Meet the Board

Marquis Flemings

Marquis Flemings is the Executive Director of BEST Skills Academy. For the past 17 years, Marquis has been involved in education and service to the community. His compassion and expertise and his drive to help students fare just some of motivating factors in creating BEST Skills Academy. The pursuit of education and desire to help students succeed in and out of the classroom.

Penny McDaniel has over 20 years of experience in Property/Casualty Insurance. She is a licensed Property/Casualty Adjuster in both South Carolina and Florida. As a Property/Casualty Adjuster she has handled multiple lines of insurance business (Workers Compensation, Auto and Property Claims), assisted with business strategy and development, organization and development of good business practice through the years.

Through her work as a Property/Casualty Adjuster, she has worked with many diverse cultures and individuals during their most vulnerable time to get through a difficult situation. Penny’s empathy and compassion for working with people have assisted many companies with building great customer service and making difficult situations better for everyone. Penny has an Associate Degree in Business Administration and Paralegal Studies. Penny has volunteered with The Salvation Army and The Red Cross in many catastrophe situations. She currently volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America and has been in several roles over the last eight years.

Penny is looking forward to the work she will do as a board member for Odyssey Online Learning. She feels that the compassion she has for working with people will help grow Odyssey Online Learning in becoming one of the top choices in schools. Not only is she a parent to a student at Odyssey Online Learning but she believes in the program and that every family should have access to good quality learning. Odyssey Online Learning is the way for future learning and she believes that it enables a student to be prepared for the future.

Robert McKenzie

Robert served in the United States Marine Corps as a Financial Management Resource Analyst for 7 years, during which he completed a tour in Iraq. He was medically separated at the rank of Sergeant. Following his military service, Robert pursued a career in healthcare, working as a Registered Respiratory Therapist at Prisma Health Baptist Easley Hospital for 5 years. He then served as the Respiratory Care Clinical Coordinator for 2 years. In 2018, Robert made a transition into management, serving as the Manager of Environmental Services at both Prisma Health Baptist Easley Hospital and Oconee Memorial Hospital for 1 year. Robert’s passion for mentoring led him to help establish BEST Skills Academy in April 2019, where he currently serves as the Mentoring Program Director.

Robert’s educational background includes an Associate of Science (A.S.) in Respiratory Care Therapy/Therapist and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Sociology. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Developmental Psychology. In his personal life, Robert is a loving husband and proud father of two daughters, one of whom graduated from Odyssey Online Learning and is now pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at Clemson University. Robert is dedicated to equipping students with the necessary skills to function as strong, independent, and responsible adults able to overcome any challenges within society.