I was born and raised in Brunswick, GA on the coast. I had four very competitive siblings and we all pursued sports from an early age. Competition started for me at 10 years old in high jump and long jump for the county recreation department. That year, I got second place in high jump at the State meet. Through the years, I played tennis, rode horses, did gymnastics and cycling, and ended up falling in love with ballet and modern dance.

After attempting to do academics to please my parents at various colleges, I went to Florida State as a dance major, but only lasted two semesters before I dropped out and rode the Amtrak train from Jacksonville, FL to New York City at the age of 20. I took ballet classes and studied modern dance at the Martha Graham School. I earned a scholarship with Martha Graham and danced with the second company while also dancing with I other companies around the City. I finally did a season with the main Graham company, then decided that after eight tough years, I was ready for a new career that was less grueling, more stable and brought in some money.

I got a job at Skadden, Arps, a large law firm, as a night word processor and worked my way up over the years to Assistant Director of Practice Support which involved implementation and management of specialized computer technology for large litigation matters and other practice areas. I finally got my bachelor’s degree in business in 1999 at Baruch College in NYC. I stayed in this career for 35 years, moving to Jones Day in 2004. In my spare time, I wanted to stay active doing something not quite as hard as dancing full time, so I started competing in triathlon.

I met my husband, Bob, in 2007 and we continued to work in Manhattan, but moved out to Glen Cove on Long Island. We got a couple of Labrador Retrievers and trained them to compete in AKC Obedience and I started riding horses seriously. In 2013, we retired early and moved to Greenville. We also bought a log cabin in Montana where we spend our summers. In our retirement, Bob has continued to pursue canine training and is currently a search and rescue handler, specializing in human remains detection. He and his two K-9’s, Siyeh and Palmer, have been very successful over the years and have had many finds, bringing comfort to the families of missing persons. (Unfortunately, a number of those finds have involved drowning victims.)

In my retirement, I have been riding horses and swimming. I and my three horses competed in Eventing, which is the triathlon of equestrian sport combining dressage, cross country and jumping. Last year, I retired my last horse and decided not to get another one. For the past four years I’ve focused on swimming with Greenville Splash under Coach Bill Ewell who has been an inspiration and a mentor. I volunteered to work with him on getting the Veteran Swim Program going in December 2021. My father, George M. Ference, was a WWII Navy veteran and served in the Pacific aboard an LST. I dedicate my work with veterans to him.

I’ve gotten several certifications and have become a lifeguard and swim instructor at Greenville County Aquatics Complex. I’ve always dreamed of finding a way to share my love for the water with others and now I am. I am loving it! And, it was a “light bulb moment” when I realized that by teaching swimming and water safety to adults and children, just maybe I can help reduce the number of tragic searches my husband is called out for.

2022 Go the Distance. Keep a workout log with this fun program from USMS. Click here for more information.

May 21 Greenville Tri-Fecta Triathlon Festival: family friendly event for youth, adapted youth and adult. For more information click here:

May 21 Team Social & Couples Shower for Dylan and Jenny at Carolyn's home 7:00 pm. RSVP for directions.

May 28 Lowcountry Splash: 2.4 and 5 mile open water swim in Charleston. Michelle Jones & Melinda Menzer are going, let us know if you are planning to go. Click here to enter:

June 4 Beaufort River Swim: Open Water Swim and Run Event Click here to enter:

June 5 The First Greenville Splash Group Open Water Swim of the Season at Lake Jocassee: Swimmers should rsvp to greenvillesplash@gmail.com to get all the info about safety and ability level groups.

June 17-18 Greenville Splash LCM Invitational at Greenville County Aquatic Complex. Registration is open, register by 5/31 for discount. All information can be found on our website: www.greenvillesplash.com

Swimmers: Click here for meet entry information:

Volunteers: Sign up here to be a timer:

Lane Sponsor: Click here for information

Donations: Have an item to donate for door prizes? Let us know

Aug. 3-7 USMS Summer Nationals in Richmond, VA

Click here for information:

Sept. 17 Upstate Splash Charity Open Water Swim at Lake Jocassee. Already half full.
This event is hosted by Greenville Splash. Registration is now open! Click here to register:
(Earlybird discount is currently available)

We are sad to announce that Coach Bill is moving to Kansas. Coach Bill will truly be missed by all of us! Bill is definitely leaving a legacy here in Greenville. Bill started the Greenville Splash Veterans Swim Program at GCAC and he will live on forever with this wonderful program. Here are just a few comments about Bill:

“We wish Bill all the best in Kansas. I am personally kinda sad to him go, as his presence every Tues, Thur, Sat really helped me get started swimming and understand it. I loved his workouts. I loved his patience and excitement to work with anyone every day. And above all I love that he loved swimming cause it makes coming to the pool fun. We will miss him. But we will keep swimming (and trying to still figure out exactly what he was teaching us). Till we see him again sometime, all the best. “ - Pat Yerkes

"Thanks a lot Bill!! We will miss you soooo much!!! All the best for you and your family!

Best empathetic coach I’ve ever met!!" - Miriam Bierre

"Kansas got lucky! I’ll miss ya, Bill. Thank you for your great coaching" Joe Hammond

"One of the best guys and coaches I’ve ever met. Will certainly miss you, Kansas is picking up a winner. Go enjoy your fantastic family!" Daniel Hynum

"Wait, what? Wasn’t he supposed to ask how we felt about this first?" - Meredith Rigdon

"We can set up a Zoom call and he can tele-coach" - Michael Pait

Greenville County Aquatic Complex Long Course Season:

Coached workouts: TuTh 5:30-7:00 am, TuTh 6:30-8:00 pm, TuThF 9:00-10:30 am, F 7:00-8:30 am, Sat 7:00-8:30 am.

Veterans Swim Program TuTh 7:00-8:00 am

Pool closed Saturday May 6 for swim meet.

Kroc Center:

Coached workouts: MWF 6:00-7:00 am

Due to lane space and safety concerns we require swimmers to circle swim at all workouts at both pools.

Swimmers must show their 2022 Greenville Splash bag tag to receive the discount. We have picked out a new team swim suit, backpack and warm-up jacket. Click here for more information on our website: