Upon earning a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of South Carolina in 1974, Dennis J. O’Keefe commenced his career working as a state auditor for seven years. He dedicated three decades to being an accountant for four different state agencies in South Carolina, including the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Mr. O’Keefe had also offered his services to private ventures, as well as a technical college bookstore accountant. Once retired from accounting, he pivoted to selling insurance, which he did from 2006 to 2018.

Alongside his primary career, Mr. O’Keefe had also spent 40 years as a sports officiator for various high school sports across South Carolina. Between 1974 and 2014, he has officiated numerous high school state finals, including seven for football, one for basketball, ten for softball and five for baseball. He has also officiated Dixie Youth baseball, including two World Series and seven state finals. Notably, Mr. O’Keefe was inducted into the South Carolina Basketball Officials Hall of Fame in 2016 and the South Carolina Football Officials Association Hall of Fame in 2020.

Mr. O’Keefe had also taken his vast expertise to the entertainment industry, as he was an actor alongside James Caan, Halle Berry and Omar Epps in the film “The Program” from 1993. Likewise, he has been the co-host of the talk show, “Rapping with the Ref” with Teddy Heffner Fox Sports 1400AM​ Columbia since 2000 and was the subject of a newspaper article in The State in 2015. Looking ahead, he plans to continue officiating until his 50th year, while also continuing to enjoy his retirement. Reflecting on his career, Mr. O’Keefe cites marrying his wife Celeste and raising their daughter as well as marrying his second wife Sherry after Celeste’s passing as the highlights of his life.