Jan. 13, 2017 UBJ

JANUARY 13, 2017 | VOL. 6 ISSUE 2

GET

ON THE

BUS

Proterra scores major funding, but when will Greenville get on board? page 14 Photo by Will Crooks

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TOP-OF-MIND AND IN THE MIX THIS WEEK

| THE RUNDOWN | 3

VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2 Featured this issue: Finding a place for trailing spouses .................................................................................4 Duke Energy continues coal ash cleanup.....................................................................10 Toy Street project moves forward in Greenville.....................................................18

WORTH REPEATING “The volume of toxic coal ash stored at these sites so close to the Saluda River was staggering.”

Page 10

“We raised so much capital in this round, if the board of directors decides to take the company public, they can do so based on market conditions as opposed to needing to do it to finance the company.”

Page 14

“It’s Facebook posts, tweets, emails, online reviews and customer service calls. Who is going to make sense of those?”

Page 23

VERBATIM

On the next Charleston “Though small, Greenville, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, may be the next major food destination.”

Workers at the BMW North America plant in Spartanburg County operate machinery on the assembly line. For the third consecutive year, BMW Manufacturing recorded its largest annual production, producing 411,171 X models during 2016. This production record confirms the South Carolina plant will remain the largest plant by volume in the BMW global production network. Read more on page 8. Photo by Will Crooks.

The New York Times, naming Greenville one of “52 Places to Go in 2017,” along with destinations like Chile’s Atacama Desert, Botswana and Tijuana. Read more at bit.ly/NYT-GVL.

4 | WORKFORCE |

INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

THE TROUBLE OF TRAILING SPOUSES Hiring a new employee is the easy part. Finding a job for their significant other is the tougher task at hand.

MELINDA YOUNG | CONTRIBUTOR

myoung@communityjournals.com KATIE FENSKE PHOTOS

When Cathy Rodriguez was transferred to Greenville, her husband Adan Rodriguez had to leave a good job in construction project management. It took him months to find a new employer.

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upstatebusinessjournal.com Panasko says. “It’s part of the evolution of economic development and what’s needed by the company as they’re evaluating our community.”

For instance, Panasko recently met with officials from an out-of-state company that is looking at a move to Greenville, and he brought up the possibility of finding jobs for spouses.

“It was part of that conversation,” he says. “Companies are surprised and impressed when we bring up that with them and introduce the topic.”

Finding jobs for trailing spouses now is on the level of schools and culture as factors that are relevant in corporate moves, Panasko says.

The city asks companies thinking of relocating to the Upstate if they need to be connected with staffing agencies locally or with the major health systems to find jobs for trailing spouses, he says.

“It sounds very simple, but that wasn’t part of the process years ago — you were really concentrated strictly on the company and maybe their bottom line,” Panasko explains.

Hyatt relates an experience he had in Syracuse, N.Y., when he meet with officials with WYNIT Distribution, a

TIPS FOR TRAILING SPOUSES ON FINDING JOBS IN THE UPSTATE * ASK the company that relocated the family to help with the job search. * SEE if your current employer would be open to a telecommuting arrangement.

CONTACT a staffing agency. * CHECK first with the area’s biggest employers: the *

Greenville County School District and the Greenville Health System. Both continually have job openings for various types of skills, experience. * KEEP job skills up-to-date, or gain more skills through local volunteer work and then leverage that experience through networking to find paid work. * NETWORK with local people involved with the same national professional organizations as you. * EXPAND your job search to other counties in the Upstate and adjacent areas of North Carolina. * BE patient and have a back-up plan in case your first job choice doesn’t materialize. * If the economy is weak, or learn new ones.

GO back to college to update skills

C l e m s o n

M B A

| WORKFORCE | 5

P r e s e n t s

W

OMEN

reenville city and chamber business development experts increasingly are being asked a new question when they talk with companies and executives about moving to Greenville: “Will my husband or wife be able to find a job?”

The relocation of manufacturing and headquarters to the Upstate has always hinged, in part, on schools, health care and cultural attractions, says Hank Hyatt, vice president of economic competitiveness for the Greenville Chamber. But now businesses are also thinking about how their employees’ spouses will find work. It’s one of the top three issues, Hyatt says. “They want to provide continuity for the spouse moving down with them.”

This has become so common that the City of Greenville anticipates questions about trailing spouses and prepares answers in advance.

“It’s gotten to where we’re being proactive in those discussions,” says Mike Panasko, business development manager with the City of Greenville.

“What we’re doing is bringing it up,”

INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

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After several jobless months, Adan Rodriguez landed a temp position with his wife Cathy’s employer Fluor.

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company that decided in fall 2015 to relocate its headquarters to Greenville. At the time of the meeting, Hyatt and others were asked to paint a picture for the company of the professional opportunities for spouses.

“Were there opportunities beyond this company in Greenville?” Hyatt says.

It’s a fair question, and the answer often depends on the national economy. For example, in 2011 when Fluor employee Cathy Rodriguez was transferred to Greenville from Dallas, Texas, her then fiancé, Adan Rodriguez, had to leave a good job in construction project management.

“I was encouraging her to make the move and wasn’t worried about finding a job here because I’ve never been shy to go to difference places,” Adan Rodriguez says.

He started looking for professional work immediately, but couldn’t get call backs on his resume. So he began to expand his search, exploring other options, including retail work, but he still couldn’t line up an interview. Finally, after a few months of job hunting, Rodriguez got a temp position with Fluor. He had to work in New York for most of a year. Cathy Rodriguez also was traveling for her work, including a stint in Peru.

Eventually the couple was in the same

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city long enough to get married and start a family. They have twin toddler boys. Rodriguez now has full-time work — in an estimator role — with Fluor.

If they have to move again, it likely will be Cathy who will be the trailing spouse. “I got this opportunity where I can work anywhere in this job,” she says.

For BMW, the issue of trailing spouses typically is raised by spouses or partners of associates on international assignment, says Sky Foster, spokesperson at BMW Manufacturing Co. in Spartanburg.

“The topic has surfaced more often in recent years as we have become an increasingly competitive global economy,” Foster says.

BMW offers trailing spouses/partners global coaching services related to the job search process in the host company, Foster says.

Michelin also addresses the issue from both sides of it: “Sometimes the Michelin employee becomes the trailing spouse when the partner is pulled elsewhere,” says Susan Simmons, Michelin director of career management. “Occasionally, we can find a win/ win solution that keeps that individual within Michelin.”

Also, Michelin sometimes can hire trailing spouses or partners. “We try to find an intersection between what is right for their family and Michelin’s business needs,” Simmons says.

Companies and executives toying with moving to Greenville can have any number of unexpected considerations, some job-placing executives say.

For instance, one company looking at relocation to Greenville said that a deciding factor was Greenville Drive and Fluor Field, says Julie Brown Godshall, president and owner of Godshall Professional Recruiting and Staffing.

But questions about job opportunities for spouses have moved up on the priority list. Godshall often hears from companies trying to attract key executives that a “yes” answer hinges on the spouse’s career.

Finding jobs for spouses has even become a relatively recent focus of the Greenville County School District’s Shining Stars day in Greenville, notes Lynn Gibbs, human resources director for the district.

The Shining Stars teacher recruiting event, which will be held Feb. 27, 2017, at the TD Convention Center, attracts close to 500 applicants from various states for teaching jobs. For the past

INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

three years, the event also has featured booths of six to eight companies that hand out information about jobs that might interest teachers’ spouses, Gibbs says. Some companies that have participated previously include Michelin, Canal Insurance and Hubbell Lighting.

Most often, the school district is the one that is hiring trailing spouses, says Lillian Flemming, a professional employment recruiter for the district.

With 11,000 employees, including administrators, accountants, secretaries, energy managers, bus drivers, afterschool caregivers, nurses, therapists, counselors, facility engineers, plumbers, electricians and, of course, teachers and principals, there are hundreds of job openings each year.

“We hire trailing spouses, and we can give people information about jobs in all departments,” she says.

So when Flemming is recruiting new teachers, she might learn that a job prospect has a spouse with a computer technology background — an area in which the district also has a need.

Companies moving to the Upstate sometimes call a recruiting firm to help with finding professional work for trailing spouses.

“I’ve had conversations with multiple trailing spouses — some female, some male — where there are not a plethora of jobs here in their industry sectors, so they call to ask me what they can do,” says Steve Hall, vice president of business development for Find Great People (FGP).

For example, FGP recently received a request from a manufacturing client about helping the wife of a team member, who was relocated from France, find work as a project manager.

