Issuu

BEST ADVICE Mike Seekings, CARTA board chairman

PAGE 4 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 8 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM

Filling the gap

Lowcountry Graduate Center continues its mission of workforce development. Page 21

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APRIL 6 - 19, 2020 ■ $2.25

network

NEW NORMAL SPECIAL REPORT: Businesses across South Carolina quickly shift to new service models to keep customers and cash flowing as the global pandemic stretches across the state. Pages 13-20

SBDC offers guidance on loans to small businesses By Molly Hulsey

ore than half of 1,500 respondents in a recent Goldman Sachs survey expect their small business to survive three months or less under current circumstances, yet more than 67% don’t know how to access emergency funding. South Carolina small-business consultants say those numbers are even more dire in a state where 99.4% of all businesses are considered small enterprises, according to last year’s U.S. Small Business Administration report. The federal government’s $2 trillion stimulus bill, signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, offers a $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program for no-fee loans up to $10 million for small businesses, with a focus on those owned by minorities, women and veterans, or enterprises in rural areas,

Teacher transition

University of South Carolina recruiting professionals to teach in rural school districts. Page 22

Port property

Lowe to prepare part of Union Pier for sale, redevelopment. Page 8

Nuclear settlement Judge gives initial approval to Santee Cooper settlement agreement. Page 12

INSIDE

Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 Best Advice........................... 4 In Focus: Education and Workforce Development...................... 21 List: Colleges & Universities........................25 Bonus List: Computer Training Cos........................26 Viewpoint............................ 31

phoff@scbiznews.com

See SBA, Page 9

Reschedule or cancel? Events groups struggle through COVID By Shamira McCray

smccray@scbiznews.com

he new coronavirus has had a devastating impact on businesses such as Ooh Events owned by Lisa Thomas. Spring is always the company’s biggest season. Thomas runs a rental company and event planning service. The timing of the COVID19 outbreak has led to all of her April events

being canceled, and events planned for May are starting to cancel. But she hopes to maintain some of her May dates. With wedding season underway, Thomas said she has to think about what is best for her clients and come up with different options. “People are always still going to get married,” she said. “I started my business in 20089, which was not a good time. But people are still — they still want celebrations, you know,

especially during these times. We need things that lift us up and make us feel better.” Thomas said her clients just want to get married, and it is her company’s job to outline the best way for them to do that. Ooh Events has never experienced the type of impact that COVID-19 is having on businesses across the state and throughout See TOURISM, Page 6

Immersed in industry

Tri-county program gives educators opportunity to connect curricula with companies. Page 21

Upfront

BRIEFS | FACTS | STATEWIDE NEWS | BEST ADVICE

Unleashing the

national stockpile

he U.S. has a stockpile of material and medical equipment in case of an emergency, such as say a hurricane or even a global pandemic. The latest disaster has led the country to dip into the national stockpile for personal protective equipment and other medical needs. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reports the state has received the first of at least two waves of deliveries as counties try to navigate the COVID-19 outbreak.

Masks and gloves The national stockpile delivered several categories of supplies to South Carolina. During the COVID-19 outbreak, N95 masks, which remove 95% of particulate matter, and gloves have become much-needed items in short supply nationally. Here’s a breakdown of what several counties have received, sorted by the county’s share of the state’s population.

County

N95 masks

Gloves

% population

Greenville Richland Charleston Spartanburg Horry Lexington Anderson Berkeley Dorchester Sumter Orangeburg Kershaw

3,600 3,120 2,880 2,160 2,160 2,160 5,520 1,440 960 960 720 1,920

400 3,500 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,500 2,500 1,500 0 2,000 500 3,000

9.8% 8.3% 7.6% 6.1% 5.8% 5.7% 4.0% 3.8% 3.0% 2.3% 2.0% 1.3%

Source: S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control

ON THE

RECORD

First Wave N95 respirators

Surgical masks

Face shields

Surgical gowns

Gloves

39,840

155,500

16,412

15,054

38,900

N95 respirators

Surgical masks

Face shields

Surgical gowns

Gloves

5,250

29,000

3,900

2,106

10,000

Second Wave

Source: S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control

“If we experience the kind of population growth that we expect, we’re going to have to have smart, well-educated people to make sure that our, our community as a whole, stays healthy, and all of our natural resources are protected and safeguarded.” — Nancy Muller, director of the Lowcountry Graduate Center

WEBSITE: www.CharlestonBusiness.com

@CRBJ

@CRBJnews

facebook.com/CharlestonBusiness

April 6 - 19, 2020

www.charlestonbusiness.com 3

SC Biz News Briefs Galium Capital purchased 1333 Main St. in Columbia for $29.35 million. (Photo/File)

COLUMBIA

Columbia Regional Business Report

Miami-based private equity group acquires downtown Columbia building A Miami-based private equity group has acquired 1333 Main St., a 224,315-square-foot building in downtown Columbia’s central business district. Galium Capital LLC, which invests in and manages more than $350 million of commercial property in markets across the U.S., acquired the property for $29.35 million on Feb. 27. Building tenants include Ameris Bank and commercial real estate agency CBRE. “1333 Main is a premier office building in the heart of Main Street in an irreplaceable location in downtown Columbia,” Jonathan Slomianski, acquisitions associate at Galium Capital, said in a news release. “The asset is stabilized and consists of a diverse, high-credit tenant mix from both public and private sectors. We see strong potential for the building’s long-term performance as well as the growth of the downtown Columbia market, specifically on Main Street over time, and are excited about this latest acquisition.”

GREENVILLE

GSA Business Report

Greenville City Council approves budget, hospitality tax bonds for Unity Park Greenville City Council has approved the budget for Unity Park and the sale of hospitality tax bonds for the 60-acre project on the city’s west side. The bond transaction must be closed by April 16 to capitalize on interest rates, 20-year fixed at 1.71%, according to Beth Brotherton, city communications director. The bonds have no pre-payment penalty, allowing the city a measure of flexibility to terminate the project if conditions require it, she said in a news release. “City Council recognizes that one of the reasons we qualify for excellent bond rates is the outstanding performance of our hospitality industry and the thousands of dedicated workers that support this industry,” Brotherton said in the release. “While initial mobilization and underground work continues on site, the City Council will evaluate costs and pricing before moving into the next phase of construction. The appropriations ordinance ... was amended to require City Council approval of the guaranteed maximum price contract for the construction of Unity Park.” More than $6 million in private money has been raised for construction of the $41 million first phase of the park, scheduled to open in 2022.

With publications in Charleston, Columbia and the Upstate, as well as a statewide magazine, SC Biz News covers the pulse of business across South Carolina. Above are excerpts from our other publications.

VOLUME 23 NUMBER 5 ■ GSABUSINESS.COM

VOLUME 13 NUMBER 5 ■ COLUMBIABUSINESSREPORT.COM

Part of the

network

MARCH 16-APRIL 12, 2020 ■ $2.25 Participants in a pilot program of new initiative Crash Course Columbia weather the rain for a tour of Segra Park, home of the Columbia Fireflies. The quarterly program aims to attract and retain workforce talent by showing off Columbia’s growing cultural scene and emphasizing area development. (Photo/Forrest Clonts)

Beer on tap

Delaware brewery plans to open location in BullStreet District in 2021. Page 9

Two decades of working together The Upstate SC Alliance celebrates 20 years of regional cooperation. Page 6

Health merger

CEOs reach for hammer and saw

Prisma Health acquires two health systems operating in the Midlands. Page 12

BEHIND THE CITY SCENES Solar powered

Worksforce surges by 10% in solar energy for the Palmetto State. Page 14

INSIDE Upfront ................................ 2 SC Biz News Briefs ................ 4 In Focus: Education and Workforce .......................... 15 List: Colleges and Universities ....................... 17 At Work .............................. 21 Viewpoint ...........................23

By Molly Hulsey

Company finds market in preparing for active shooter. Page 10

Since 1927

Fans have chance to say goodbye to Capital City Stadium in documentary. Page 4

Program aims to lure talent while accenting Columbia’s charms By Melinda Waldrop

mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

riana Bateman knows all too well the less-than-glowing reputation Columbia has traditionally had to battle. Bateman, an Upstate native who moved to Columbia five years ago, is chair of Columbia Opportunity Resource, a nonprofit that connects area professionals and promotes leadership development. Before taking that position, her time in the capital city was limited. “It was joke when I was kid,” Bateman said. “When you would come through here to go to

the beach, you didn’t stay long, because it was too hot. There was nothing to do. I remember my dad taking us to the state museum. That was kind of what we did on the way to the beach, and that was it.” While the sweltering Columbia summers remain a constant, the city has been undergoing a decades-long, under-the-radar renaissance that COR is partnering with city tourism and promotional arm Experience Columbia SC to amplify. Crash Course Columbia, a new quarterly program targeting area companies and their employees, aims to deliver an up-close look at Columbia’s charms

while helping the city recruit and retain professional talent. From behind-the-scenes looks at how Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens cares for its giraffes to chats with chefs at the area’s hottest new restaurants, the day-and-a-half initiative hopes to drive home all that the city has to offer — even to long-time residents who think they’ve been there, done that. ‘Studies have shown a historically negative sentiment about Columbia,” said Ashley Cady, senior integrated communications manager See CRASH COURSE, Page 19

Rural recruiting

USC implements program recruiting nontraditional teachers to rural school districts. Page 15

ColumbiaBusinessReport.com

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Speculative projects trend large in Spartanburg County Thinking about the unthinkable

Habitat for Humanity launches CEO Build 2020. Page 8

Driving through tense times

BMW puts up record numbers in spite of tariff tiff. Page 12

INSIDE

Leading Off .......................... 2 SC Biz News Briefs ................ 3 C-Suite ................................ 4 In Focus: Architecture, Engineering & Construction 17 LIST: Architecture Firms .....27 At Work ..............................28 Viewpoint ........................... 31

mhulsey@scbiznews.com

speculative project expandable to 1.3 million square feet will open cross-dock doors in less than 60 days in Duncan. The 504,060-square-foot warehouse, now courting e-commerce and industrial tenants, could soon mirror its 1.3-million-square-foot neighbor, a Lowe’s distribution center that ushered 150 jobs into the Upstate in January. CRG, Clayco’s development arm, expects the Cubes at Inland 85 site to attract 200-400 jobs to the area once completed and leased.

