Sean Hughes

Director of Information Systems, South Carolina Education Lottery

Published August 19, 2025

Sean Hughes began his employment with the South Carolina Education Lottery in June of 2004 as a Network Specialist I, and currently serves as the Director of Information Systems overseeing the Infrastructure and Network section of the IT department.

His exemplary performance of duties has always been guided to ensuring the effective functioning of the lottery. Throughout the years, Sean has been instrumental in the internal design and implementation of every system and network upgrade to the lottery infrastructure, including those performed during contract conversions in 2007 and again in 2017.

He was instrumental in developing operational plans at each phase of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and played a key role in the emergency implementation of remote work for the entire staff, providing flexibility to work from anywhere. All employees were equipped with computers and internet access to safeguard their health while continuing with business as usual.

Sean has consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership, innovation, and commitment to advancing the Lottery’s technological capabilities. He has played a pivotal role in enhancing its technological landscape, and he is also a key member of the Lottery’s cybersecurity group.

Sean has always been very diligent and responsive to the agency’s technical needs, regardless of the magnitude of the work to be done. His charismatic and always-willing-to-help personality, combined with his deep knowledge of the IT world, has earned him the professional respect and personal appreciation from his coworkers. He is recognized as the Lottery’s resident expert in technology and technical support – which is to say, Sean is the go-to person for anything that breaks!

This award is a long-deserved honor for Sean Hughes. He has been a pillar of the agency for over 20 years, and his unwavering dedication to excellence clearly represents the significance of the Powers Award. Sean’s drive, commitment, encouragement, and integrity, as demonstrated through his overall IT support to the Lottery, reflects the set standards of excellence modeled by Ed Powers. His decades of hard work and the contributions he has dedicated to maintain the highest levels of operational capabilities for the South Carolina Education Lottery make him a most deserving candidate for this honorable award.