“After two interviews and many discussions, we placed her on a longterm contract with one of our Greenville technology clients,” Hall says.

Godshall Professional Recruiting also routinely hears from companies that are looking for help in finding work for a trailing spouse, Julie Brown Godshall says.

“Greenville has such a diverse economy that I think more than ever we are able to offer such a wide range of opportunities in terms of careers for trailing spouses,” she says. “We’re not dependent on one industry, and we have such an opportunity to gain talent in our area by also recruiting that trailing spouse.”

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8 | AUTOMOTIVE |

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BMW's US sales dip in 2016, but X models gain ground TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

SPARTANBURG BMW PLANT SETS PRODUCTION RECORD IN 2016

tanderson@communityjournals.com BMW’s U.S. sales cooled in December, capping off a frosty year that saw the German automaker fail to increase its annual sales in this country for the first time since 2013.

But the combined sales of models produced in Spartanburg County — the X3, X4, X5 and X6 — remained hot and have buoyed the company’s hopes for a rebound in 2017.

Last week, BMW of North America LLC reported it sold 37,493 vehicles in December, a 5.4 percent decrease compared with 39,634 during the previous year.

For the year, the company said it sold 365,204 vehicles, a 9.7 percent decrease compared with 404,537 during 2015.

Sales of the locally made X models, which the company refers to as its light trucks division, increased 5.2 percent in December to 12,416 vehicles, compared with 11,807 during the same month a year ago.

In 2016, the sale of X models made in Spartanburg increased 2.7 percent to 103,943 vehicles, compared with 101,256 during the prior year.

Ludwig Willisch, president and CEO of BMW of North America, said in a statement the company’s X models, which it calls its Sports Activity Vehicles, set a new benchmark in December.

Willisch said it was the first time that SAV sales comprised more than half of the monthly sales of the company’s BMW brand vehicles.

Those numbers included the popular X1 produced at BMW’s plant in Leipzig, Germany. The company considers the X1 to be an SAV, but not a light truck.

“December set a new record for our Sports Activity Vehicle sales in the U.S., exceeding 50 percent for the first time ever and firmly anchoring 2016 as the growth year for SAVs in the premium segment,” Willisch said in the statement. “The New Year brings optimism for the year ahead and now we’re looking forward to the Detroit Auto Show next week and the launch of our brilliant, all-new 5 Series.”

BMW North America spokesman Kenn Sparks said recently the company’s domestic business was negatively impacted by two factors in 2016.

The first was allocation challenges created by the increase in global demand for the SAVs produced at Spartanburg County-based BMW Manufacturing

Photo by Will Crooks

Co., despite the fact that the plant is producing a record number of vehicles.

The plant, which employs more than 8,000 people and exports about 70 percent of its vehicles to markets around the world via the Port of Charleston, was named the country’s top automotive exporter for 2015, with a total export value of $9.8 billion, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In August, BMW announced the plant received three J.D. Power awards, including the Initial Quality Study (IQS), Silver Plant in the Americas Region and an IQS award for the best score in the midsize premium sports utility vehicle segment for the X5.

BMW Manufacturing Co. spokesman Steve Wilson said official production numbers for 2016 are anticipated in the coming days.

The second challenge was the lack of a full-size SAV to compete with the larger models produced by its competitors, including Mercedes, Lexus and Land Rover, Sparks said.

BMW hopes to address both challenges soon.

The company is nearing completion of a $1 billion expansion of the local plant that it hopes will increase production to about 450,000 vehicles and support production of the new full-size X7 within the next few years.

“Because of the expansion and additional investment in the Spartanburg plant, BMW will set a new worldwide record for SAV sales in 2016,” Sparks said.

On Monday, BMW Group reported its global sales reached an all-time high in 2016 for a sixth consecutive BMW DECEMBER SALES year. The automaker said Model Dec. 2016 Dec. 2015 +/YTD 2016 YTD 2015 +/it sold 2,367,603 vehicles during the year, a 5.3 X3 4,978 3,126 +59.2% 44,196 31,924 +38.4% percent increase compared X4 399 884 -54.9% 4,989 6,429 -22.4% to the previous year’s total.

X5 6,245 6,250 -0.1% 47,641 54,997 -13.4% BMW brand vehicle sales reached 2,003,359 vehiX6 794 1,547 -48.7% 7,117 7,906 -10% cles, a 5.2 percent increase compared with 2015.

Brand vehicle sales decreased 5.2 percent in December and 9.5 percent for the year.

Its MINI brand sales fell 7 percent during the past month and 11.1 percent for the whole of 2016.

Spartanburg County-based BMW Manufacturing Co. set a new vehicle production record in 2016 — the third consecutive year the local plant has increased its output.

The company said it produced 411,171 X models, a nearly 2.6 percent increase compared with 2015’s tally of 400,904.

It maintained its position as the largest BMW plant in the world.

BMW Manufacturing Co. said it exported 287,700 vehicles, about 70 percent of its total production, to markets across the globe. A vast majority of those vehicles were exported via the Port of Charleston.

The Spartanburg plant is the production capital of the German luxury automaker’s light trucks division, which includes the X3, X4, X5 and X6 Sports Activity Vehicles (SAV). BMW’s popular X1 SAV, which it does not consider to be a light truck, is produced in Germany.

BMW SPARTANBURG’S RECORD YEAR Model

Produced in 2016

Produced in 2015

+/-

X3

151,298

142,613

+6%

X4

56,404

55,027

+2.5%

X5

165,377

158,755

+4.2%

X6

38,092

44,498

-14.4%

Total X models

411,171

400,893

+2.6%

Not including X1 model, produced in Germany.

The automaker said it delivered 644,992 X models to its customers during the year, a 22.3 percent increase compared with 2015.

Of the more than 2 million brand vehicles it sold around the world in 2016, nearly one in three were X models, the company said.

Steve Wilson, a spokesman for BMW Manufacturing Co., said plant officials are hopeful the positive trend in production will continue, but those numbers can be impacted by life cycle of vehicles. For instance, production of an older version of a model is ramped down before production of the newer version is ramped up.

Wilson said production of the X7 is expected to begin in late 2018.

“Our capacity is 450,000, and I expect we will continue to build cars near that capacity,” he said.

In May 2016, the plant celebrated the production of its 3.5 millionth vehicle since it began assembly in 1994. Based on its current production, the plant could hit its 4 millionth vehicle milestone in 2017.

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10 | Q&A DUKE|ENERGY INFORMATION | INFORMATION YOU WANTYOU TO WANT KNOW TO KNOW

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Duke Energy continues coal ash cleanup in Anderson County 29,000 tons of ash from that basin into the primary basin and then build the new landfill.

Once constructed, the landfill will be filled with the ash from the primary basin and large ash fill site nearby. It will feature multiple layers of synthetic and natural barriers, and coal ash will be stored with a protective capping system that separates it from the surrounding soil and groundwater.

In addition, Duke Energy plans to conduct “extensive groundwater monitoring” that ensures “the landfill operates as designed and the local environment remains protected,” according to a press release from the company.

"Our first priority is ensuring the continued safety of our neighbors and our environment," said John Elnitsky, Duke Energy senior vice president of ash basin strategy. “We're using a science-based plan, industry-proven technology and advanced engineering to site and construct this fully lined landfill."

Duke Energy has also agreed to excavate and rebury coal ash from its closed Robinson Steam Plant in Darlington, S.C.

ANDREW MOORE | STAFF

amoore@communityjournals.com A fleet of trucks recently hauled more than 650,000 tons of coal ash from Duke Energy’s W.S. Lee Steam Station plant in rural Anderson County to a landfill in Homer, Ga. It’s an effort seen as a win for Upstate-based environmental groups concerned about chemical contamination of the bordering Saluda River.

“This first step makes this coal ash site safer and removes ash from unlined old pits right on the banks of the Saluda," said Frank Holleman, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. “As this cleanup moves forward, coal ash pollution of the Saluda River will drop.”

Duke Energy relocated the coal ash under the terms of a settlement negotiated in 2015 by SELC on behalf of Upstate Forever, a Greenville conservation group, and Save our Saluda, a citizens group that works to protect and restore water resources in the Saluda Watershed.

The W.S. Lee Steam Station facility, which is located in the small community of Belton, S.C., burned coal for decades. But then it switched to natural gas and Duke Energy began storing coal ash in three basins and two ash fill areas.

In 2015, the two conservation groups claimed the facility’s ash pits were dangerous because they were unlined and too close to the Saluda River.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 140 million tons of coal ash are generated each year. Coal ash contains several dangerous pollutants, including arsenic, mercury and chromium. The EPA has found that living near ash ponds increases the risk of damage from cadmium, lead and other toxic metals.

