a practicing
attorney. He is also certified as an arbitrator and a mediator. Cain
received his law degree from the University of South Carolina. Cain
teaches at our Charleston location.