In Focus

When selecting a site for CRG’s sixth Cubes project, a large-scale industrial brand linked to Atlanta’s newest million-square-foot Amazon distribution center, the developers liked Spartanburg County’s breathing room and accessibility. “I liked the industrial base of Greenville-Spartanburg where we could capitalize off the strengths of that industrial market,” Mike Demperio, senior vice president and Southeast regional manager of CRG, said when explaining his rationale for the investment. “The Cubes

at Inland 85 has immediate access to I-85, it’s between BMW and the Inland Port and it’s in the town of Duncan, which has low taxes.” Speculative building projects, particularly of such large dimensions, welcome a host of risks, but more than one industrial developer was willing to place a bet on the region last year. The Greenville-Spartanburg area had a record high in spec projects delivered to the market, according to Colliers data. “I am pretty sure in 2018 and 2019, it would be accurate to call it unprecedented just in See PROJECTS, Page 17

Automotive Summit garners record-breaking crowd to discuss new technology and trade By Molly Hulsey

mhulsey@scbiznews.com

he S.C. Automotive Council’s ninth S.C. Automotive Summit attracted more than 450 industry leaders this week to Greenville’s Hyatt Regency for what Amy Tinsley, the council’s executive director, called a record-breaking event. With South Carolina’s status as the largest tire and value-based vehicle exporter in the country, the conference acknowledged uncertainty on the global market while highlighting new opportunities in technology and industry educational programs. More than 60 booths ringed the conference area throughout the three-day event, linking suppliers, educational programs, economic developers and a variety of other professionals based in the state with companies farther afield. “This is the premiere automotive event for the state of South Carolina,” said John Lummus, president and CEO of Upstate SC Alliance, noting that the event’s link to the S.C. Department of Commerce is also a draw, as well as the event speakers. “A lot of companies come in for this event. It really is just the place to be in the automotive industry. Because automotive is one of our top targets that we recruit and market for, it is very important for us to be here and interact with these companies.” Upstate SC Alliance, CU-ICAR, Draxlmaier, IBM, KPMG, Charleston County Economic Development, Freudenberg Performance Materials and Apprenticeship Carolina were a few event exhibitors. See SUMMIT, Page 13

UPSTATE UNDER CONSTRUCTION Read about the latest building projects in the region. Page 19

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April 6 - 19, 2020

Best Advice

MIKE SEEKINGS

CHARLESTON AREA REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY BOARD CHAIRMAN By Patrick Hoff | Photography provided

Editor, Custom Publishing Division Steve McDaniel smcdaniel@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3123

Staff Writer - Shamira McCray smccray@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3119

“THE BEST ADVICE I’VE EVER RECEIVED

Research Specialist - Paige Hardy phardy@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3125

S.C. Gov.) Donald Russell. Following a morning

Staff Writer - Patrick Hoff phoff@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3144

was during my clerkship with Judge (and former in court, he looked at me while we were walking

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out and observed, ‘No one ever gets any wiser

Digital Editorial Assistant - Alexandria Ng ang@scbiznews.com • 843.849.3124

while talking.’”

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LEGALLY SOUND

MIDLANDS NEWSROOM Editor - Melinda Waldrop mwaldrop@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7542

Mike Seekings is an attorney with an office in

UPSTATE NEWSROOM

construction defect litigation. He received

Editor - Ross Norton rnorton@scbiznews.com • 864.720.1222

his bachelor’s degree from Amherst College

Associate Editor, Custom Publishing Division Jim Tatum jtatum@scbiznews.com • 864.720.2269

the University of Pittsburgh. After law school,

downtown Charleston. He focuses on complex

in Massachusetts and his law degree from Seekings clerked for former Gov. Donald

Staff Writer - Molly Hulsey mhulsey@scbiznews.com • 864.720.1223

Russell on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Seekings has served as chairman of

LOWCOUNTRY ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

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Authority board of directors since 2015. He has also represented District 8 on Charleston City

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Council since 2010.

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INTERESTING FACT

The first job Seekings had was as a hand on his uncle’s farm in Cambridge, England. “I don’t think there was anyone happier than he when I moved on to college,” Seekings said.

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April 6 - 19, 2020

ServiceMaster sees increase in high-touch cleanings during virus outbreak By Shamira McCray

smccray@scbiznews.com

erviceMaster has seen an increase in one-time high-touch cleanings during the current COVID-19 outbreak. Peter Duncanson, director of commercial operations for ServiceMaster Restore, said he is seeing a lot of businesses add preventive measures into their contingency plans and steps to take to ensure business continuity if there is an exposure to the virus. Homeowners have also reached out to the company seeking cleanings after family members have been diagnosed with the virus. “We’re in the disaster recovery business, where our business is about restoring peace of mind to our customers, so we’re prepared in these situations,” Duncanson said. The company cleans homes, businesses, hospitals and other spaces. In the case

TOURISM, from Page 1

the country. Thomas said a hurricane every year is something she can deal with, because she knows that for two weeks, things will be shut down. And if there is devastation, insurance covers it. “This is like a hurricane, but you have no insurance coverage because insurance doesn’t take into account a virus, unfortunately,” Thomas said. “We’re all in uncharted waters, for sure. We just all have to deal with each other, you know, fairly, compassionately and be creative on what can we do from here.” The most important thing for businesses within the event industry right now is to figure out when they can start having events again, Thomas said. During the outbreak, she said businesses are going to change their view from what they know and look at what they can do in the interim to be helpful. “You know, what do we have to do in the meantime to get to that stage (of putting on events again),” Thomas said. “You know, we might have to be creative, might have to do some other things. We might have to take our trucks and do deliveries for grocery stores.” For weddings that have to be canceled this season, Thomas suggests couples consider Mondays as a new wedding date. She said it is a cheaper date for most vendors, flights and hotels, and it still allows guests a three-day weekend. JMC Charleston is another events-related business in the Lowcountry. The company provides destination management for corporate groups, produces events such as holiday parties, groundbreaking ceremonies and ribbon-cutting events, and works with numerous non-

of the new coronavirus, Duncanson said ServiceMaster is re-emphasizing training to employees and communicating to customers the procedures for hand hygiene for protecting themselves, as well as things that can be done in businesses and homes to help control the spread. For any cleaning, whether it’s hand-washing or disinfecting surfaces in a home, Duncanson said people must first get rid of any soils before applying sanitizer. Wiping in one direction is important, he said. “Keep the soil going in one direction. Don’t wipe back and forth,” Duncanson said. “If you’re mopping your floor or using like a Swiffer pad or something like that, again, a leading edge always going in one direction.” After someone has been ill with an infection like the new coronavirus, Duncanson said he recommends they have a company like ServiceMaster go in to clean. But people can do a lot of things themselves, he said. To help slow the

profit organizations. J. Mitchell Crosby, founder and president of JMC Charleston, said his services are all contractual, and he wants to provide the best outcome for clients and vendors to create a win-win scenario. He said he has not canceled any events since the COVID-19 outbreak. “We have encouraged our clients and directed our clients and led our clients to postpone their events and to reschedule their events,” Crosby said. Postponing an event and choosing another date helps with the trickle-down effect of the events industry, in which many businesses work together — caterers, venues and others — to produce an event, Crosby said. “We’re very fortunate not only to have forward-thinking people who take care of each other in the city, but also on a national level that we can prosper in good times and in bad times,” Crosby said. “So we have to embrace that and then figure out where do we go from here.” JMC Charleston has rescheduled some spring events for June, Crosby said; another option would be to reschedule events for September, October or November. Some groups have put off their events for an entire year, he said. “At the end of the day, it has to be about working together and relationships,” Crosby said. “How can we make this a win-win? And we can’t just selfishly say, ‘Oh sorry, I don’t have enough money to open. I’m closing my business.’” Crosby suggests local businesses embrace cooperative effort during times like the COVID-19 pandemic. Such working relationships can be seen among Lowcountry businesses that are locally owned, he said.

spread of the virus, Duncanson recommends washing linens in warm water and cleaning high-touch surfaces such as light switches, doorknobs and remote controls. “I’ve been in this industry for over 35 years,” Duncanson said. “I’ve never seen anything that’s impacted our country this greatly.” He said he’s worked with fires and did cleanup at the Pentagon after 9/11, but the coronavirus impacts everybody across the country. “But if we all take a breath, and think about our neighbor and work together, we’ll all get through this,” he said. ServiceMaster is in all 50 states and has locations in Charleston and North Charleston that provide cleaning and restoration services. Like many businesses, the company is now having nonessential personnel work from home. “We’re staggering our crews, so that our crews aren’t — we aren’t having 20 people from our production staff all come in at once,” Duncanson said.

Ooh Events has had to cancel all of its April events as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo/Provided)

To help navigate this season of uncertainty, Crosby said local businesses should communicate with their landlords and anyone to whom they make monthly payments, regardless of whether they need to ask for any accommodations. “Just communicate with them so that they understand where you are,” Crosby said. “Don’t let any stone be left unturned in communicating with both your customers and also the people who supply your goods and services to keep your business going.” Communicating with employees is also important so they know what the next steps are, he said. Helen Hill, CEO of Explore Charleston, said while this is a difficult time, she

Crew members may go in to work two or three at a time. “And they’re doing more decontamination of their own equipment, their own personal vehicles, and all that sort of thing, so we’re making sure we’re not causing anything in the spread,” Duncanson said. So far, ServiceMaster has not had any exposures to the virus or any known cases within its network, he said. Local residential cleaning businesses like The Cleaning Co. of Charleston are also taking precautions for employee safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Owner Jacinda Ryan said she is asking her employees to remove their shoes at the door before working, and to remove work clothes before leaving the office at the end of the day and heading home. “We are not knowledgeable enough on the virus for us to, you know, have like a set process for things,” Ryan said. “So, we’re just doing as much as we can from the information that we have.” CRBJ

hopes everyone throughout the community is listening to the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and taking all necessary precautions to remain safe. For the travel and hospitality industries, the safety of visitors and local residents is paramount. “The necessary public health precautions being taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have caused historic declines in travel spending,” Hill said. “The steep and sudden decline in travel has generated a virtual shutdown of the tourism economy. This situation surpasses any crisis our industry has faced in modern times not only because of the speed but also the entirety of the impact. Every part of the industry — and the broader economy — is impacted.” Hill said Explore Charleston continues to collaborate with federal, state and local elected leaders to advocate for the industry. The organization is also communicating frequently with its members. “This is the time when organizations like Explore Charleston play a unique role in compiling information and sharing it with our industry partners,” Hill said. “And, though we might be in the earlier stages of this crisis, we are compelled to keep an eye on the future.” Explore Charleston is developing campaigns so that it is ready to promote Charleston again as soon as it is safe and appropriate. “We won’t lose sight of our long-term goals and aspirations,” Hill said. “We are a resilient community and industry. We’ve weathered crises before and emerged stronger. We’ll do the same in the face of this pandemic.” CRBJ