“The volume of toxic coal ash stored at these sites so close to the Saluda River was staggering,” said Melanie Ruhlman, president of Save Our Saluda. “Removal of the ash to safe lined storage facilities is a major accomplishment towards long-term improvement and protection of the river.”

Under the settlement terms, Duke Energy has five years to remove the

Duke Energy has removed more than 15 percent of the 3.6 million tons of coal ash stored at the Anderson County plant.

Read the full settlwement agreement progress report online at upstatebusinessjournal.com.

ASHES TO ASHES coal ash from its ash pond and ash fill site on the banks of the Saluda River and 10 years to remove any remaining ash from the other unlined pits at the site.

So far, Duke Energy has removed more than 15 percent of the 3.6 million tons of coal ash stored at the Anderson County plant.

Danielle Peoples, a spokeswoman for Duke Energy, said the company plans to relocate at least 1.4 million tons of ash to the Georgia site this year.

Duke Energy has more than 750,000 tons of coal ash to remove from its ash pond and ash fill site. However, the company will be left with 2.2 million tons of coal ash.

Last Tuesday, Duke Energy announced it would be applying for a permit through the S.C. Department

of Health and Environmental Control to build a 35-acre landfill on the Belton site. That new landfill will eventually hold the remaining 2.2 million tons of coal ash, according to Peoples.

Duke Energy had originally planned to submit its permit application this year, but DHEC requested more information about seasonal variations in groundwater levels. Now, the company has to wait until 2018 to submit an application.

Peoples said the company hopes to get the permit and construct the new on-site lined landfill by 2019. She added that the delay in permitting wouldn’t affect the deadline for relocating the remaining ash.

The landfill will be constructed where the secondary ash basin is now.

Duke Energy is planning to remove

3.6 million tons of coal ash stored at W.S. Lee Steam Station More than 15% removed so far 1.4 million tons to be relocated to Georgia site this year 5 years allowed in settlement to remove coal ash from ash pond and ash fill site 10 years to remove ash from other unlined pits 140 million tons of coal ash generated each year

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Payers could pick up tab for second abandoned nuclear plant RUDOLPH BELL | CONTRIBUTOR

rbell@communityjournals.com

Duke Energy Corp. may never complete a decade-old plan to build a new nuclear plant near Gaffney, but its South Carolina customers could still get stuck with part of the tab, according to a state regulator.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Dec. 21 that it had issued licenses for Duke to build and operate two nuclear reactors at the proposed William States Lee III power plant.

The Charlotte-based power company, however, remains noncommittal about

the project, which was once estimated to cost $11 billion.

Duke spokeswoman Rita Sipe said the ultimate decision on whether to build the plant will depend on various factors, including energy needs, project costs, environmental regulations, natural gas prices and cost-recovery rules set by state lawmakers.

She said Duke, which already operates two nuclear plants in South Carolina, continues to view new nuclear power generation as a “viable, carbon-free option to meet our customers’ electricity needs.”

As of Sept. 30, Duke had spent almost

$507 million on preconstruction work for the proposed plant, according to Dukes Scott, executive director of the Office of Regulatory Staff, the state agency charged with protecting the public interest in utility matters.

He said Duke could ask state regulators for permission to recover 25 percent of that cost from its South Carolina ratepayers even if it ultimately abandons the project.

Jim Cook, economic development director for Cherokee County, said the power plant would be a “game changer” for the county if it ever gets built.

But Cook said he’s not holding his

breath.

“We’re not counting on it,” he said.

“We’d love to have it. We’d love to see it, but we’ll see that when it happens.”

If Duke winds up abandoning the project, it would be the second time it has abandoned a nuclear power plant on the same property.

The company left behind a huge concrete bowl when it stopped building the first proposed nuclear power plant in the early 1980s amid soaring costs.

Later, the bowl was used to film underwater scenes from the 1989 movie "The Abyss," directed by James Cameron.

Duke Energy donates to Upstate conservation projects ANDREW MOORE | STAFF

amoore@communityjournals.com Duke Energy has donated more than $1 million to protecting the Upstate's wildlife and natural resources.

The Charlotte-based energy company recently donated $618,000 to the Oconee County Conservation Bank and $762,000 to the Foothills Conservancy Program for the Keowee-Toxaway Habitat Enhancement Program. The donations were part of a 30-year relicensing agreement that Duke Energy recently signed for the Keowee-Toxaway Hydroelectric Project, which creates nearly 868 megawatts of energy for South Carolina residents every year.

“Receiving the license allows us to implement operational, environmental and recreational resource enhancements that will result in many benefits to the community and the environment for decades to come,” said Steve Jester, vice president of water strategy, hydro licensing and lake services for Duke Energy.

In 2009, about 16 stakeholders, including the Greenville-based conservation group Upstate Forever, started to discuss the relicensing of the project. In 2013, the stakeholders and Duke Energy agreed to specific conservation actions related to water resource protection, public recreational enhancements, land conservation and shoreline management in the Keowee-Toxaway Relicensing Agreement.

The agreement took effect on Sept. 1, 2016.

“Our board is proud to accept this gift from Duke Energy to help further the worthwhile purposes of the Oconee County Conservation Bank, including the conservation of natural resources, wildlife habitat, clean air and clean water,” said Shea Airey, Oconee County Conservation Bank board member, in a news release.

The Oconee County Conservation Bank was founded in 2011 to provide grants to landowners

whose properties are ideal for conservation. That includes historic farms, properties with wildlife habitats or land that has excellent natural resources.

The donation from Duke Energy will be used to assist those landowners, Airey said.

The Foothills Community Foundation will start a Habitat Enhancement Program that protects nearly 2,900 acres adjoining lakes Keowee and Jocassee by allowing qualified government agencies and nonprofits to start projects that “ensure habitat creation, enhancement and protection activities for fish and wildlife,” according to a news release.

The program will be funded from a fee charged to developers for lake-use permits for projects on lakes Keowee and Jocassee.

Duke Energy will also make improvements to that area. The company is adding diver access, a new dock, a new boat, trailer parking area and access for non-motorized boating as well as bank fishing signs at Devils Fork State Park. The company is also adding nearly 25 acres, new restrooms and 12 campsites at the Double Springs Campground.

In addition, Duke Energy plans to add new parking areas at three recreation sites, new trails, bank fishing signs, new campsites, fishing stations and 10 cabins at Mile Creek County Park, which is located on Lake Keowee. It will also add a kayak launch, fishing pier and portage at 15-Acre Lake, a project recreation site at Keowee-Toxaway State Park.

The Keowee-Toxaway Relicensing Agreement also provides nearly $1 million to protect the 1,648-acre Nine Times Preserve in Pickens County. The area is one of the largest intact unprotected forests left in the Upstate and provides several public recreational activities, according to the Natureland Trust.

“We’re thrilled to support the preservation of this spectacular land,” Jester said. “Our objective throughout the relicensing process was to understand the community’s priorities and find ways to support them.

PROTECTING WILDLIFE AND WILD PLACES The Duke Energy Foundation is awarding more than $350,000 in grants to 13 environmental nonprofits in South Carolina.

The grants will fund various environmental projects, wildlife conservation efforts and environmental educational programs within Duke Energy’s service territory in the state, according to a news release. Grants going to Upstate conservation efforts include the following: • $14,000 to Greenville County’s Soil and Water Conservation District for Project WET, an educator-training program.

• $36,144 to TreesGreenville to provide 750 free trees to Greenville neighborhoods.

• $10,000 to Our Upstate SC to help create the Upstate Outdoor Activity and Recreation Inventory and Interactive Map. • $26,400 to Clemson University for an environmental education program.

• $35,000 to the Beautiful Places Alliance to help implement a controlled-burn program in several Upstate state parks.

This is a fine example of how stakeholder partnerships can result in benefits that will be enjoyed for generations.”

The agreement also provides $350,000 for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources to build an observation tower at Sassafras Mountain.

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INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

IT’S PLANE SIMPLE MORE NONSTOPS • CONVENIENT PARKING LESS HASSLE • LOW FARES

OVER

95

TOTAL D NONST AILY OPS Detroit

Chicago (O’Hare)

NYC (LaGuardia) Newark

Philadelphia

Washington (Dulles & Reagan)

GREENVILLE/SPARTANBURG

Charlotte

1 ST CONNE OP CTIONS

TO OVE R 200 CIT IE WORLD S WIDE

Atlanta Dallas/Fort Worth

Orlando/Sanford Tampa/St. Petersburg

Houston (Intercontinental)

Fort Myers/Punta Gorda

Fort Lauderdale

NEARLY

7%

CHE THAN C APER HAR ON AVE LOTTE RA GE

Domestic Round Trip Fares (exclusive of all taxes & fees except passenger facility charges) Source: U.S. DOT Period: 12 months ending Q1 2016

www.gspairport.com

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Spartanburg will host Startup Weekend in February also wanted to do something that would link the Upstate.”

