Columbia Regional Business Report - May 24, 2021

VOLUME 14 NUMBER 8 ■ COLUMBIABUSINESSREPORT.COM

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Special Focus: Cayce/West Columbia Growth Report, pages 16-21 People mingle on State Street in West Columbia during Art on State, an event showcasing local businesses, earlier this month. (Photo/City of West Columbia)

Best of the best

Chapin High English teacher named S.C’s top educator.

Page 2

A big boost

Midlands Gives sees record $3.34 million in donations.

Page 4

Moving right along Brewery, medical school back on track at BullStreet.

Page 8

Capturing history

Columbia artist’s mural pays homage to Black Wall Street.

Page 10

INSIDE

Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 4 In Focus: Cayce/West Columbia growth report...... 16 List: Urgent Care Centers.... 15 At Work...............................22 Viewpoint............................23

GROWTH SPURT Melinda Waldrop

T

mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

wo bridges span the Congaree River, connecting Richland and Lexington counties while separating downtown Columbia from a pair of rapidly growing cities forging identities beyond state capital suburbs.

Cayce and West Columbia each take advantage of that river, ringing it with business and art districts. Each strive to create a welcoming atmosphere for residents and workers alike,

Cayce, West Columbia drawing attention across river

with an emphasis on helping people and providing easy access to government services.

Each city is also home to two powerful female leaders. Elise Partin’s ability to form alliances has led to a downtown revitalization during her 13 years as Cayce mayor, while Nephron CEO Lou Kennedy’s energetic focus has made the pharmaceutical company an industry leader and top job creator.

The women share a love for their communities and a dedication to improving daily life for those who call those places home.

“Lou is a plow-ahead, charge-forward,

do-what-needs-to-be-done, impatient-in-allthe-right-ways leader,” said Meghan Hickman, executive director of nonprofit economic development organization EngenuitySC who has worked extensively with both women on initiatives to improve the Midlands’ competitiveness and livability. “Mayor Partin is a diplomat, and she is all about investing in the relationships and spending time in building the foundation.”

In this issue, the Columbia Regional Business Report takes a closer look at what makes each woman and each city successful.

Hometown impact

Nephron CEO Lou Kennedy takes pride in bringing jobs, development to Lexington County.

Page 17

Upfront

BRIEFS | FACTS | STATEWIDE NEWS

P

erhaps the most often-delivered car advice is that you’re generally better off buying a gently used pre-owned car than taking the hit on the depreciation the moment that new ride rolls off the lot.

Turns out, that’s not always the case. A lot of cars hold so much value that it makes more sense to buy them new.

Consider the Tesla Model 3, which has an overall depreciation of only 2.1%.

Think about that. If someone said, you can save $923, which represents the 2.1% savings on a new Model 3, or you can have a new car, wouldn’t you pay up the difference?

That’s the conclusion of the data crunchers at iSeeCars, an online database of new and used cars across the U.S. However there are a lot of car models that you’ll do tremendously better with by buying used, including some of the well-known luxury brands.

Tesla Model 3

Top 10 cars you should buy new vs. used

Photo/Prrovided

When new beats used in the car market

A LA CARTE

BMW 5 Series

The 10 cars you should buy used vs. new

Model

% difference

Cash difference

Model

% difference

Cash difference

Tesla Model 3

2.1%

$923

BMW 5 Series

36.4%

$24,207

Toyota Tacoma

4.2%

$1,557

Hyundai Sonata

36.1%

$9,898

Kia Telluride

5.7%

$2,456

Infiniti Q50

34.9%

$16,322

Force Ranger

7.1%

$2,416

31.6%

$8,041

Jeep Gladiator

7.1%

$3,373

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Toyota Rav4 Hybrid

Ford Mustang

31.0%

$13,422

7.8%

$2,808

30.9%

$13,562

GMC Sierra 1500

8.2%

$4,731

Mercedes-Benz GLA

Toyota Tundra

8.3%

$3,939

Infiniti Q60

30.9%

$16,944

Chevrolet Colorado

Nissan Sentra

30.2%

$6,209

8.8%

$3,051

BMW 3 Series

29.7%

$15,266

Honda Civic Hatchback

8.9%

$2,309

Mercedes-Benz CLA

29.5%

$13,420

Chapin High English teacher wins state honor Chapin High School English teacher Amy Carter has been named the 2022 S.C. Teacher of the Year.

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman presented Carter with the award at a Wednesday night gala in Columbia.

“Amy’s leadership in and outside her classroom and dedication to her students have uniquely qualified her for this prestigious honor,” Spearman said in a news release. “I look forward to seeing her represent South Carolina’s

Bestselling new cars in Columbia

over 55,000 teachers as she advocates

If you have a Hyundai to sell in the Midlands, you’re likely to find a buyer fairly fast. Four out of the five fastest-selling cars in April were Hyundais.

for the profession over the next year.”