April 6 - 19, 2020

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April 6 - 19, 2020

Port prepares section of Union Pier for redevelopment By Patrick Hoff

phoff@scbiznews.com

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Visit www.scmanufacturingconference.com for the latest updates

The S.C. Ports Authority is preparing to sell and redevelop the nonmaritime portion of the Union Pier, and has tapped real estate firm Lowe to evaluate the site and prepare it for sale. Lowe is the owner of Wild Dunes Resort on the Isle of Palms and the developer of a new waterfront hotel being built on the site of the former S.C. Ports Authority headquarters in downtown Charleston. The evaluation process will include master planning, design and community collaboration and is expected to last between 30 and 36 months. Lowe will then work on behalf of the port to sell the nonmaritime portion of Union Pier; the specifics about what part of the property will be sold have not been set. Port President and CEO Jim Newsome said part of the process will be to determine exactly how much of Union Pier is nonmaritime, but he estimates it’ll be about 30 acres. “We know fairly well what the northern swath of it across the top is, with the cruise business,” Newsome said. “But it largely depends on the decking and whether you can develop on the deck or not.” Lowe’s fees will include a monthly stipend of $20,000 from the port during the evaluation phase, plus a reimbursement for direct staff employed on the project, estimated to be an additional $30,000 per month. The total cost of the process is estimated to be between $1.5 million and $1.8 million. The stipend will be reduced to $10,000 per month after the evaluation process is complete, until the property is sold. The S.C. Ports Authority retains control of all major decisions throughout the process. Newsome said the port has been thinking about selling part of Union Pier for about 10 years, periodically taking advice about what to do and when to sell the property. The port started to get serious about moving forward around August. “The values in the city have risen significantly since we first started thinking about it,” Newsome said. “So we think it’s the right time. All the sort of components, all the pieces of the puzzle are sort of aligning where we can do this.” Lowe was chosen to work through the master planning, Newsome said, because of the success the port had in selling its former headquarters at 176 Concord St.

“We got to know them in that process. We had a very seamless sort of transaction leading to the closure of properties that we sold to them at that time,” Newsome said. “We certainly watched them, their local team ... interact with the city and ... we were very impressed with how they did that.” Lowe broke ground on its new hotel, called The Cooper, in February. The Cooper will include 225 guest rooms, as well as 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space on Concord Street. The hotel is expected to include a waterfront cafe, a rooftop lounge and a restaurant. The Cooper is expected to open in 2022. Lowe also worked with the city of Charleston to extend the Joe Riley Waterfront Park by more than 400 feet, starting at the park’s north entrance on Concord Street and ending at Cumberland Street. The company plans to build a new dock and marina facility to allow for public day boat dockage and water taxi service. Newsome said he felt that Lowe was collaborative and sensitive to the various stakeholders in Charleston, and that the company had a strong background with a national presence and local capabilities. “I mean, this is the type of work that they do as a big-time real estate developer,” he said. Dan Battista, senior vice president and Charleston regional leader for Lowe, said in an email that he looks forward to continuing to work with the port, the city of Charleston and other stakeholders to prepare the nonmaritime portion of Union Pier for redevelopment. Battista said he isn’t sure yet what specific things Lowe will need to do during the evaluation process. “We are in the early stages of the process and believe the plan will start to take shape over the next 90 to 120 days,” he said. Battista said he thinks the property is conducive to a wide variety of uses, though it’s premature to determine exactly what will be developed on the site. Newsome said he expects the property to be purchased by multiple buyers for a mixture of office, residential and parking. “That’s what we do in this process, to really get down to what some of those activities are — what works for the city, what does the city want, what does the city have in mind, how do you do the infrastructure getting into and out of the property,” he said. CRBJ

Reach staff writer Patrick Hoff at 843-849-3144 or @PatHoffCRBJ on Twitter.

April 6 - 19, 2020

www.charlestonbusiness.com 9

“Some businesses are better positioned than others. Some by nature are in a position where they are running with a higher reserve or a better cash flow scenario. Others, those that literally are hand to mouth, are really pressed to get some of this funding to keep the doors open.”

Do we need environmental coverage?

Earl Gregorich area manager, Greenville’s S.C. Small Business Development Center

SBA, from Page 1

according to a news release from the U.S. Senate. About $562 million goes toward SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan funding, while $10 billion has been allotted for cash advances up to $10,000 for SBA disaster loan applicants. “Some businesses are better positioned than others,” said Earl Gregorich, area manager for Greenville’s S.C. Small Business Development Center. “Some by nature are in a position where they are running with a higher reserve or a better cash flow scenario. “Others, those that literally are hand to mouth, are really pressed to get some of this funding to keep the doors open.” Various small business owners that have called Gregorich over the past few weeks report they can stay afloat only 45 days, others 60 days, without assistance. “Most of them that are calling right now, they’re nervous,” he said when asked if the survival of callers’ businesses hinges on the SBA disaster assistance loans approved statewide March 20. Small businesses, small agricultural co-ops, aquaculture businesses and most private nonprofits with a physical presence in a declared disaster area who have affected directly or indirectly through industry losses or supply chain partners will be considered for the loan, said Savannah Wilburn, public affairs specialist at Columbia’s SBA office. She made the comments during a webinar last week. The SBA will offer loan eligibility on a case-by-case basis based upon existing assets within the company and the size of the company as reported in forms, including the general application and disaster loan supporting information. Officers may also require a fee disclosure form and compensation agreement, a personal financial statement and tax return transcript among other filing requirements. “For most industries, you have to be making millions of dollars in revenue to

not be considered a small business,” she said. Religious organizations, charities, government-owned businesses, gambling entities, as well as some agricultural enterprises and real estate developers are not eligible for the disaster loan. Nonprofits will not have a size requirement to be eligible. “They’re going to be looking at the credit history, repayment ability and eligibility. Applicants must have a credit history acceptable to SBA, which is being much more lenient on the credit requirements in comparison to your regular business loan. “They are asking everyone to apply even if you think your credit is not going to be good enough to get a loan,” Wilburn said in the webinar, adding that most payments for loans will be deferred for at least the first four months. Applicants can apply online via the SBA website or mail in paper applications that can be requested by email or through the SBA hotline. Gregorich said he and his partners can work closely with clients to provide the criteria needed for eligibility. The SBDC is also providing projection-based financial counseling for clients on whether the loan would help their business survive in the long game or only sink it into more debt. “We have to have the discussion upfront: Is this a wise choice?” he said. “Maybe you can qualify for the money but is that the right step? If I were to inject that into a business, OK, it might be a short-term solution but the long-term impacts may not be what you expected. “Frankly, what was the status of the business going into this?” He said that for many clients who were not on a firm foundation before the outbreak, the disaster loans may only worsen the situation. “We’re not here just to put people in loans because it’s available and can help for the next two or three months. We want to make sure businesses are here for the long term,” he said. CRBJ

Reach staff writer Molly Hulsey at 864-720-1223.

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April 6 - 19, 2020

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VANTAGE POINT

Ben-Jamin Toy of Nature Adventures sent in this view from one of his kayak tours in Shem Creek. Does your office have an interesting Vantage Point? Email us at vantagepoint@scbiznews.com.

DETAILS Latitude: 32.7938031 | Longitude: -79.8797340 | Status: Public waterway | Time of day: 9:55 a.m.

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April 6 - 19, 2020

Judge approves Santee Cooper lawsuit settlement of $520 million By Patrick Hoff

phoff@scbiznews.com

2020 | SOUTH CAROLINA

MANUFACTURING

CONFERENCE AND EXPO The Most Significant Manufacturing Event of the Year Presented by:

SAVE THE DATE

A judge has given preliminary approval to a $520 million settlement that would provide refunds to Santee Cooper customers whose utility rates were increased to pay for the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project. Judge Jean Toal wrote in her approval that the settlement agreement was the result of “a marathon two-day mediation session” on Feb. 18 and 19, including a 16-hour session on the second day. Toal, who is a former chief justice of the S.C. Supreme Court, was assigned to oversee all pretrial matters in the class action lawsuit in September, replacing 16th Circuit Judge John C. Hayes. The case had been scheduled to go to trial this month. “At this preliminary stage, the court finds that the proposed settlement is within the realm of a fair, reasonable and adequate resolution,” Toal wrote. The settlement includes customers who received power from Santee Cooper or associated electric cooperatives between Jan. 1, 2007, and Jan. 31, 2020. Dominion Energy, which acquired S.C. Electric & Gas parent company SCANA Corp. in early 2019, agreed to pay $320 million of the settlement funds, with Santee Cooper paying $200 million in three annual installments of $65 million, $65 million and $70 million. SCE&G co-owned twin nuclear reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear power station in Fairfield County. The project was abandoned in July 2017 amid rising costs and mounting delays and in the face of a bankruptcy declaration by contractor Westinghouse. Recipients would receive their settlement payments by check if they are owed more than $25 or if they are no longer a Santee Cooper customer, or by bill credit if they are owed less than $25. If any settlement funds are left over after checks and bill credits are distributed, 50% will be distributed to the S.C. Bar Foundation to support access to the justice system for low-income residents and 50% will be paid to charitable organizations that provide energy assistance to low-income individuals. In addition to refunds, the settlement also requires Santee Cooper to freeze rates until the end of 2024. Dominion and Santee Cooper may not pass on the cost of the settlement to customers in the form of rate increases or other charges. Santee Cooper also agreed not to defer any costs or expenses incurred during the rate freeze period to after the rate freeze is lifted. “It is the intent ... that the customers

of Santee Cooper realize meaningful rate relief from this rate freeze and that Santee Cooper’s customers do not end up effectively paying, over time in one form or another, for the intended benefits of the rate freeze,” the settlement says. Attorneys’ fees may total up to 15% of the settlement funds, or $78 million. A fairness hearing for the settlement is set for July 20 in Richland County, after which time the settlement may receive final approval. Toal wrote in her preliminary approval that the proposed settlement compares “very favorably” to what the class of plaintiffs could have received at trial. “The common fund to be established by the settlement of $520 million is over 90% of the $541 million the class paid from the inception of the project to the date of abandonment,” Toal wrote. “This is also approximately the amount the class paid after April 2012, when defendants formally committed to continue the project.” The settlement comes as the General Assembly contemplates the future of the state-owned utility. The legislature is weighing whether to sell Santee Cooper to NextEra Energy Inc., based in Florida; to allow Dominion Energy Inc. to take over management of the utility; or to allow Santee Cooper to implement its own reform plan. The General Assembly is currently adjourned because of COVID-19. NextEra’s bid to buy Santee Cooper was the only one of the three plans under consideration that spelled out a plan to settle the litigation. NextEra had planned to provide $541 million in refunds or rate credits to settle the litigation, as well as $400 million in rate credits to Santee Cooper customers. NextEra did not respond to questions about how the settlement agreement may impact its bid. Mollie Gore, spokeswoman for Santee Cooper, said the settlement agreement does not impact the utility’s reform plan. “We’re committed to the settlement, we’re committed to the reform plan,” Gore said. “And there’s some synergy between the two.” For example, Gore said, the settlement requires Santee Cooper to freeze rates for four years, but the company has committed to a seven-year rate freeze in its reform plan. “There’s other components to the settlement, but we made commitments and I think we will make sure we see them through,” she said. CRBJ

Reach staff writer Patrick Hoff at 843-849-3144 or @PatHoffCRBJ on Twitter.

April 6 - 19, 2020 April 19, 2020

www.charlestonbusiness.com www.gsabusiness.com 13

COPING WITH COVID

OVID-19 changed how S.C. businesses operate in the blink of an eye. The focus has shifted to staying in business, finding new customers, navigating legal and health issues and paving the way for recovery after the coronavirus outbreak subsides. The SC Biz News team talked with businesses in multiple sectors about how they are staying the course and partnered with Prisma Health for this special section on Coping with Covid.

Chairs lean against the bar at the Devine Street bottle shop and tasting room Craft and Draft in Columbia. The business is providing to-go orders for customers during the COVID-19 outbreak. (Photo/Melinda Waldrop)

Stay informed about Coronavirus Visit PrismaHealth.org/Coronavirus for the most current information to help you and yourÂ family. Stay home if you have upper respiratory symptoms, and take a free Virtual Visit using promo code COVID19 at PrismaHealth.org/Virtual-Visit.

COPING WITH COVID

www.gsabusiness.com www.charlestonbusiness.com

April 6 - April April 6 - 19, 2020

Small business relying on flexibility, creativity to keep customers engaged By Andy Owens

aowens@scbiznews.com

uring the Great Recession, Colleen Troy, the owner of Touchpoint Communications in Charleston, rolled out a marketing platform called Brand-Aid that helped companies find footing in an uncertain economy. The effort also helped put foundering marketing and public relations firms back to work. This is different. “I survived the Great Recession — that unwound over time,” she said. “There has been no time here. Over the last four days, I have seen clients go to extraordinary levels of stepping back and saying to

themselves, ‘How do I stay in business?’” She said a lot of the companies she’s in contact with are trying to find ways to battle back from extended uncertainty and navigate clients who want to suspend contracts and find ways to mitigate costs. Touchpoint has five employees, and some of their clients have asked for that same kind of considTroy eration. “I have clients who have contracts now, and they’ve asked can we pause. I’m letting them pause,” she said. “That’s affecting our business. I’m not asking people to

make long-term commitments right now. I’m saying let us help you for the next 30 days. You kind of have to disrupt your own systems in hopes that it’s the right thing to do.” Troy said her experience with recession and crisis management taught her that creativity can help businesses survive a crisis like COVID-19. She said that it requires a company to get back to why it exists, what their primary value is to customers and finding new customers they might not have considered before. “They’re asking themselves ‘What is my core business? How can I deliver it? How can I take care of my employees while I deliver it?’” she said. Because the Charleston region is such

FoodShare SC helping to keep supply line intact

Beaufort-Port Royal CVB ready to help businesses recover By Alexandria Ng

By Melinda Waldrop

mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

oodShare South Carolina’s mission has become even more critical. The Columbia-based nonprofit has been delivering healthy fruits and vegetables to Midlands residents since 2015. But COVID-19 concerns that have shuttered restaurants and closed schools have hindered access to fresh produce while also threatening the produce supply chain the organization relies on. Partnering with Senn Brothers Produce, FoodShare SC brainstormed a solution: the Farmers2Neighbors program. Customers purchase produce boxes, much like the ones FoodShare SC distributes through other community programs. Senn Brothers purchases the produce from local farmers and regional producers. It is then delivered to and distributed from a pickup point by neighborhood “captains.” S.C Farmers Market workers who were laid off are able to return to work boxing and delivering the produce. The program also provides a distribution outlet for farmers who have fresh fruit and vegetables in danger of going to waste. The boxes cost $21, or $10 for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants. “We don’t exist without our produce suppliers, without our local distributors like Senn, without our farmers,” said Michelle Troup, director of culinary medicine for FoodShare SC. “It’s really important for us to be a good partner to them in this time, to make sure that we’re doing our part.”

an event-driven economy, COVID-19 is having a fast and far-reaching economic ripple effect, Troy said. That’s going to require creativity and small businesses working together and finding different ways of doing business, she said. Troy spent time talking to business leaders about how they can help and support each other. The focus was on common survival, not how to leverage the current crisis to anyone’s advantage. “We have been very careful over the years not just focusing on one industry, and I’m very grateful for that now,” she said. “What we’re able to do is focus on businesses that are not struggling right now, that are busy now, where they need help.”

Wren Brown continues wiping surfaces, even with customers staying curbside. (Photo/Ross Norton)

Sully’s Steamers banks on scalability By Ross Norton

rnorton@scbiznews.com

evin Dobbs sees a few open doors and a lot that are closed on Clemson’s College Avenue. He doesn’t like the empty streets or the locked doors, but he did see an opportunity to find new customers. His Sully’s Steamers restaurant was open just two months before part of it was closed by order of the governor, who decided — and Dobbs doesn’t disagree — that dining rooms should be shuttered for health and safety. Scalability was one of the things about Sully’s Steamers that appealed to the entrepreneur. He knew he could scale up for robust times like football Saturdays and down for slower times — important flexibility in a town where the university’s student enrollment exceeds the local population. The shutdown of Clemson University and closed dining rooms were a double blow to downtown Clemson.

In a matter of days, shoulder-to-shoulder foot traffic became an occasional, lone pedestrian. The way Dobbs saw it, there was nothing else to do but keep selling his sandwiches on that first day of a dining room-less state, and every day since. “I took the menu out and went to a bunch of businesses on (U.S. Highway) 123 and College Avenue, everywhere they were open, and said hey,” Dobbs said. “I said hey and reminded them that we are open. You are always looking for differentiator in business, and if it’s as simple as we’re open and they’re not, then it keeps us ahead of the curve.” After a week without use of his dining room, Dobbs said he had managed to sell 60-80 sandwiches each day. “It’s all relative. No day has been great, but every day has been better than I would have expected under the circumstances,” he said. “Will it break even? I don’t know. but it will pay off down the road.”

ang@scbiznews.com

hen a hurricane threatens, the Greater Beaufort-Port Royal Convention and Visitors Bureau knows what to do. COVID-19 presents a different challenge. “With a storm, you know it’s coming, and you pray that it turns,” said Robb Wells, president and CEO of the convention and visitors bureau, “This is different in the sense that there’s no map for me to look at it to see how it’s making its way over. There’s a lot more unknown.” Despite the new obstacles, Wells said the bureau now needs to shift focus from generating an outbound message that emphasizes tourism to an inbound message that concentrates on the local community. “We focus on drawing visitors to Wells our region, but we actually are a public service for locals because our neighbors make up the business community,” Wells said. Wells said many businesses are asking when the pandemic will be over, how they can recover when it passes and what resources are available to assist with paying bills and covering losses. Once the pandemic passes and businesses open their doors again, it will be the job of the visitors bureau to drive markets back in and jump-start the economy, Wells said. “This is a chance to celebrate how resilient small businesses are and how resilient Beaufort-Port Royal is.”

COPING WITH COVID

April 6 - 19, 2020 April 19, 2020

www.charlestonbusiness.com www.gsabusiness.com 15

HPLP’S HELPFUL TIPS TO THE COVID-19 VIRUS

Is COVID-19 considered a Workers’ Compensation issue if one of my employees contracts the disease?

Our workers’ compensation act does not provide benefits for contagious diseases. Therefore, most claims would not be compensable under the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act. However, medical providers may have a claim for benefits for an occupational disease claim. These claims are very fact specific and would be decided on a case by case basis. To prevail on an occupational disease claim, an injured worker must show that he/she suffers from a disease that (1) the worker was exposed to in the course and scope of his/her employment; (2) that exposure is a result of hazards in excess of those incident to the employment and (3) is specific or peculiar to the workers’ job. However, this type of claim specifically excludes exposures that occur outside of South Carolina, occur due to exposure to outside climatic conditions, and contagious diseases that are spread between co-workers. In occupational disease cases, our courts will look to determine how closely related the exposure to COVID-19 is compared to the employee’s workplace and duties. Also, the courts are going to have to address whether a workplace exposure is peculiar to the type of job and workplace environment. Using healthcare workers as an example, a receptionist may have a less convincing case than an intensive care nurse or ER physician. As you can see, you can make arguments either way for this type of claim. Ultimately, the answer to this question will be determined on a case-by-case basis after an extremely fact intensive analysis of the medical records and work environment but also the personal life of someone who seeks to recover workers’ compensation benefits for COVID-19 exposure. Some states have already tried to direct their legislatures to draft new legislation to cover COVID-19 under the state workers’ compensation laws. Thus far, South Carolina has not taken any legislative action.

If an employee thinks he or she might have early symptoms of COVID-19 or even tests positive, what are my obligations as an employer?

I recommend following the CDC guidance on this issue. In doing so, you must make sure that you maintain the integrity and privacy of your workers and workplace. The CDC recommends that someone with symptoms should avoid the workplace. Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has indicated that asking workers who show symptoms to leave is permissible. The CDC also recommends sending home co-workers for 14 days if they were in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.

What can I do now to honor my worker’s rights but also defend a possible compensation claim resulting from an employee’s claim for benefits from COVID-19?