Brady and Baxter have formed an Aspiring entrepreneurs in the organizing committee and are in the Upstate will have an opportunity next process of seeking out sponsorships, month to turn their startup business coaches, judges and possibly a promiideas into real ventures in just 54 hours. nent entrepreneur from Spartanburg For the second time, Startup to serve as a keynote speaker.

Weekend, a three-day entrepreneurial They said their goal is to have 100 experience that allows participants to entrepreneurs signed up to participate pitch their ideas, vote for the best ones in the event. and then work with a team under the The judges so far include Elizabeth tutelage of a business coach to create a Smith, area manager of the Spartanburg new venture, is coming to Spartanburg.

Small Business Development Center, Startup Weekend Spartanburg will and Spartanburg entrepreneur John be held Feb. 24–26 at the University of Bauknight.

South Carolina Upstate’s George Dean Coaches committed to participating Johnson Jr. College of Business and as of Friday include Keith Shields and Economics, nicknamed “The George,” Josh Tucker, who are partners at the at 160 E. St. John St. in downtown.

Greenville-based software development “We’re very excited about it,” said company Designli; design strategist Brian Brady, director of the GreenDrew Stanley; Gil Vassoly, executive House Business Incubator at The vice president and chief operations and George. “When I started [at the Greenfinancial officer at Spartanburg-based House in mid-2016], this was one of Gibbs International; Katherine Wakethe things I wanted to do … We’re really field, a teacher and head of the all-womhoping to pull in entrepreneurs from en coding group Web Code Chicks; and across the Upstate, not just SpartanAlexandra Eby, a leadership and orgaburg.” nizational development specialist.

The last Startup Weekend was held Platinum sponsors include Spartanat The Iron Yard in downtown in 2014. burg-based American Credit AccepFounded in 2007, Startup Weekend is tance and The George. The Spartanburg a Seattle-based nonprofit and has Area Chamber of Commerce is a gold become a global phenomenon. sponsor, and the S.C. Research AuthorBrady said the upcoming Startup ity is a silver sponsor.

Weekend is a new effort that grew out “Startup Weekend completely of his friendship with Parker Baxter, a changed the way I think and interact tire design engineering manager for with people,” Baxter said. “It’s a great Greenville-based Michelin North opportunity to learn about what it takes America. to be an entrepreneur … The entrepreHe and Baxter met at OpenWorks, neurial spirit is alive and well in Spara co-work space in downtown Greentanburg. We’re very excited.” ville. Baxter previously participated in Brady said the event is open to ena Startup Weekend in Greenville and trepreneurs of all ages. It’s also open to visited another in Columbia. business ideas that are both “tech,” or “We kicked around the idea,” Brady related to technology, and “non-tech.” said. “We wanted to do something that There is no theme for the event, he said. would highlight what’s going in SparBrady and Baxter said they hope to tanburg and at the GreenHouse. We make Startup Weekend Spartanburg an annual event.

ENGAGE Participants will be able to share photos, video and other Startup Weekend FEB posts via social media by using George Dean Johnson Jr. the hashtag #SWSpartanCollege of Business and burg17.

TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

tanderson@communityjournals.com

24-26

Economics, USC-Upstate $20-$75 bit.ly/startup-weekend-spartanburg

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INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

| FINANCE | 13

Carolina Alliance Bank hopes to form holding company TREVOR ANDERSON | STAFF

tanderson@communityjournals.com Spartanburg-based Carolina Alliance Bank announced last Thursday it plans to form a holding company yet to be named.

The bank said its board has approved the proposal, which has yet to be approved by its regulators and shareholders.

As part of the proposal, Carolina Alliance announced the transition of its current CEO and founder John Poole to the chief executive role of the proposed holding company and as a senior advisor to the bank’s board during the months leading up to the formation of the holding company.

John Kimberly, who became president of the bank after its merger with Forest Commercial Bank in 2014, will become president and CEO of Carolina Alliance.

“We believe this new corporate structure will provide added financial and operational flexibility for Carolina Alliance and is an integral step in the continued growth of the

company,” said Terry Cash, chairman of Carolina Alliance, in a statement.

Poole, a veteran community banker, left his position as president and CEO of the Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce to partner with the late Robert Harley and Marsha Gibbs to start Carolina Alliance.

The bank began its initial public stock offering in September 2006 and received its state charter in January 2007.

Poole said he remembers working on folding tables at Spartanburg developer Andrew Babb’s office off South Pine Street at first. The bank then moved into a trailer at 102 W. Henry St. while its permanent corporate headquarters was under construction at the corner of Kennedy and South Church streets.

“Most of the banks in the state have a holding company. Many set them up when they’re first starting out,” Poole said. “It’s more expensive … We said, ‘Until we need it, we’re not going to do it now.’ We’re big enough now.

It’s necessary for us to do it in order

John Kimberly

to do some things that we want to do in the future.”

After the bank’s merger with Forest Commercial, it merged with PBSC Financial Corp., the parent company of Pinnacle Bank of South Carolina.

The deal was completed in October 2015.

Today, Carolina Alliance’s operations include seven branches in the Upstate, Western North Carolina and Charlotte, N.C., as well as leasing operations in both North and South Carolina.

“It’s very rewarding to our board and to me to see the way our model has grown and the way our team has come together to do some wonderful

r e t n i W rée i o S lub

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John Poole

things,” Poole said. "This is just the first step in something we think is going to be a good thing for the bank.”

The bank said its shareholders should receive a proxy statement that will include the proposal for the formation of the holding company in the mail during the second quarter.

Its annual meeting will be held sometime in May. Carolina Alliance said the proposal would not change its status as a community bank. It will continue to be managed by its current board and its headquarters will remain in Spartanburg.

“This is an exciting time for Carolina Alliance Bank,” Kimberly said in a statement. “Within the past three years, we have successfully brought together three community banks and a leasing company. We have a very capable and talented team, and I look forward to the future of Carolina Alliance.”

For more information, visit carolinaalliancebank.com.

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14 | COVER |

PROTERRA

$140M INVESTMENT TOPS OFF PROTERRA’S CHARGE WILL THE COMPANY’S ELECTRIC BUSES SOON TAKE TO THE STREETS OF GREENVILLE? RUDOLPH BELL |CONTRIBUTOR

rbell@communityjournals.com WILL CROOKS PHOTOS

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upstatebusinessjournal.com

Proterra, the manufacturer of battery-powered transit buses with a factory in Greenville, has secured its biggest single cash infusion from investors, $140 MILLION, and the Clemsonarea bus system and a Michelin test track in Laurens County played a role.

Proterra said it would use the money to accelerate manufacturing, including a tripling of production at its factory along Interstate 85 in Greenville.

The new funding brings the total amount of money Proterra has secured from investors to $290 million.

Ryan Popple, Proterra’s CEO, said the company had initially aimed to raise $30 to $50 million in its fifth funding round, but investor interest exceeded expectations after Proterra sold more than twice what the company had targeted to sell last year.

In addition, Popple said, investors were impressed when Proterra announced that its 40-foot bus had been driven more than 600 miles on a single charge at Michelin North America’s test track in Laurens. That’s evidence that Proterra buses have enough range to serve virtually any transit route in the United States, he said.

Also helpful in raising the money, Popple said, were conversations between potential investors and Proterra’s existing customers, including the Clemson-area bus system, Clemson Area Transit, which operates six Proterra buses in Seneca.

Popple said Proterra still plans an initial public offering of stock, but no longer views an IPO as necessary to its financing.

“We raised so much capital in this round, if PROTERRA continued on PAGE 16

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PROTERRA

PROTERRA continued from PAGE 15

the board of directors decides to take the company public, they can do so based on market conditions as opposed to needing to do it to finance the company,” Popple said.

Eric McCarthy, Proterra’s Greenville-based general counsel and vice president of government relations, said Proterra made about 35 buses in Greenville last year and expects to make about 100 in 2017.

The Greenville factory will manufacture a majority of Proterra’s current backlog of about 230 buses, he said.

McCarthy said Proterra plans to add about 25 people to its existing Greenville workforce of about 160.

