COASTAL OBSERVER

Even though he won’t be the principal of Waccamaw High School, Hunter Eddy will still be around.

“You’ll see me around sporting events, band events, chorus. I’ll still be around. We’re not leaving the community,” Eddy said.

Eddy was the assistant principal of Waccamaw High in 2018 and became principal in 2024.

When he became principal, Eddy replaced David Hammel, who was the interim principal that summer after Adam George was removed from the position following a senior prank that involved students entering and vandalizing the school overnight. 

Hammel is now stepping in for a second term effective Sept. 2, but this time for Eddy.

“Now it’s come full circle because I’m ending my career with Dr. Hammel here and coach [Tyronne] Davis with me, both. That’s also a blessing because not only are they great to work with, but they’re also people I consider my friends,” Eddy said.

An Erskine College graduate, Eddy landed his first job with the Georgetown County School District as a social studies and psychology teacher at Carvers Bay High School. Prior to the education field, he was an Army helicopter pilot.

He made the sudden decision to resign after a few surgeries and an health episode last summer. He listened to his doctors’ advice to finally retire.

“They said it was time,” Eddy said.

Depending on his health, he said he was planning to serve as principal for at least another two years. Eddy’s resignation came as a shock to most, especially to Superintendent Bethany Giles who was tasked to find an interim principal.

“When I met with her, she was obviously shocked that it was this soon, as well,” Eddy said. “I knew that he might be a possibility because I’d hired him to come back and be a chemistry teacher.”

Eddy said he knew Hammel stepping in as interim principal once again was a possibility, but he did not have a say in who would replace him. 

Hammel became the executive director of the nonprofit Teach My People after-school program last year, but left that position this summer to return as a chemistry teacher at Waccamaw High.

“I was looking forward to him just being back in the building because he’s great,” he said. “He’s got a wealth of experience. He’s done it before. The transition between us, because we are good friends, has been almost seamless.”

“I was going to be here anyway,” Hammel added. “It was a no-brainer for me, just to come on in and continue doing what I’ve done before.”

He landed his first teaching job at Waccamaw High in 1994 when he graduated from Roanoke College in Salem, Va. He went on to pursue his master’s from the University of South Carolina and a doctorate from Liberty University.

Hammel was named interim principal two days before the start of the school year when the school board unanimously voted to approve Eddy’s resignation and replacement during a special meeting. Board Member Patti Hammel abstained her vote due to a personal conflict of interest, since he is her son.

“My job is, right now, to make it as smooth and seamless as possible, and keep building on what he did, and he built on what I did, year before last,” Hammel said.

He doesn’t see any need to make big changes at the moment. Hammel said he will continue Eddy’s philosophy to always put the students first. 

Eddy said he will miss the  students the most.

“They’ve had a much greater impact on my life, I’m sure, than I have theirs. And I’m very grateful for that,” Eddy said.

Eddy and Hammel were leaving the 2025 Kickoff Classic in Myrtle Beach last Friday when he was recognized by a young man at the skateboard park nearby. Even though the man got into some trouble during his time as a student, Eddy said you would think the two of them were best friends the way the student was hollering, high-fiving and hugging Eddy.

“That’s why we do what we do,” he said.

Eddy isn’t going into retirement alone. His wife, Andria, also retired this year after spending 35 years in education.

He said he’s looking forward to spending more time with his six grandchildren who live in Augusta, Ga. and Monticello, Ark.

“It was a calling for me to come into education, and the reason that I came in was to serve the students and do what I could to help prepare them for life,” Eddy said.