From a defense perspective, we always encourage employers to investigate the claim. We recommend taking witness statements, conducting a site or workplace visit, and monitoring surveillance footage. Make sure that you do those tasks as quickly and as detailed as possible. Whether the claim is denied or admitted, we encourage employers to gather personnel file materials, job descriptions, wages, and other documents since those are very important in assessing exposure. Given that a case involving COVID-19 is fact dependent, the more thorough the investigation the better. A key factor in whether a COVID-19 exposure will be a compensable work-related injury will depend on whether the employee can prove causation. In other words, the employee

must show that he/she was exposed to and contracted COVID-19 at work. Employees now may have an easier time establishing causation since people aren’t going places outside of work. Another important factor that courts will consider is how employers respond to an employee who tests positive. Employers will want to ensure that they follow CDC and other guidance to protect their employees and maintain the integrity of the work environment. In the case of a workers’ compensation claim for COVID-19, an employer who takes precautions and follows appropriate guidance after an exposure will look more favorable to our Workers’ Compensation Commissioners than employers who do not. Unless it’s a healthcare worker, the best alternative for employees is to pursue care under their own private health insurance. Based upon our workers’ compensation laws, most employees will not have a claim for COVID-19 exposure. In those cases, employers want to avoid starting temporary compensation benefits. The employee may be entitled to unemployment benefits, not workers’ compensation benefits.

What should I do after a claim has been submitted to make sure I am in compliance and can answer any legal questions during and after?

The most important thing to do is initial reporting, especially for employers who are self-insured. Generally, the first task to complete is filling out an initial report of injury, often referred to as a Form 12A. This is an important form for not only your files but also anyone else involved in the claim because it has a lot of useful information. Once you’re dealing with an active claim, the most important step is to monitor the worker’s medical treatment, specifically his/her work restrictions. If you’ve got an employee who has restrictions, I would make certain that employee is staying within those restrictions. We often see injured workers suffer re-injuries or new injuries when they come back to work and do too much too fast. In the case of COVID-19, the biggest concern is someone coming back to soon and spreading the virus to other employees. For cases related to COVID-19, you want to make sure that symptomatic employees remain out of work until they recover fully. Lastly, stay in touch with your insurance carrier and defense attorney. Sometimes the best information we get is from supervisors and co-workers, but we often don’t get enough interaction with those folks. We really value an employer’s input in developing and executing our defense strategy. I’ve had several cases where the employer’s input helped us resolve an issue or even the entire claim.

What medical treatment or benefits are employers required to provide under the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act claim?

Depending on the nature of the injury, an employer generally must provide a combination of temporary compensation benefits, medical treatment, and permanent disability benefits. Not every claim requires temporary compensation benefits. The purpose of temporary compensation benefits is to provide wages to an employee who is unable to work due to a work-related injury. We focus on day seven and day fourteen. Temporary compensation benefits are triggered when an employee misses seven days of work. The seven days do not have to be consecutive. Once you hit seven days, you need to start paying temporary compensation benefits. After you reach the fourteenth day, you’re responsible for the initial seven-day waiting period. Medical benefits, especially in the context of COVID-19, might be the most important aspect or benefit involved in a workers’ compensation claim. Medical treatment moves a claim forward, and it is often a great indicator of the overall value of a claim. The law requires that an employer provide medical care that will tend to lessen the period of disability. In terms of COVID-19, the nature, extent, and duration of medical

treatment is unknown. However, treatment for COVID-19 might include costly treatment, including specialty physicians, extensive therapies and monitoring, and designer medications. Treatment for COVID-19 might also take longer than other comparable diseases, which is going to add more costs to the medical care. Permanent disability is usually the last benefit that we consider because it is paid out at the end of a claim. This benefit is meant to compensate an injured worker for the work-related accident and the lasting impairment resulting from that accident. Our state allows for several different types of permanent disability for losses to a single body part, the whole person, loss of earning capacity, and others. In the case of COVID-19, the most likely permanent impairment would be damage to the lungs or another organ and a claim that involves a fatality. Each body part, including internal organs, is worth a set number of weeks of benefits. A fatality claim is worth up to 500 weeks of benefits.

If an employee already has a workers’ compensation injury unrelated to COVID-19, how will contracting COVID-19 impact the employee’s treatment, recovery and return to work?

I think the biggest impact is time. For someone who is already treating for a work-related injury, that employee is going to encounter a lot of delays. This probably includes delays in getting treatment and returning to work. From an employer perspective, you always want to return someone to work as soon as possible after a work-related accident. However, you don’t want to introduce someone into your work environment who is suffering from COVID-19. Therefore, a worker with COVID-19 will likely be held out of work for a longer period even if they might be ready to come back from their work-related accident. In those cases, you’ll have to extend temporary compensation benefits while that worker remains out of work. From a medical care perspective, I think the biggest impact for a worker with an ongoing claim relates his or her access to care. We’ve already seen a lot of providers stop seeing non-emergent patients, which includes outpatient surgeries, follow-up visits, physical therapy sessions, which is the bulk of the medical care involved in a workers’ compensation claim. For someone who also suffers from COVID-19, I would expect that several, if not all providers, would ask that individual to avoid contact and interaction with others. This probably would include going to medical visits for workers’ compensation claims. Ultimately, a COVID-19 infection will likely prohibit a worker from progressing as quickly. Overall, COVID-19 has already had a big impact on all our environments and the workers’ compensation world is no different. We’ve had to change our approach to claims in the last few weeks with this issue. Our firm has tried to find ways to be creative and stay head of the issues as they come up, and I feel like that approach has really helped us address the everchanging nature of this crisis.

David Padgett, Shareholder HOLDER PADGETT LITTLEJOHN + PRICKETT, LLC www.hplplaw.com

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In Focus

EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT LISTS: Colleges and Universities, Page 25 | Bonus List: Computer Training Companies, Page 26

Money for schools

Teachers who attend the Tri-County STEMersion program create lesson plans and curricula based on what they’ve seen when touring Lowcountry companies. (Photo/Provided)

The S.C. Education Lottery has delivered billions of dollars since its inception and launch in 2002. Here’s a breakdown of how the money has been spent to date.

Higher Education: $4.953 billion Expenses

Amount

Scholarships

$4.25 billion

Other programs

$345 million

SmartState

$180 million

Technology

$179 million

K-12 Programs: $999 million

Program gives teachers industry insight By Patrick Hoff

phoff@scbiznews.com

few years ago, John Truluck was trying to find a way to better connect Dorchester County’s manufacturers with the area’s education system when he heard about a program in Charlotte that partnered teachers with industry. “And of course, it’s easier to steal an idea rather than recreate the wheel,” said Truluck, director of Dorchester County Economic Development. So in 2018, Dorchester County, with the S.C. Department of Commerce, launched the pilot of what is now known as Tri-County STEMersion, a

professional development program that brings teachers into companies that work in science, technology, engineering and math. “STEM has been the big buzzword in education in the last several years,” Truluck said. “They’re offering STEM classes now down even into the elementary school. ... So this was just one more step to help the teachers get more plugged in.” Tri-County STEMersion is a twoweek class that takes place over the summer, allowing educators from Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties to visit local companies and study work processes in order to create industry-inspired lessons for students.

“It’s the tangible, not just the theoretical ‘How do you use this sort of stuff?’” Truluck said. “So that’s been a big benefit.” Alex Clark, spokeswoman for the Commerce Department, said Bosch was a key driver in bringing the program to the Lowcountry because of its involvement with the Charlotte program. This will be the third year of the Tri-County STEMersion program. The pilot year included 16 teachers from the two Dorchester County school districts for one week of professional development. The second year expanded to Berkeley and Charleston counties, grew See STEM, Page 23

Lowcountry Graduate Center continues mission to develop workforce By Shamira McCray

smccray@scbiznews.com

he Lowcountry Graduate Center in North Charleston was created about 16 years ago, at a time when people were starting to realize the region was on the cusp of a revolution. Dr. Nancy Muller, director of the graduate center, said the Lowcountry had long been just a tourist center and was

thought of as a genteel coastal community. Suddenly, though, the region was on the brink of being transformed into an area of advanced manufacturing and high technology. Companies were beginning to look at the Charleston area as a place for headquarters or major expansion. During that time, Muller said, people like former local politicians Arthur Ravenel and Harry Hallman said there needed to be a place for graduate education

and advanced study. They thought the region would have to supply the workforce for the advanced manufacturing and high-tech jobs that were coming. “And if we experience the kind of population growth that we expect, we’re going to have to have smart, well-educated people to make sure that our, our community as a whole, stays healthy, and See CENTER, Page 24

Expenses

Amount

K-5 programs

$517 million

Other programs

$204 million

School buses

$174 million

Accountability Act

$104 million

Other Community Education: $52 million Expenses

Amount

County libraries

$23.9 million

S.C. ETV

$19.9 million

Other services

$5.6 million

Gambling addiction

$3.1 million

Source: S.C. Education Lottery

NEXT ISSUE’S FOCUS:

Architecture, Engineering and Construction

www.charlestonbusiness.com

IN FOCUS: EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

April 6 - 19, 2020

USC initiative recruiting professionals to rural classrooms By Christina Lee Knauss

Contributing writer

outh Carolina has a serious problem when it comes to keeping teachers in the classroom. In recent years, alarming numbers of public school teachers have left their jobs, causing shortages of instructors in many disciplines and forcing school officials to frequently look elsewhere, even overseas, to fill positions. The educator exodus has particularly hit the state’s rural districts hard. How many teachers leave their classrooms behind each year in the Palmetto State? Try thousands. While retirees account for many departures, teachers cite other reasons for not coming back, including low pay, job stress and discipline issues. A “supply and demand” report by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Recruitment showed more than 6,600 teachers left the state’s public schools at the end of the 2018-19 year. This was a slight improvement from the 2017-18 numbers, when more than 7,000 left the classroom behind because of larger-than-normal retirements. In an effort to boost the state’s teacher rosters, the University of South Carolina’s College of Education has developed Transition to Teaching, a new one-year residency graduate program for professionals who have an undergraduate degree in an area other than teaching and are interested in bringing their skills into the classroom. The program will focus on recruiting new teachers for the state’s chronically underserved rural school districts. Transition to Teaching is funded by a $5 million Teacher Quality Partnership Grant from the U.S. Department of Education and will start enrollment this spring. In its first year, the initiative will be rolled out in the Colleton County School District and the Orangeburg County School District. “As the flagship university of the state of South Carolina, my colleagues and I in the College of Education are always looking for ways to serve the students in the state,” said George Roy, an education professor who is leading the new initiative along with colleagues Melissa Baker, Rachelle Curcio and Stephen Thompson. “We partnered with both rural district partners because they were identified with facing the challenge of not only recruiting teachers but also retaining them.” Participants in Transition to Teaching will receive onsite instruction and be placed in classrooms in one of the two partner districts, where they will work and learn alongside veteran teachers and