Proterra said its latest round of investor funding was led by an undisclosed investor who contributed $40 million.

Other funding came from “several new investors,” Proterra said, and existing board-level investors, which include Kleiner Perkins, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of General Motors Corp.

Proterra said it would use the money

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Proterra expects to make 100 buses in Greenville this year.

to launch manufacturing at a previously announced factory in Los Angeles County, Calif., in addition to boosting production in Greenville.

“Proterra will hire key personnel in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and Green-

ville to support production growth, as well as implement new manufacturing equipment and systems,” the company said in a news release.

Proterra moved to Greenville from Golden, Colo., as a startup company in

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2010, and later relocated its headquarters to Burlingame, Calif., in the San Francisco area.

The company initially bought battery systems for its buses from a vendor, but began making them itself in Burlingame last year.

So far, Proterra’s customer base does not include Greenlink, Greenville’s bus system, but that could change soon.

Gary Shepard, transportation director for the city of Greenville, said Greenlink plans to use $300,000 appropriated by the state Legislature as a “local match” to buy a battery-powered bus from Proterra or another manufacturer.

Greenlink hopes to secure additional money for the bus through a Federal Transit Administration program designed to promote low-emission or no-emission vehicles, Shepard said.

Shepard said he recently talked to Popple about how Greenlink and Proterra can work together.

The cooperation could include Proterra helping Greenlink apply for federal grant money and Greenlink letting the company uses its routes to test new vehicles, he said.

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PROTERRA

| COVER | 17

THE PROTERRA ERA 2004 2013 Proterra is founded in Golden, Colo., by inventor and entrepreneur Dale Hill.

Garrett Mikita, a former Honeywell Aerospace executive, is announced as CEO to replace Bennett.

2009

Investors, including Constellation and Edison Energy, put another $24 million into the company.

Foothill Transit of Los Angeles County, Calif., becomes the first customer when it orders three buses.

2010 Plans announced to build a $30 million, 1,300-worker plant at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville.

Manufacturing begins at the former Orders Distributing Co. warehouse along Interstate 85 in Greenville, which is supposed to be a temporary location. The city of Greenville pays $271,350 to cover the first year’s lease.

Proterra hits a financial crisis and stops paying vendors after the Securities and Exchange Commission takes action against key investor, Michael Kenwood Group of Connecticut, and freezes its assets.

2011 U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood compliments Proterra during visit to the Greenville plant with Peter Rogoff, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, which funds the transit agencies that are Proterra’s main customer base.

Proterra is rescued with a $30 million cash infusion from a group of investors, including Kleiner Perkins, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of General Motors.

David Bennett, a former Eaton Corp. executive, announced as CEO to replace Jeff Granato. Bennett says Proterra has put off plans to build a plant at ICAR. City of Seneca says it will buy at least five Proterra buses, using a $4.1 million federal grant and $2 million from the Southern Co.

2014 Ryan Popple, a former Kleiner Perkins partner and Tesla executive, is announced as CEO to replace Mikita.

Investors put another $30 million-plus into the company.

King County Metro in Seattle buys two buses in a deal that includes an option for up to 200 more.

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2015 Plans announced for a second assembly line in Los Angeles County, Calif., with the help of a $3 million grant from the state of California.

Foothill Transit orders 13 more buses, its fourth order in five years.

Investors put another $30 million into the company, and Proterra borrows $25 million more.

Headquarters relocated from Greenville to Burlingame, Calif., in the San Francisco area.

2016 A Proterra bus is driven more than 600 miles on a single charge at Michelin North America’s test track in Laurens County. Proterra says its buses can now meet the needs of almost every U.S. transit route.

JLL, a real estate services firm, leases 10 buses to provide transit service between commuter train stations in Chicago and two towers it manages.

2017 Another $140 million in investor funding announced. The money will be used to accelerate manufacturing, including a tripling of production in Greenville.

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REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION

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1.13.2017

DAVID DYKES | STAFF ddykes@communityjournals.com Johnston Design Group

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Design panel gives preliminary OK to Hayne School plan A city panel tentatively approved a conceptual master plan to develop the historic Hayne School into condominiums and add townhomes to the sides and rear of the property.

The neighborhood design panel of the City of Greenville’s Design Review Board on Jan. 5 approved the master plan, which includes renovating the existing building.

The action was subject to final approval by the DRB of site and building details.

Babcock Investment Company’s plan would convert the school on Toy Street into 14 condominiums, including a penthouse addition, according to Helen Mittelstadt, a Johnston Design Group architect working on the project.

The plan also calls for construction of 18 townhomes on the sides and rear of the property and a pocket park in the middle.

No one opposed the master plan at

the design panel’s meeting.

The project also needs city Planning Commission approval.

SC Telco Federal Credit Union owns the property and had its office there.

At a DRB meeting Dec.1, the board tabled consideration of the master plan and designated two members to meet with the project design team.

Revised drawings were submitted in mid-December, based on comments shared at the hearing.

The revisions included changes to the roof design, removal of the reverse angled parking spaces on Toy Street and reconfiguration of the site to add a fire-access route.

Two on-site surface parking spaces were added. The number of units remained the same, although some might be reduced in size.

The property is in the Pettigru Historic District, the city’s largest such district. The school, built in 1919, was >>

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In business, we spend the majority of our time thinking about sales and ways to increase growth. We invest in marketing and brand development.

We work on procedures for onboarding clients and develop strategies to consistently grow the bottom line.

We don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what to do when the client leaves.

Whether a client leaves because of cash flow issues, service issues, or they just want to try something different, all businesses have the responsibility to handle this transition well. I encourage all business owners to focus not just on the business coming in, but also on ensuring that the proper processes are in place when a client ends the business relationship.

• Review your contract. Both parties should be familiar with the termination clauses and understand their responsibilities. Make sure you understand their specific contract and remind the client of some of the important details.

• Over-communicate. When a client leaves, it is important that you communicate appropriately whether by phone, via email, or in person. Follow up with written communication about the transition process and contractual obligations.

• Perform an exit interview. When you first hear the news that a client is leaving, you may be speechless, emotional and angry. But once you have had time to take a deep breath, it is important to understand why.

• Apologize for any errors. If you learn that service was an issue, do not get defensive, but instead apologize. Determine together if there is a solution that can be made other than termination.

• DO take it personally. Leave your ego behind and take advantage of this chance to learn at both a personal and organizational level.

• Ask for referrals. A client may be leaving for reasons beyond your control and may have had a positive experience with your company. Use this time as an opportunity to ask for new business contacts.

• Leave the door open. Believe me, there is no better call than when an old client asks if the door is still open for their business.

If you handle the termination process with integrity and treat the client with respect, you can ensure that if the grass is not greener elsewhere, they will come back to you.

• Remember the Golden Rule. We have all been on the other side and have had to end relationships for different reasons. Always treat the client in the way that you would want to be treated.

Nobody wants to lose a client, but in the real world, this is an inevitability that all businesses face. Make the break up as pleasant as possible and whatever you do, don’t burn your bridges and destroy the connection or worse, your reputation. Consider the experience a growth opportunity and embrace the possibilities to better your organization.

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>> one of the major building projects of J.L. Mann, superintendent of the Greenville County School District, said Greenville historian Judy Bainbridge. It is named after P.T. Hayne, longtime chairman of the school district’s board of trustees who started one of Greenville’s first lending libraries in downtown for young men.

The school was built to serve the Boyce Lawn district, which was one of the city’s most elite residential areas in the 1890s, Bainbridge said.

The school closed in 1970.

REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION

| SQUARE FEET | 19

Townhome projects move forward DAVID DYKES | STAFF

ddykes@communityjournals.com A city panel tentatively approved a conceptual master plan to develop the Developers propose 78 townhome lots on Rocky Slope Road at Hollingsworth Park and 16 townhomes on West Stone Avenue in downtown Greenville, according to plans reviewed by city officials.

The Neighborhood Design Panel of the city’s Design Review Board on Jan. 5 held informal reviews of the projects, which also must be reviewed by the city Planning Commission.

Both projects received positive comments from panel members.

Shouse Development Corp. plans three-bedroom townhomes on nearly 9 acres on Rocky Slope. The preliminary landscape plan identifies the project as the Chelsea Townhomes at Hollingsworth Park.

Meanwhile, Southern Investment & Development proposes 16 townhomes one block west of Main Street and Stone Avenue.

The brick townhomes — called Westone Station — will offer outdoor living spaces, gourmet kitchens and a three-car garage option, according to Southern officials.

Carriage homes will be priced from the high $200,000s and manor homes will start in the low $400,000s, the officials

said.

