VOLUME 15 NUMBER 1 ■ COLUMBIABUSINESSREPORT.COM
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JANUARY 24-FEBRUARY 13, 2022 ■ $2.25
Lasting legacy
University of South Carolina names dorm for educator. Page 2
Top chefs
Trio selected to serve as ambassadors for state. Page 4
Second location Popular Five Points spot to open BullStreet site. Page 9
Full speed ahead
S.C. Ports says it’s poised to navigate uncertain future. Page 11
INSIDE
SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 In Focus: 2022: The Year Ahead .......................................... 13 List: Hospitals..................... 14 Bonus List: Urgent Care Centers .............................. 16 At Work............................... 21
THE ROAD AHEAD
Members of the S.C. Legislature and the S.C. Chamber of Commerce say tax reform and workforce development are top priorities for 2022. (Photo/Melinda Waldrop)
Businesses, leaders set sights on post-pandemic priorities By Melinda Waldrop
T
mwaldrop@scbiznews.com
his time last year, Lance Brown was still getting his arms around his new career path. Now, that path has become a bustling thoroughfare. Brown, president and CEO of Columbia-based medical supply distributor Rhino Medical Supply, busily built relationships with customers and manufacturers after founding the company in May 2020. Now, he’s focused on selling products. “Anything under a hospital roof, we can get, and we’ve been selling,” Brown said. That includes crutches, in demand because
of a nationwide aluminum shortage, nitrile gloves and at-home COVID-19 tests coveted by retail customers and wholesale clients such as pharmacies. “We ship out all over the country, but we’ve gotten a heavy response from the state of South Carolina and local folks in the Columbia and Midlands area that are just doing pickups,” Brown said. “Literally, about every 10 minutes, we have somebody come and do a pickup. … There’s somebody coming in now.” Brown’s small business-success is what S.C. legislators and business leaders want to see more of as the state and the nation navigate a post-pandemic future. The S.C. Chamber of Commerce released
Back on track
Court decision greenlights Lexington beer garden. Page 6
its 2022 Competitiveness Agenda earlier this month, calling for lawmakers to reduce both personal and property tax burdens and to inject investment into workforce development initiatives, among other priorities. “Our No. 1 priority is tax reform and tax cuts,” Bob Morgan, president and CEO of the chamber, said before the organization’s Business Speaks dinner Jan. 12 at the Pastides Alumni Center in Columbia. “The state is flush with a $3 billion surplus, and we’d like to see cuts in the personal income tax rate. We’d like to see commercial property tax rates addressed, and we’re hopeful that that will See LOOK AHEAD, Page 17