faculty from the College of Education. Once they complete the residency, fellows will have earned a master’s degree in education. “The faculty will be able to provide guidance, mentorship and support in actual school settings and, as a result, help candidates with challenges unique to our rural communities,” Roy said. “Participants in this program will be prepared to lead their own classrooms when they graduate.” Support goes beyond the year-long residency. Participants will also receive an additional three years of support and professional development through the College of Education’s Carolina Teachers Induction Program, known as CarolinaTIP. Fellows in the program will also receive a $15,000 annual stipend to help with housing, transportation and other expenses. In exchange, the partner districts will be assured of having new teachers in place, as fellows are required to teach in their partner district for at least three years after they complete their master’s degree. Officials in the partner-districts are excited to see what Transitions in Teaching can do to improve the number of teachers available to serve their students. Orangeburg County School District includes 33 public schools serving about 14,535 students. The rural district has to fill between 60 and 70 new teacher positions each year, according to Jesse Washington III, the district’s chief of staff. Orangeburg is one of many South Carolina districts that has had to look beyond U.S. borders to fill teaching slots. Currently it employs 90 teachers from foreign countries who make up about 7% of the teacher base, Washington said. Colleton County’s district, located in the southwestern part of the state along I-95, serves 6,000 students spread across seven elementary schools, one middle and one high school, and a career technology center. “Colleton County has been dealing with shortages for several years, and part of the reason is that we are a rural area,” said Cliff Warren, assistant superintendent of human resources and operations. “It can be difficult to get teachers to come here in the first place because of pay differences between rural and urban areas. We often don’t have as many job candidates in the first place, and losing teachers makes it worse.” Currently, six classes in the district this year do not have a permanent certified teacher available and instead are being served by long-term substitutes. “We want to do anything that we can to get nontraditional teachers into the classrooms to help with our shortage,” Warren said. CRBJ

April 6 - 19, 2020

IN FOCUS: EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

www.charlestonbusiness.com 23

Tri-County STEMersion is a two-week program that splits time between the classroom and field trips to companies. This year, 40 educators will attend. (Photo/Provided)

STEM, from Page 21

the program from one week to two, and included 30 educators who were recommended by district administrators. This year, Tri-County STEMersion will accommodate 40 educators. Truluck said the program is important because “the educators, and by a little bit further stretch the guidance counselors, are really gatekeepers to the students. And so we’re trying to figure out ways to make those connections.” “I mean, ultimately what you’re trying to do is get the students interested in these STEM careers,” he said. Truluck said in order to do that, you often have to convince educators and parents first, which can be difficult if they don’t have firsthand experience in industry. “If somebody was asking me for career advice, it’s far easier for me to give advice on the path that I took as opposed to some different path,” Truluck said. “So you look at educators ... all of them have been to college, most of them have advanced degrees. So that, of course, is probably the thing they can most advise on.” By providing educators with insight into other career paths, though, teachers can better advise on careers that are different from their own, including those that don’t require a college degree. Teachers are well-educated and wellversed in the education system, Truluck said, but STEMersion is meant to expose them to other careers and help them build lessons for students. “One of the exercises is to build some curriculum around some real-world examples of the places they’re visiting,” Truluck said. “We’ve even got some feedback from educators about how well that has worked for them to be able to put in their lesson plans real-world examples that they picked up in STEMersion.” Tri-County STEMersion also has a website on which teachers can share lesson plans and activities that they’ve developed based on their experience with the program. “That’s what STEMersion was meant to do, was immerse them into some of these careers so that they could better

advise students,” Truluck said. Truluck said Tri-County STEMersion is complementary to other talent development efforts the region is working on, such as youth apprenticeships and career and technology classes in high schools. “We’re having to attack the workforce challenges on a bunch of different levels,” Truluck said. “There’s no silver bullet that’s the one thing that going to fix” the workforce shortages across various industries. Truluck compared building the workforce pipeline to building a high school sports team. “You always hear that the best high school team has the best little league system because it’s all about feeding in the top of the funnel,” he said. “So this is a similar sort of thing. If you’re expecting to get good results out of the bottom of the funnel, you’ve got to pour a lot of stuff in the top.” Clark also said that the program is part of the state’s larger approach to workforce development. “By bringing together various partners and organizations, we are able to implement programs that will provide the best trained workforce for our industries,” she said. The next challenge for building the program, Truluck said, is growing the number of educators that can be included. “We feel like we’ve got a program that works and is doing what it was intended to do,” he said. “But now it’s a scalability issue. ... We’ve got to figure out how to get 200 teachers through it. Not necessarily continue to just tweak the program itself — we’ve got to figure out how to replicate it.” Clark said other similar programs exist in other parts of the state, under other names. “While the programs operate under different monikers and have varying levels of detail, the underlying premise is the same: Educators and industries are coming together to ensure relevant curriculum is provided to address companies’ workforce needs,” she said. CRBJ

Reach staff writer Patrick Hoff at 843-849-3144 or @PatHoffCRBJ on Twitter.

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all of our natural resources are protected and safeguarded,” Muller said. Since the very beginning, Muller said, the center has remained true to its core mission of enabling the development and build-out of the workforce and identifying talent gaps that exist and are anticipated. The Lowcountry Graduate Center, located on Paramount Drive in North Charleston, provides Charleston-area residents with graduate-level academic programs from the following schools: College of Charleston, The Citadel, Medical University of South Carolina, University of South Carolina, Clemson University, Anderson University and South Carolina State University. Degree and certificate programs are offered. The state-funded graduate center provides institutions with a portal, Muller said. The target audience is working professionals who already have a baccalaureate degree and are seeking graduate-level education to help advance careers and fill the anticipated talent gap in the local workforce. “And so we work with institutions to match up these so-called anticipated talent gaps by identifying programs that would fit,” Muller said. The Citadel’s Master of Science in project management has been an anchor program at the Lowcountry Graduate Center over the years. “Project management has been identified as one of the top five skills that show up in virtually every job description that’s floated by industry today,” Muller said. “So it’s a very cross-cutting skill set.” Dr. David Greenberg, program director for The Citadel’s Master of Science in project management, said 100% of the students who are enrolled in the program are working adults who either want to move up in their organization or branch into a different field. He said the Lowcountry Graduate Center really facilitates adults advancing themselves and getting a graduate degree that could lead to a good job in the area. “It’s just a very nice facility,” Greenberg said. “It’s modern. It’s got up-to-date classrooms, the latest technology, and it really enhances the learning opportunities for our students.” The Master of Social Work offered by the University of South Carolina is another anchor program at the Lowcountry Graduate Center. What makes the pro-

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The Lowcountry Graduate Center offers academic programs from various universities. (Photo/ Provided)

Students have access to an on-campus library at the Lowcountry Graduate Center. (Photo/Provided)

gram so relevant and great for the center is that it fits the definition of safeguarding the community’s well-being, Muller said. “So, social workers now have a variety of opportunities and demand for their knowledge and their skill sets across multiple settings,” Muller said. Social workers can work in hospitals, mental health facilities, schools and human services agencies, and in other places. In addition to the health care industry, Muller said social workers can also work with vulnerable populations, like people who are who homeless and those who are in lower socioeconomic ranks. Dr. Margriet de Zeeuw Wright, the Charleston site coordinator for the University of South Carolina’s Master of Social Work, said students complete the program part-time over three years. Students could complete the program fulltime in Columbia. Some of the social work students at the Lowcountry Graduate Center already work in the field, but getting a master’s could help them advance and seek promotion, Wright said. “There’re other students who come like out of nowhere and have no background in social work or psychology or human development, and they feel some kind of a calling towards doing a master’s in social work,” Wright said. If it weren’t for the University of South Carolina’s partnership with the Lowcountry Graduate Center, the school would not be able to offer the Master of Social Work program in Charleston, Wright said. Other programs offered at the center include engineering management, business administration, educational leadership, public administration and more. Students who are enrolled in classes at the graduate center can take advantage of resources such as an on-site library and an online platform for job openings. At any point in time, the Lowcountry Graduate Center could be serving 100 or more students, Muller said. And in a semester, those students could be taking two to three courses in between their jobs. In the last 10 years, the center has facilitated the completion of studies for 1,565 graduates. CRBJ

IN FOCUS: EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

April 6 - 19, 2020

www.charlestonbusiness.com 25

Colleges and Universities Ranked by 2019 Fall Total Enrollment Institution

Phone / Website / Email

Administrator(s) / Year Founded

Trident Technical College 7000 Rivers Ave. North Charleston, SC 29406

843-574-6111 www.tridenttech.edu infocenter.ttc@tridenttech.edu

College of Charleston 66 George St. Charleston, SC 29424

FT Faculty / Employees

Public / Private

Mary Thornley 1964

12,351

286 679

Public

Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate Degree Nursing

Y N Y

843-805-5507 www.cofc.edu admissions@cofc.edu

Andrew T. Hsu 1770

10,545

534 2,018

Public

Biology, Business Administration, Psychology

Y N Y

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina 171 Moultrie St. Charleston, SC 29409

843-225-3294 www.citadel.edu ocm@citadel.edu

Glenn M. Walters 1842

3,767

210 656

Public

Business Administration, Mechanical Engineering, Criminal Justice

Y N Y

Charleston Southern University 9200 University Blvd. Charleston, SC 29406

843-863-7955 www.charlestonsouthern.edu enroll@csuniv.edu

Dondi E. Costin 1964

3,478

185 680

Private

Nursing, Biology, Kinesiology

Y Y Y

Medical University of South Carolina 171 Ashley Ave. Charleston, SC 29425

843-792-2300 www.musc.edu eslweb@musc.edu

David J. Cole 1824

2,955

1,264 4,542

Public

Nursing, RN to BSN, Healthcare Studies

Y Y Y

Charleston School of Law 385 Mary St. Charleston, SC 29403

843-329-1000 www.charlestonlaw.edu info@charlestonlaw.edu

Ed Bell 2004

612

Private

N N N

ECPI University & Medical Careers Institute 7410 Northside Drive, Suite 100 Charleston, SC 29420

843-414-0350 www.ecpi.edu jweaver@ecpi.edu

James Weaver 1966

420

35 60

Private

Health Science, Computer and Information Science, Electronics Engineering Technology

Y N Y

Lowcountry Graduate Center 3800 Paramount Drive North Charleston, SC 29405

843-953-4723 www.lowcountrygradcenter.org mullernj@lowcountrygradcenter.org

Nancy Muller 2002

301

26 31

Public

Y Y Y

American College of the Building Arts 649 Meeting St. Charleston, SC 29403

843-577-5245 www.acba.edu grantm@acba.edu

Colby M. Broadwater III 2004

23 30

Private

Timber Framing, Forged Iron, Architectural Carpentry

N N N

USC Darla Moore School of Business 151 Market St. Charleston, SC 29401

803-777-2730 www.sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/moore gradinfo@moore.sc.edu

Peter Brews 1975

47 5

Public

International Business, Finance, Marketing

Y N N

Clemson Design Center Charleston 701 East Bay St., Suite 202 Charleston, SC 29403

843-723-1747 www.clemson.edu/caah/departments/ architecture HRAYMON@clemson.edu

Ray Huff 1989

15 15

Public

N N N

Because of space constraints, sometimes only the top-ranked companies are published in the print edition. View the full list online at www.scbiznews.com/buybusiness-lists. Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, errors sometimes occur. Email additions or corrections to lists@scbiznews.com.