With Planning Commission approval and pre-sales between January and March, Southern hopes to break ground in April for a fall 2017 delivery, said Christopher Laney, Southern’s managing partner.

The townhomes will adjoin a commercial development of retail, restaurant and office space, including a second location of Coffee Underground.

“Our intention of the project is to create a walkable urban community that fits within the Stone Avenue master plan,” Laney said.

For more information, go to WestoneStation.com.

Former Caterpillar plant in Fountain Inn sold DAVID DYKES | STAFF

ddykes@communityjournals.com An investors group has purchased a 203,000-square-foot industrial building in Fountain Inn that once housed a Caterpillar Inc. plant.

Terms weren’t disclosed.

Southchase Investors 107 LLC purchased the building on about 26 acres at 107 Southchase Blvd., according to NAI Earle Furman’s Hunter Garrett, John Staunton and Tom Daniel, who represented the buyer.

Manufacturing users are looking

at the building but no lease has been signed, Garrett said. "But we're working towards it," he said.

The seller, Caterpillar, was represented by Charlie Whitmire of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer.

The property is located in Southchase

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Caterpillar said in April 2014 it would close its Fountain Inn plant and shift production of its marine and midrange engines to facilities in Georgia and Texas.

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1.13.2017

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NEWS AND TIPS FOR YOUR PERSONAL BOT TOM LINE

| YOUR MONEY | 21

Cover Your Assets Don’t forget to adjust personal insurance based on wealth needs

By WES BOYCE Vice President, Nachman Norwood & Parrott

PERSPECTIVES This is the third column in a three-part series called “Perspectives.” In this series, the Nachman Norwood & Parrott team and other professionals share insights — some unexpected — that can impact overall wealth management.

Insurance, by definition, is all about managing and protecting against risk. Successful people are usually vigilant in making certain their businesses are adequately insured against risk.

These same people, who are typically very busy and leading full lives, often put off addressing their personal insurance needs by saying, “I’ll get to that another day.” In addition to this unintentional procrastination, our team has also found that high-net-worth individuals have a tendency to underestimate their need for insurance.

In this, our third and final installment of a series of columns on the importance of a wider perspective when investment planning, we wanted to share some insights on how insurance plays a key role in wealth management. Recent years have revealed a curious trend of high-net-worth individuals who neglect to revise or adjust their insurance as their wealth grows, according to local insurance broker Howard Einstein. A lack of planning in this area, while typically not an issue in the present, can create significantly more headaches, and potential financial loss, later in life.

We view insurance as a vital tool in the management and preservation of wealth. Insurance not only protects you while you are alive, but it protects your assets for your family and their future. Risks like loss of income, longevity, disability and death can all be better planned for with the use of insurance as an integrated, not separate, part of your investment plan.

We work with professionals to help our clients regularly evaluate whether their insurance coverage aligns with their wealth. But there are two types of insurance in particular, life insurance and long-term care insurance, that people must consider specifically to protect their own personal wealth and to make sure they and their loved ones will have sufficient care.

Life insurance is the first priority. “People often regret not having life insurance, especially as their

A lack of planning in the insurance area, while typically not an issue in the present, can create significantly more headaches, and potential financial loss, later in life. health changes or their spouse passes away,” says Einstein, principal at Rosenfeld Einstein and veteran of the insurance industry. “People find they are not able to maintain their income following the death of a spouse and often fall into debt.”

Einstein advises people to consider how much insurance they think they might need, at least partially based on how much their net worth has increased over the years. It is also important to consider any changes in their health and how their ability to generate income would change due to the death of a spouse.

Long-term care insurance is also an important consideration when making long-term investment plans. High-net-worth individuals sometimes underestimate the impact of longevity risk to their assets and estate. Einstein recommends that everyone have long-term care insurance. Long-term care insurance, purchased at the same rate as life insurance, can protect your income when you’re not working and can help protect your estate.

It is also important to know that in the near future, long-term care insurance may be impossible to purchase. People are living longer and

many insurance companies are losing money on the coverage. Today, only a few companies sell it, and that number could further decrease. If you are concerned about protecting yourself against longevity risk, consider purchasing long-term care insurance sooner than later.

At NNP, we believe a well-rounded financial planning strategy benefits from the perspectives of professionals in their respective fields. We know that people are balancing life and work every day, and planning for the financial impact of future life events can take a back seat. We hope the perspectives shared in this series of columns has helped you clarify your plans so that you can enjoy life to its fullest.

For more on “Perspectives,” visit nnpwealth.com.

Wes Boyce is vice president for Nachman Norwood & Parrott and has more than 18 years of financial industry experience. Wes is a Certified Financial Planner professional and a member of the Greenville Estate Planning Council.

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MOVERS, SHAKERS AND DISRUP TORS SHAPING OUR FUTURE

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Healing Gets Personal The rise of precision health care shows that one cure might not fit all

By BLAINE CHILDRESS Science Fellow, Sealed Air Corp.

Vice President, InnoVision

I’m different. And so are you.

We enjoy our uniqueness. Some outwardly express their individual style with fashion or hair color.

Health care, however, tends to treat us as one population using clinical study averages and symptoms. Your physician may know your first name and recent medical history, but then recommend a generic treatment. Such a therapeutic response may produce disappointing results, or worse, unintended consequences such as an adverse drug reaction. If one cholesterol medication does not work, another is chosen. If a tumor is found and the first chemotherapeutic agent doesn’t work, doctors and patients move on to the next one — an unfair exaggeration, perhaps, but nevertheless imprecise trial and error.

Personalized care, on the other hand, recognizes that every patient has a unique genetic profile and physiology, and deserves a treatment strategy that reflects individuality. In the case of pharmaceuticals, it recognizes that the right person should receive the right drug, at the right time and in the right dosage. Precision matching is important since about half of existing prescriptions do not work, causing frustration, continued illness and lost time and money. Individual care is also important, because precision medicine is growing at about 13-15 percent annually. It is big business, expected to exceed $45 billion in four years, mostly in specialized diagnostics, individually crafted biomedical devices and tailored prescriptions.

DEFINED Pharmacogenomics: The study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs.

Biomarkers: An observable, measurable biological indicator of a specific phenomenon or condition.

Proteomics: The large-scale study of proteins — considered to be the next step in the study of biological systems.

Genomic profiling: A laboratory method to learn all about the genes in a person, knowledge that can be used to discover why a person would get a certain disease, or how he or she might respond to a drug.

With health care, every second counts and costs.

It is estimated precision health care could save $750 billion every year.

It is growing rapidly, because human genome sequencing is about 300,000 times less expensive than it was 15 years ago.

This medical strategy uses molecular biology technologies such as pharmacogenomics, biomarkers, proteomics and genomic profiling to provide a precise diagnosis. It increasingly relies on “big data” to shrink analyses from days to seconds.

With health care, every second counts and costs.

It is estimated precision health care could save $750 billion every year. It is growing rapidly, because human genome sequencing is about 300,000 times less expensive than it was 15 years ago.

Pharmacogenomics is a class of precision medicine that employs biomarkers to provide a sort of designer drug. Genetic tests and protein classifications can help determine a tailored drug treatment. More than 100 drugs are classified with respect to biomarkers that may be linked to segments of one’s own genetic material.

In the case of anticoagulants, the goal is to prescribe a dosage that could prevent internal clotting but not result in hemorrhaging. Typically, a person’s weight and age are considered, but genomic testing now offers the possibility of targeted treatment. Using a blood sample or cells swabbed from the cheek, a genomic report can provide a better determination of a safe, effective treatment, instead of beginning with an assumed dosage of a medication like Warfarin. While still in development, targeted prescriptions will soon become the standard tool of physicians.

Our local community is engaged. In 2015, Greenville Health System partnered with Selah Genomics to develop advanced diagnostic testing, thereby helping clinicians identify key genetic biomarkers. A molecular profile is made available

to the clinical team through a protected web portal, with the aim of precise tissue classification and cancer type. According to Selah, individual profiling can assist practitioners by providing an understanding of how a person metabolizes a candidate drug and how they may respond to it.

In the case of tumors in the colon, breast or lung tissues, the output from Selah’s PrecisionPath technology can guide the patient and oncologist to the most effective individual treatment. This leading-edge technology is anticipated to serve as an important component of the upcoming Innovations in Medical Economic Development (IMED) vision. IMED campus is a bold research initiative that promises new high-knowledge jobs for the region (think ICAR).

Genomic data is the epicenter of personalized medicine. It is spawning innovations that may transform how we prevent and approach illnesses.

