Melissa Sprouse Browne

Her jobs: Co-owner, The Real Estate School of South Carolina; owner, The Marketing Division; broker-in-charge, JGI Properties; writer; UFirst — United First Financial independent agent; co-owner, South Carolina Realty Age: 39

Family: husband, Chip Browne

Education: Bachelor’s degree, criminal justice, USC Spartanburg (Now USC Upstate)

Community involvement: Past chairwoman, March for Meals; Board of Directors nominee, Senior Resources; Governor’s Year of the Child Award; past silent auction co-chair, Festival of Trees, Children’s Hospital of Palmetto Health; Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Midlands; Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia; Central Carolina Association of Realtors; former board member, Trustus Theatre.

From her nomination: “It is sometimes said that people are either ‘left brained’ or ‘right brained.’ Melissa happens to be one of those rare people who uses both sides equally. Her organization and business skills give her the ability to focus on many tasks and projects, while her creativity does it with flair.” — Arlin Coleman Jr., U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, multifamily division

Do you know a lot about a little or a little about a lot? “I’m probably one of those people that I can do anything if you show me enough about it.”

The economic future looks bleak. What are you optimistic about? “From the real estate perspective, I’m very optimistic in our market. We’re at a down point right now, (but) we’ve got the government, we’ve got the state university, we’ve got the fort. I feel that once we get to the spring … everything is going to run around.”

What abiding principle do you live by? Browne says she bought a T-shirt that says “Well-behaved women rarely make history,” which she wears while performing housework. But “basically, I’m a ‘Do unto others’-type person. I just believe that it matters that you’re good to someone. I just do what I can to make someone’s life a little easier.”

What’s ahead for you? A publisher is looking at her book, “A Layman’s Guide to Family Care-Giving,” which concerns caring for aging parents. Browne’s parents died 10 months apart, in 2002 and 2003. She now helps former Gamecock announcer Bob Fulton, who is 88, with care issues. She wrote her book “because it just really irked me that there was not anything out there. That (a publisher’s attention) thrills me beyond words.”

How do you balance everything? “I’m not busy between 2 and 4 — do you need something done? That would be a.m.”