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Top Three Undergraduate Majors, by Enrollment

Evening Classes? / Weekend Classes? / Online Classes?

Total Enrollment

Researched by Business Journal staff

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IN FOCUS: EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

April 6 - 19, 2020

Computer Training Companies Ranked by No. of Trainers in the Charleston Area

Company

Phone / Website / Email

Top Local Official / Year Founded

Stasmayer Inc. 2420 Mall Drive, Suite 201 North Charleston, SC 29406

843-724-3440 www.stasmayer.com sales@stasmayer.com

Richard Krenmayer, David Stasaitis 2003

Trainers / Employees Software Training Offered 21 26

Office 365, Clio, etc.

ONLC Training Centers 4000 S. Faber Place Drive Charleston, SC 29405

800-288-8221 www.onlc.com info@onlc.com

Andrew Williamson 1983

20 4

A+, Access, Acrobat, Airtable, Altiris, Angular, Animate, AutoCAD, Autodesk, Amazon and AWS, Azure, Bash, BizTalk server, Bootstrap, business analysis and intelligence and process, C#, Camtasia, Captivate, CASP+, CEH, CFR, CHFI, Civil 3D, CND, Cisco, CISSP, Citrix, Cloud+, CompTIA, CompTIA On-Demand, CySA+, CSS, Crystal Reports, cybersecurity, data visualization, Docker, Dreamweaver, Drupal, Dynamics 365, ECSA, EMS, ethical hacking, Excel, exchange server, F5, Flow, Forms, GitHub, Google, HTML, Hyper-V, Illustrator, InDesign, Inventor, IT fundamentals, ITIL, Java, Joomla!, Kubernetes, Lightroom, Linux+, machine learning, Microsoft, MySQL, .NET, Network+, Nintex, OneNote, Outlook, PMP exam prep, PenTest+, Perl, Photoshop, PowerApps, Power BI, PowerPoint, PowerShell, Project+, Publisher, Python, Qlik Sense, QuickBooks, Revit, R programming, SAS, Salesforce.com, Scrum Master, Security+, Selenium, WebDriver, Server+, SharePoint, SketchUp, Slack, software quality and testing, Splunk, SQL server, Storyline 360, Symantec, system center, Tableau, team foundation server, Visio, Visual Studio, VMware, web design and development, Windows, WordPress, XML

PST Inc. and Dale Carnegie SC 4105 Faber Place Drive, Suite 420 North Charleston, SC 29405

843-529-0098 www.trainwithpst.com hello@trainwithpst.com

Ingrid Tugwell, Lisa Zakis 1994

13 15

SQL, SharePoint, ITIL, Agile, project management, CompTIA Partner, CEH, cybersecurity, Office365, Adobe, Crystal Reports, Citrix, Linux, Oracle, VMWare, Windows 10, Microsoft tech and app certification tracks, customized training programs

CNC - Computer & Network Consultants 1611 Cullowhee Drive Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

843-737-6255 www.cncllc.net info@cncllc.net

Darrell Hearne 1993

7 20

Microsoft programs, UNIX and LINUX, Abobe, AutoDesk, IBM, Apple and Mac, business application software, accounting software, security software, web software, POS-Point of Sale, video surveillance and security systems

Charleston County Public Library 68 Calhoun St. Charleston, SC 29401

843-805-6930 www.ccpl.org info@ccpl.org

Angela Craig B 1931

5 230

Classes on computer fundamentals, web searching, email, digital photography and Microsoft Office 2013

Cross Industries LLC 301 Meryton Court Summerville, SC 29486

843-641-7644 www.x-ind.com contact@x-ind.com

Sean M. Marvin 2011

5 6

Computer basics, email training, phishing awareness

Kotori Technologies LLC 4221 Rivers Ave., Suite 350 North Charleston, SC 29405

843-553-8800 www.kotoritechnologies.com info@kotoritechnologies.com

Neadom Tucker 2006

5 11

Desktop and Office support

Software Projects Consulting Inc. 104 Dirocco Lane Summerville, SC 29485

843-817-5152 www.spcnow.com info@spcnow.com

Frank Muehlenkamp 2000

5 10

SAP R/3 versions 4.6 and 4.7, SAP ECC 6.0

A Geek to Go LLC 45 Sycamore Ave. Charleston, SC 29407

843-557-9378 www.ageektogo.net info@ageektogo.net

Miles West, Derek Gibson 2005

2 22

Windows, Mac, Linux, MS Office, Open Office, WordPress, Google apps, iPad, iPhone, Android, smart TVs, POS

Eagle Eye IT 112 Deer Path Trail Summerville, SC 29486

843-588-5838 www.eagleyeit.com info@eagleyeit.com

Kevin T. Kramer, Kristopher J. Moyer 2012

2 3

Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, Office 365, cyber security, business continuity

AutoM8-IT Inc. 1000 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

843-898-8324 www.autom8-it.systems support@autom8-it.systems

Chris Pertgen 1992

1 6

Customized to line of business applications and use

The Computer Guyz 1068 Clements Ferry Road Charleston, SC 29492

843-884-1323 www.thecomputerguyz.net help@thecomputerguyz.net

Jud Leggett 2011

1 6

Customized per request

CyberNet-Charleston 1054 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Suite A Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

843-568-1174 www.cybernet-charleston.com reny@cybernet-charleston.com

Reny Melo 1995

1 2

Desktop, Windows, Mac

Knowlogix LLC 1235 Boonehill Road, Suite 2 Summerville, SC 29483

843-900-4576 www.knowlogix.com info@knowlogix.com

Trae Dantzler, Matt DePaulis 2015

1 6

Professional computer and IT training

Outsourced CIO LLC 102 Queens Court Summerville, SC 29485

843-291-8320 www.ocio.biz info@ocio.biz

Derek R. IannelliSmith 2017

1 1

TeamLogic IT of Charleston SC 215 East Bay St., Suite 500E Charleston, SC 29401

843-823-7003 www.teamlogicit.com/CharlestonSC005 dkaufman@teamlogicit.com

Denise L. Kaufman 2019

1 3

Offering an apprenticeship through Trident College Fall 2020

WebWoman 810 Travelers Blvd., Suite A2 Summerville, SC 29485

843-821-1466 www.webwoman.biz -

Tina G. McDuffie 2005

1 1

WordPress, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, web development, iPad and iPhone tips and tricks, Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher

Researched by Business Journal staff

At Work

BUSINESS DIGEST | PEOPLE IN THE NEWS | HOT PROPERTIES | PEER TO PEER

People in the News

Business Digest

2nd Woodhouse Day Spa location opens in downtown Charleston Woodhouse Day Spa has opened a second location, in downtown Charleston. It is located in Suite 150 at 10 Westedge. The new, two-story, 9,000-square-foot location includes 17 treatment rooms, three relaxation rooms with fireplaces, and a boutique. It will offer all of the services that are currently being offered at the original location in Mount Pleasant.

Heatworks receives CES Innovation Award for third consecutive year

THS Constructors expands presence in Charleston

THS Constructors Inc. has opened a new office in North Charleston to serve all new and current projects in the Lowcountry. In December, THS was awarded the contract for the new Hellenic Center and Social Hall for the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity at 11 Race St. in Charleston. The project will include a two-story administration and classroom facility and a single-story social hall with a commercial kitchen. The total project will be 23,083 square feet and will include the demolition of the existing building. This project follows an increased presence in the Lowcountry for the company with The Citadel’s Bastin Hall project underway and the recently completed Absolute Haitian headquarters in Moncks Corner.

William Means Real Estate completes record year of Charleston home sales

In 2019, William Means Real Estate sold more than $212 million in Charleston, with an average home sales price of $873,000, making it one of the best years in the company’s history. William Means sold 233 homes for the year. The company’s agents work from offices in downtown Charleston and the I’On neighborhood of Mount Pleasant.

Heatworks attended the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, where it won the Innovation Award for its Duo carafe. The company also announced a new developer kit that integrates their Ohmic Array technology into appliances that heat water. This water-heating process is at the core of their three products, all of which won awards at CES: the Model 3 smart tankless electric water heater, the Tetra countertop dishwasher and most recently, the Duo carafe.

New Harbour Club location under construction in WestEdge

The new Harbour Club will be located at 22 WestEdge, off Lockwood Boulevard, in the $400 million mixed-use WestEdge development. Both the building and the club are being built by Trident Construction. Designs include dining and event spaces with a kitchen, inside the tallest office building in Charleston. Located on the seventh floor, the Harbour Club will consist of 360-degree panoramic views of the peninsula through the building’s full-height glass. An outdoor terrace on the north side of the building will offer views of the Ashley River. This new, 18,000-square-foot space will include event and conference rooms to allow

members to host both small meetings and large events.

New fundraising app focuses on community service

MPower6 is a new fundraising app designed to generate funds for schools, sports teams and classrooms. The Charleston-based company is owned by former Citadel baseball coach David Beckley. The web-based app will use text and email to reach out to potential donors. MPower6 partners each fundraiser with a charity, so campaigns generate funds for customers’ needs but also focus on community service and charitable donations. During each fundraising campaign, the team requesting donations will either perform community service to give back or present a monetary gift to a charity. Through these donations, the hope is that the fundraising groups learn the importance of giving back and the charitable organizations get needed funds.