New challenges are attached to such big data sciences, especially privacy and ownership. But the breakthroughs will be transformative, and the expectation is that the individual is the rightful owner of data about her or his genetic makeup instead of the lab or physician. It is our personal trade secret.

If you get sick, knowing your molecular makeup can become the lens through which a personal treatment pathway is charted. Lifestyle, age and fitness all influence the clinical response to medication, but so do genes. Precision health care is here, because average just isn’t good enough.

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THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF BUSINESS

| DIGITAL MAVEN | 23

AI Breakthroughs How natural-language apps may change business in 2017

By LAURA HAIGHT president, portfoliosc.com

Big

data,

smart

data,

data-driven

decision-making — 2016 inundated us with an unrelenting barrage of these and other business buzzwords. And yet, how many of us really understand or effectively use the data at our disposal? Why is that?

Analysts suggest the majority of us are “data illiterate.” Take umbrage with that? Consider Microsoft Excel. An incredibly powerful data analysis tool, Excel is a mystery to most users, who pretty much stick to rudimentary math functions.

Alexa and Google Home, and there’s a good chance that you had an NLP device under the tree this season.

In 2015, Digital Maven readers (goo.gl/kyn0Sq) got a look at how NLG was changing communications with algorithms generating everything from media and newspaper articles on sports and business quarterly reports to marketing firms’ client results.

Large enterprises are exploring ways to enhance sales, supply chain management, forecasting, health services and electronic medical records integration and more. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways for smaller businesses to get on the bandwagon and make better use of data in sales, business intelligence and customer service.

The depth of data now being developed calls for a significant level of data literacy to make sense — not just of the top layers, but the complexity that’s deep under the covers.

Enter natural language processing (NLP) and generation (NLG).

Marketers will recognize the challenge of providing detailed metrics about hits, trackbacks, pingbacks, likes and follows, comments and shares to business executives who casually glance at analytic reports and ask, “What does this all mean?”

And there lies the problem: an effusion of data, a dearth of analytical interest or skill.

For years, organizations have been exploring ways to make data more palatable, like infographics and other forms of visualization. (See some great examples at informationisbeautiful.net including this one on data breaches: goo.gl/a0pGe.) But the depth of data now being developed calls for a significant level of data literacy to make sense — not just of the top layers, but the complexity that’s deep under the covers.

Enter natural language processing (NLP) and generation (NLG). No, these aren’t new technologies, but they are looking to have a breakthrough year in 2017.

Both NLG and NLP are subsets of artificial intelligence. They are the science behind Siri, Cortana,

Here are a few: • Publish more, quickly. Automated Insights is an NLG provider that turns your structured data into natural language content. Everyone has some structured data. For example, a retail store maintains a customer database, sales database and inventory tracking system. AI (goo.gl/pdmqIz) can connect your customers’ purchases to inventory and send an email when a favorite designer has a new item. Another example: using the online service Zapier to connect one application to another, such as automatically updating your website with new product summaries and content written via NLG. • Customer service chatbots. Chatbots are conversational agent programs that are designed to simulate an intelligent conversation utilizing data across multiple platforms. They are a great way to communicate with mobile millennials or anyone who communicates most frequently on a mobile device.

The idea of “checking our website” or “filling out our

form” will fall to the power for the NLG/NLP-powered chatbot. During the election, the New York Times used a chatbot on Facebook Messenger to answer questions and provide updates on news of the day.

Bank of America and Mastercard started using chatbots in October to answer questions from customers about their financial accounts, initiate transactions and get financial advice via text messages or services like Facebook Messenger and Amazon’s Alexa.

If you’re thinking about the annoying interactive voice response that you get when you call the cable company, think again. These are far more normal conversations that allow you to interact as a regular person would with a bot that can process and respond to unscripted responses. It’s several steps removed from the IVR programmed script and the endless loops that leave you screaming “representative!” into the phone.

• Communicate results. We started with the idea of data literacy. Most of us don’t have it, but we have enormous amounts of information. Unfortunately, we often lack the tools, time or skills to really understand what it means. So often analytic reports are dry recitations of statistics that don’t get past the “what” to the “why” or the “what now.” Quill via Narrative Science, or Wordsmith from Automated Insights, both have off-the-shelf tools to turn data reports into predictive and advisory tools.

Narrative Science (goo.gl/kTcUh8) describes NLG as the “voice of the machine.” Using the tools in the artificial intelligence toolbox, NLG gathers information to provide situational analysis, like how your website did last month. Then it layers on predictive analysis by looking at past data to develop projections.

And, finally, using those projections it can provide advice on attaining a set of goals. The analysis is produced nearly instantly in written reports that are indistinguishable from what a person might produce if they a) had the skill to make the determinations, b) the time to work on it and c) the communication skill to articulate it.

What’s on the horizon is even cooler and more important to a lot of businesses: unstructured data.

For most businesses, this is where most of the information is. It’s Facebook posts, tweets, emails, online reviews and customer service calls. Who is going to make sense of those? Some analysts see 2017 as the year that NLG and AI start to plumb the depths of that data. Look for automated analysis of social media channels or customer service calls that can quickly answer the eternal question: “What do our customers want?”

And these tools won't just be the provinces of enterprise-class businesses. They will be accessible (just as NGL and NGP are now) to small and medium-sized businesses through cloud service providers.

Could be an interesting year. And, no, NLG was not used in the creation of this column.

24 | ON THE MOVE |

UBJ

PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS

HIRED

HIRED

HIRED

HIRED

MARY ALLISON ZIMMERMAN

ANASTASIA NEESE

DONNELL DRUMMOND

MONICA ESLICK

Joined T&S Brass and Bronze Works in the role of marketing product analyst.

She comes to T&S with more than 15 years of experience in analytics and marketing, including several years in the plumbing industry.

Named CRA mortgage loan originator with United Community Mortgage Services. Drummond has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, specifically in affordable housing lending and corporate banking.

Joined Greyrock Accounting as a senior accountant. She is originally from WilkesBarre, Pa., and comes to Greyrock with years of experience from Erwin Penland.

Joined Wilson Associates Real Estate as Realtor associate. A seventhgeneration Greenvillian, Zimmerman has strong ties to the Upstate commercial and residential real estate markets.

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1.13.2017

PROMOTED

TIFFANY TATE Named assistant director at Ten at the Top, a nonprofit organization promoting collaboration and strategic planning across the Upstate.

She has served in the position of program manager since joining TATT in October 2014.

HUMAN RESOURCES

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

Donnie Brown of Tindall Corporation was recognized at the 2016 Southern Association of Colleges and Employers Inc. conference with the Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award. Brown has more than 40 years of professional experience in human resources. He served in Tindall’s human resources department for more than 15 years and holds several industry certifications.

Better Business Bureau awarded Corley Plumbing Air Electric with the BBB Applause Award for exceeding advertising standards. Each quarter BBB’s Local Advertising Review Program recognizes a business in the Upstate for adhering to the BBB code of advertising guidelines.

MARKETING Infinity Marketing was recently named in the Grant Thornton Top 100 Private Companies in South Carolina. Within the list, Infinity was ranked 57th among companies with revenue ranging from $50 million to $99 million and is one of the highest ranked advertising firms. Requirements for inclusion include being headquarted in South Carolina, and ranking is based on annual revenue.

RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES For the second consecutive year, Haywood Estates was recognized by SeniorAdvisor.com as part of the “Best of 2017 Awards.” The local senior living community was honored for receiving consistently high ratings from residents and their families throughout 2016. To qualify for a Best of 2017 Award, winning communities must offer either assisted living, Alzheimer’s care, independent living, low-income senior housing, skilled nursing or in-home care in the United States or Canada, and have maintained an average overall rating of at least 4.5 stars and have received three or more new reviews within 2016.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce has recently added three new members to their team, Shauna Axelrod, information specialist; Leah Robinson, director of member experiences; and Brooke Robertson, director of marketing. Axelrod is a native of Spartanburg and has recently moved back to Spartanburg after living in New York City for four years and working at Creative Artist Agency. Robinson has a decade of experience with a background in marketing, staffing, account management, consulting and sales. Most recently, she was a regional field representative for the National Federation Of Independent Business. Robertson is a native of Spartanburg County and received her bachelor’s degree in graphic design and fine arts at USC Upstate and holds more than a decade of graphic design and marketing experience.

CONTRIBUTE: New hires, promotions & award winners may be featured in On the Move.

Send information and photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com.