Charleston Promise Neighborhood receives grants from community

Charleston Promise Neighborhood has been awarded $5,000 from S.C. Federal Credit Union to assist in funding SchoolDay Supports, which provides resources for additional professionals in schools, teacher professional development, youth leadership development programs and field experiences for students. The organization also received $20,000 from the Bosch Community Fund, which provides teachers, students and communities with tools to create learning experiences for See BUSINESS DIGEST, Page 29

EDUCATION Sheldon Crosby has joined Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union and Trident Technical College’s Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeship program. CrosCrosby by will work in the IT department for two years while he completes a degree in computer science and networking at Trident Tech. Kenya Dunn was recently elected to the Tri-County Cradle to Career Collaborative board of directors for a threeyear term. Dunn is a motivational speaker Dunn and the CEO of The Power Filled Woman. She has held executive leadership positions in customer service and retail organizations, including T-Mobile. Dunn graduated from the University of Phoenix with a bachelor’s degree in management.

REAL ESTATE Adams Property Group has hired Tiffany Reid as director of administrative services. She will be managing human resources, supporting the accounting team Reid and developing marketing strategy. Reid has 14 years of experience working in human resources and accounting departments. She holds a Bachelor of Science in business from the College of Charleston. The Beach Co. has hired JC Darby as a development associate at the company’s Charleston headquarters. Previously, Darby spent more than five years workDarby ing with a Nashville, Tenn.-based real estate services company. During this time, he also assisted The Beach Co. with several investments in Tennessee. In his new role, Darby will be involved with See PEOPLE, Page 28

www.charlestonbusiness.com

April 6 - 19, 2020

People in the News PEOPLE, from Page 27

the acquisition and development of new ventures in the Southeast. Darby earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and an MBA in real estate development from The Citadel.

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List: Office Supply and Equipment Dealers Bonus List: Employee Benefit Brokers Advertising Deadline: May 18

For advertising information, call Steve Fields at (843) 849-3110

Cate Smolinsky of Colliers International, has earned the Commercial Property Marketing Certification from Colliers University. Smolinsky completSmolinsky ed a set of courses on marketing and commercial real estate to earn certification. She is a marketing coordinator in the Charleston office and focuses on pitching new business, writing proposals and marketing properties. Colliers International’s Kristie Roe, Alex Irwin and William Ederle have secured four new office building leasing assignments in the Charleston area, Irwin including Liberty Center at 151 Meeting St., 134 Meeting St., the Lowcountry Innovation Center at 1535 Hobby St. and 1520 Old Trolley Road. Roe, Irwin and Ederle are members Ederle of the Colliers office brokerage team, specializing in the representation of owners, buyers and tenants in purchasing and leasing office space in the Charleston market and along the S.C. coast. RealtyLink Commercial LLC has hired Hudson Rogers as a development partner. Rogers is a 14-year veteran of the retail development and brokerage industry and will be focusing on local and national opportunities for RealtyLink’s Charleston office. Shawnda Asby has placed her real estate license with AgentOwned Realty’s Mount Pleasant office. Asby also leads the Asby Business Center LLC, where she proAsby vides tax preparation and consulting services to individuals and small businesses. Asby also has experience in the financial services industry. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Limestone College and an MBA from Webster University. She is

also pursuing a master’s degree in human resources management and services.

SUPPLY CHAIN Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the S.C. Ports Authority, received the Roger Milliken Defender of Manufacturing Award for his support of the state’s manufacNewsome turing industry. The S.C. Manufacturers Alliance honored Newsome during an awards dinner in January in Greenville. Newsome has served as CEO of S.C. Ports for the past decade. During this time, he has led infrastructure projects, grown port operations and doubled cargo volumes.

ARCHITECTURE LS3P has named Marc Marchant as its new CEO. Marchant graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in design and a Master of ArchitecMarchant ture degree. He previously served as studio leader, Charleston office leader and health care practice leader.

BUSINESS SERVICES The BBB Serving Central S.C. and Charleston has added Tom Moore, president and owner of Edgewater Sports Marketing, to its board of directors. Moore is Moore an Air Force veteran and has been involved with high school and collegiate sports for more than 30 years. Previously, he served as the co-captain of The Citadel’s football team, and as an assistant football coach at Clemson University and head football coach at Gardner-Webb University.

MANUFACTURING Marabu North America has hired Syd Northup as vice president of sales, digital US. Northrup has more than 19 years of experience in technical sales, business ownership and sales leadership. He will assume responsibility for sales of Marabu’s digital product portfolio across the country. Previously, Northrup spent more than 10 years managing Gans Ink & Supply Co.’s digital portfolio as their Inkjet Division director. Prior to that, he was a principal with Blue Wave Print and Innowave Digital Solutions.

April 6 - 19, 2020

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BUSINESS DIGEST, from Page 27

STEM education and to advance environmental sustainability initiatives. The funds will go toward providing extended learning opportunities through afterschool and summer academics, events that engage parents and the community, and in-school health and wellness clinics for students.

TYS accounting firm opening new office in Summerville after merger

National accounting firm TYS LLP has merged with Lefkowitz & Co. LLP. The combined firm, which will as TYS, will have offices in Summerville, as well as Rochester, N.Y., Miami, San Francisco and Walnut Creek, Calif. The company’s team of accounting specialists, tax planners, business advisers, audit specialists and bookkeepers now serves more than 1,200 clients across the country.

new location for its office. Founded by mother-daughter team Karen Stawicki and Samantha Irish, the firm focuses on tax-efficient retirement for clients across the country. Compass specializes in tax mitigation solutions, pre and post-tax retirement strategies, premium finance, guaranteed lifetime income annuities, fixed and index annuities, term and permanent life insurance, and dynamic business solutions including buy-sell, key-man and business succession planning. The company’s new office is located in Suite A-1 at 1470 Ben Sawyer Blvd. in Mount Pleasant.

Starbucks Delivers is now available in Charleston through the Uber Eats mobile app. Charleston is one of 33 new markets that has recently launched the program, which is available in 49 markets across 29 states.

Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic donated 634 pints of blood in 2019, capping 20 years of official American Red Cross records and exceeding donation numbers from 2017, when the organization received the national-level Premier Partner Award the first time. Donations were made despite weather-related issues that canceled two of the 22 blood drives last year.

Mother-daughter owned wealth management firm rebrands, moves

Charleston-based Compass Financial celebrated its six-year anniversary with a new look to its website and a

RockBox Fitness opens location in Mount Pleasant

Located in the Six Mile Marketplace at 1168 Basketweave Drive, RockBox Fitness combines boxing, kickboxing and functional training in high-energy group workouts.

Roper Bariatric Surgery and Medical Weight Loss adds to accreditation

Roper St. Francis Bariatric Surgery and Medical Weight Loss has become one of the first two programs in the country to earn a new designation covering both surgical and nonsurgical obesity treatments. The program, housed at Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, sought to convert its accreditation with the American College of Surgeons from a comprehensive center to a comprehensive center with obesity medicine qualifications. This accreditation requires the hospital to perform more than 50 bariatric surgical procedures annually, as well as to meet certain standards, such as employing an obesity medicine director and offering obesity medicine services.

Holy City Med Urgent and Primary Care opens in West Ashley

Holy City Med Urgent and Primary Care

League of Charleston have partnered to support the Junior League’s Diaper Bank. The initiative helps families who struggle to provide diapers for their babies and toddlers. The diaper bank collects, packages and distributes diapers free of charge through 13 partners throughout the tri-county area. Girl Scouts have the option to donate diapers, instead of using their cookie sale proceeds toward other activities or incentive rewards within the cookie program.

Berkeley County holds ribboncutting for new coroner’s office

SunTrust donates $10,000 to Palmetto Goodwill

Starbucks now delivers in Charleston

Red Cross commends NIWC Atlantic blood donors

celebrated its grand opening in February at 2039 Savannah Highway in Charleston. Frank Wells, founder and CEO of Holy City Med, attended the event along with representatives from the Charleston Metro Chamber. Holy City Med is open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SunTrust Bank recently donated $10,000 to Palmetto Goodwill in support of its job training and employment services. As winners of SunTrust’s 2019 Challenge for Charity campaign, which measured SunTrust employee giving and volunteerism throughout the year, the local team was given an additional $10,000 from the SunTrust Foundation to donate to an organization of their choice. Palmetto Goodwill was nominated and chosen as the recipient.

Berkeley County cut the ribbon on its new coroner’s office in February. Through an agreement with the Berkeley County School District, which had previously used the building for office space, the county acquired the building in exchange for in-kind services for the school district. Berkeley County Facilities and Grounds teams renovated the building. The new building will have more space for filing and storage, offices and conference rooms.

Longevity Fitness Charleston to launch elite member fitness facility

Longevity Fitness Charleston has opened The Club by Longevity Fitness, a wellness space for elite members. Offerings include Pilates, TRX, HIIT, one-on-one personalized training and body work. The Club by Longevity Fitness is located on the third floor and will offer coaching and client care, state-of-the-art equipment, a designated personal training area, cardio and weight floor. There is also a private recovery lounge for clients to relax and recover pre- and post-workout with an infrared sauna and zero-gravity massage chair.

Elfie delivers to ECCO on behalf of Snee Farm residents

Elfie delivered a $925 donation toward East Cooper Community Outreach’s mission to provide safety net services to its low-income neighbors while empowering them to create a better future for themselves, their families and the community. Established in 2018, the Elfie initiative helps raise awareness and financial donations throughout the Snee Farm neighborhood in Mount Pleasant.

Sweetgrass Plastic Surgery opens new med spa on Daniel Island

Girl Scouts of Eastern S.C., Junior League partner on diaper bank

Girl Scouts of Eastern SC and Junior

Sweetgrass Plastic Surgery has opened the new Sweetgrass Plastic Surgery Spa on Daniel Island, combining luxury spa services and amenities with specialized clinical cosmetic treatments. The new spa offers almost 40 different services, including facials, dermal fillers and injectables, chemical peels, nonsurgical body contouring and microdermabrasion.

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April 6 - 19, 2020

GROW YOUR BUSINESS - RESERVE YOUR BOOTH!

The North Charleston Business Expo showcases the Lowcountry’s most dynamic businesses on an exciting, interactive show floor. This must-attend event, in its sixth year, offers the business community, from small business entrepreneurs to senior executives, the premier opportunity to connect with local professionals, create new relationships, and discover new resources for business growth. Contact Kim McManus today at (843) 849-3116 or kmcmanus@scbiznews. com, for more information about available booth space. Reserve your booth online today: www.NorthCharlestonExpo.com

BOOTH REGISTRATION DEADLINE: May 1

Power Lunch: 11:30 – 1pm Business Expo: 1pm – 5pm Networking Reception: 5pm – 6:30pm

Thursday, July 16

Charleston Area Convention Center