1.13.2017

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BUSINESS BRIEFS YOU CAN’ T MISS

| THE FINE PRINT / NEW TO THE STREET | 25

Open for business 1

1. Upstate Wealth Management recently opened its downtown office in the historic Greenville Symphony Building in the Court Square area on Main Street. To learn more, visit upstatewealth.com.

2. Generation Chiropractic recently opened at 579 Haywood Road in Greenville. Learn more at gogenerationchiropractic.com.

Photos provided

2

CONTRIBUTE: Know of a business opening soon?

Email information to aturner@communityjournals.com.

Foreign Translations named one of the ‘Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America’ Foreign Translations was recently recognized as one of the “Best Entrepreneurial Companies in America” by Entrepreneur magazine’s Entrepreneur 360 List, the most comprehensive analysis of private companies in America.

Honorees were identified based on the results from a comprehensive study of independently owned companies, using a proprietary algorithm and other advanced analytics. The algorithm was built on a balanced scorecard designed to measure four metrics reflecting major pillars of entrepreneurship — innovation, growth, leadership and impact.

Based on this study, Foreign Translations is recognized as a well-rounded company that has mastered a balance of impact, innovation, growth and leadership.

To learn more about Foreign Translations, visit www.ForeignTranslations.com.

Forum joins with 23 financial services companies to form Alera Group Forum has joined 23 other entrepreneurial insurance and financial services companies across the United States to form Alera Group, an employee benefits, property/casualty, risk management and wealth management firm with approximately $158 million in revenue. The new firm has more than 750 employees serving more than 20,000 clients in 40 U.S.-based offices across 15 states. Forum remains committed to helping clients control health care costs, create and execute the most effective benefit plans, stay compliant with regulatory changes and stay ahead of trends in the industry, now with an extensive network of national resources and thought leadership. Forum employees and advisors will continue to operate as Forum out of the firm’s existing offices in Greenville and Mount Pleasant. It will continue to be led by its founder, Brian Stritt.

“Purveyors of Classic American Style” 864.232.2761 | rushwilson.com 23 West North St. | Downtown Greenville

26 | #TRENDING |

UBJ

INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

OVERHEARD @ THE WATERCOOLER JANUARY 6, 2017

| VOL. 6 ISSUE 1

>Sally Eastman “Thank you, BMW!” >River Run Apartment Homes “We love being so close to BMW!”

RE: PROTERRA WILL USE $140 MILLION CASH INFUSION TO TRIPLE PRODUCTION IN GREENVILLE >John R. Hastings Sr. “But will Greenville ever buy any? Or have they already and I didn’t know?” >Kerry Lightner “Thank you, Proterra! City Council and GTA need to step up to the plate.”

RE: BO AUGHTRY REPLACED ON BOARD OF TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE BANK >Toni Clark “Why would they remove the only Upstate representative with a high percent of the tax money coming out of the Upstate? Bo Aughtry is a good man and would be great on the board and should not have been replaced.”

>> CONNECT WITH US We’re great at networking.

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@UPSTATEBIZ

1.13.2017

BIZ BUZZ

Distilled commentary from UBJ readers

RE: THE STATE OF BMW

|

BMW THE STATE OF AFFECT THE E? ICK IN U.S. SALES IN THE UPSTAT WILL A DOWNT ECONOMIC IMPACT AUTOMAKER’S

Photo by Will Crooks

DIGITAL FLIPBOOK ARCHIVE >> The layout of print meets the convenience of the Web. Flip through the digital editions of any of our print issues, and see them all in one place. >> upstatebusinessjournal. com/past-issues

The Top 5 stories from the past week ranked by shareability score

>> 94 1. Proterra will use $140 million cash infusion to triple production in Greenville

>> 92 2. The State of BMW

>> WEIGH IN @ THE UBJ EXCHANGE Got something to offer?

Get it off your chest.

We’re looking for expert guest bloggers from all industries to contribute to the UBJ Exchange. Send posts or blog ideas to mwillson@communityjournals.com

>Bruce Belfield “As a newcomer to the state, I have to wonder why S.C. has a Transportation Infrastructure Bank to begin with. Isn’t this organization just a political end-run around the majority of taxpayers who consistently resist increasing SCDOT-designated taxes?”

RE: COMPUTER DIRECT OUTLET UNVEILS WORLD’S FIRST ‘SUSTAINABLE’ COMPUTER >Mary Lu Saylor “Interesting concept.”

>> 33 3. Bo Aughtry replaced on board of Transportation Infrastructure Bank

>> 15 4. The Well: Older, but aging well, consultant says >> 10

5. Former Caterpillar plant in Fountain Inn sold

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1.13.2017

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DATE

EVENTS YOU SHOULD HAVE ON YOUR CALENDAR

EVENT INFO

WHERE DO I GO?

HOW DO I GO?

Coffee & Conversation with Jason Zacher

Upstate SC Alliance Office 124 Verdae Blvd., Suite 202 8–9 a.m.

Cost: Free, registration required by 1/16 For more information: bit.ly/2h0uWQL

Sales Roundtable: Gender Communication

Hyatt Place 40 W. Orchard Park Drive 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.

Cost: Free For more information: bit.ly/2j9hY17, Tripp James: 239-3728, tjames@greenvillechamber.org

Basic Small Business Start-Up

Tri-County Technical College 7900 US-76, Pendleton 5:30–8:30 p.m.

Cost: Free For more information: piedmontscore.org/workshops

Basic Small Business Start-Up

NEXT Innovation Center 411 University Ridge 6–8 p.m.

Cost: Free For more information: piedmontscore.org/workshops

Wednesday

1/18 Wednesday

1/18 Thursday

1/19 Tuesday

1/24

| PLANNER | 27

CONTRIBUTE: Got a hot date? Submit event information for consideration to events@upstatebusinessjournal.com.

DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & ACCOUNT STRATEGY Kate Madden

PRESIDENT/CEO

ART & PRODUCTION VISUAL DIRECTOR

Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com

Will Crooks

UBJ PUBLISHER

Bo Leslie | Tammy Smith

OPERATIONS

EDITOR

ADVERTISING DESIGN

MANAGING EDITOR

Jerry Salley jsalley@communityjournals.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Emily Pietras epietras@communityjournals.com

STAFF WRITERS

Trevor Anderson, David Dykes, Cindy Landrum, Andrew Moore, Ariel Turner

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rudolph Bell, Sherry Jackson, Melinda Young

MARKETING & ADVERTISING SALES REPRESENTATIVES Nicole Greer, Donna Johnston, Annie Langston, Lindsay Oehmen, Emily Yepes

UBJ milestone jackson Marketing Group’s 25 Years 1988 Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport

1988

Holly Hardin

1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993

1990 Jackson Dawson acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.

>>

with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.”

In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.”

Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning.

The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet.

Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s

Chairman larry Jackson, Jackson marketing Group. Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff

Jackson Marketing Group celebrates 25 years By sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com

Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.

Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during

Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood.

He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit.

After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980.

In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he

learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage.

In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar.

“Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said.

Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders

>>

2003 motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space

1998 1998 Jackson Dawson moves to task industrial Court

also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design.

Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series.

“In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.”

Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept

2009 Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson marketing Group when larry sells his partnership in Detroit and lA 2003

2009-2012 Jackson marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB magazine 4 years running

him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-prof non-profits. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award.

The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family.

As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business.

“From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.”

Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”

2011 Jackson marketing Group/Jackson motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people

2008 2012 Jackson marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative spirit Award

pro-bono/non-proFit / Clients lients American Red Cross of Western Carolinas Metropolitan Arts Council Artisphere Big League World Series The Wilds Advance SC South Carolina Charities, Inc. Aloft Hidden Treasure Christian School

CoMMUnitY nit inVolVeMent nitY in olV inV olVe VeMent & boarD positions lArry JACkson (ChAirmAn): Bob Jones University Board chairman, The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center board member, Gospel Fellowship Association board member, Past Greenville Area Development Corporation board member, Past Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Recruiting Committee member, Past Greenville Tech Foundation board member

JANUARY 27 QUARTERLY CRE ISSUE The state of commercial real estate in the Upstate.

David Jones (Vice President Client services, Chief marketing officer): Hands on Greenville board chairman mike Zeller (Vice President, Brand marketing): Artisphere Board, Metropolitan Arts Council Board, American Red Cross Board, Greenville Tech Foundation Board, South Carolina Chamber Board eric Jackson (Jackson motorsports Group sales specialist): Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board

November 1, 2013 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal 21

20 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal November 1, 2013

AS SEEN IN

NOVEMBER 1, 2013

Kristy Adair | Michael Allen

CLIENT SERVICES Anita Harley | Jane Rogers

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