Top-selling model

Days on market

Hyundai Palisade

9.3

Hyundai Elantra

16.2

Days on market

Toyota Rav4

16.9

for 21 years. She uses literature to

Hyundai Sonata

17.0

connect to students in ninth though

Hyundai Tuscon

17.4

12 grades and serves in the school’s

Source: iSeeCars.com

HEARD IN THE

REPORT

Carter has taught high school English

Top-selling model

Teacher Cadet program. She earned a bachelor’s in English education at the

“We are too polarized in this country right now, and I am thankful that my position is nonpartisan and I have never declared a party. I’m making a difference here, and I like that.”

educational technology from the University of South Carolina.

She receives $25,000 and the use of a brand-new BMW for a year of service as a roving education ambassador.

— Cayce Mayor Elise Partin

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SC Biz News Briefs IT’S TIME TO BINGE BUSINESS With nearly 150 videos (and counting), our YouTube channel features a wide variety of business-related content. Our playlists have something for everyone.

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Recognition Events

Coping with COVID

Sam Konduros, former CEO of SCBio, speaks at a press conference about Charleston-based Vikor Scientific’s Quantgene product line this spring. (Photo/Molly Hulsey)

GREENVILLE

GSA Business Report

SCBio CEO steps down to launch Vikor-affiliated health startup

C

EO Sam Konduros calls his time with SCBio a “four-year honeymoon,” but new opportunities for the life science lynchpin lie on the horizon.

This month, Konduros passed the torch to COO and Vice President Erin Ford, who will take on the role of interim CEO, as he spearheads a rising health innovation venture with executives of Charleston-based Vikor Scientific.

He said it is another opportunity to exercise his penchant for building companies and initiatives from the ground up, “which seems to be my calling card to some extent, because this will be a new company in their portfolio company.”

Konduros told GSA Business Report that he will step in as the company’s CEO while serving on Vikor Scientific’s board of directors.

The startup will be geared toward “delivering a novel blueprint to the health care marketplace, powered by AI and blockchain technologies and focuses on science-based personalized medicine strategies to solve some of the nation’s most pressing health care challenges,” according to a news release.

The Vikor portfolio company will not be affiliated with Vikor’s and Quantgene Inc.’s new cancer-preventative treatment, Serenity, and corresponding innovation division Korlife, he said, but does follow Vikor’s recent “explosive growth” as the company has expanded its footprint from Charleston to Philadelphia over the past three years.

“They recently acquired a pathology lab in Tampa, and this will be the next significant diversification for the company,” Konduros said, adding that he aims to be “able to help in any way that I can with the overall strategic direction of the company, but clearly, I will be highly focused in a CEO role, building and leading a new team of executives and developing facilities in relation to the new company we will be talking about maybe in less than a month.”

Konduros is working closely with SCBio’s board leadership on a transition strategy.

“Sam Konduros has been a force — for economic development, for life sciences and for the long-term prosperity of South Carolina,” SCBio Board of Directors Chair Lou Kennedy, also the CEO of Nephron Pharmaceuticals, said in the news release. “It has been an honor to work with him. He has made a remarkable impact on this organization, and he leaves it better than he found it, as one of the most influential associations in the state. We thank Sam for the service and sacrifice he has given to SCBio, and we wish him all the best.”

Subscribe to SCBIZtv and stay in tune with what’s happening across South Carolina. https://www.youtube.com/scbiztv

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Leatherman diverts ships after lawsuit

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Entrepreneurs now Women finding opportunity to start their own businesses across S.C. Page 6

Zero emissions

Logistics and shipping companies making commitment to cut carbon.

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New publisher

Rick Jenkins has been named group publisher for SC Biz News.

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he S.C. Ports Authority has shifted two containerships intended to call on the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal back to Wando Welch Terminal as shipping companies look to stay out of the fray cause by a union lawsuit, the Port of Charleston said in

a statement.

In a months-long battle to ascertain HLT jobs that they believe should be assigned to union workers, the International Longshoremen’s Association has taken to using an “intimidation tactic” to get liners to boycott the port, the SCPA said.

Despite the Leatherman Terminal opening, the ILA is suing Hapag-Loyd and the U.S.

HIGH TECH

Maritime Alliance for $200 million in damages, arguing that by docking at the terminal and using non-bargaining employees, both violated terms of their Master Contract and subsequently cost ILA members future jobs and wages.

While the lawsuit isn’t directed at the SCPA,

Spring 2021

Self-driving cars

Deep Orange 12 project fast-tracking technology.

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CRBR

See LAWSUIT, Page 12 The Charleston Technology Center rises above Morrison Drive in Charleston. The facility recently opened. (Photo/Paul Eric Rich – Huckleberry)

The Charleston Technology Center opens doors on Morrison Drive after new construction builds place for early-stage startups and growing tech firms.

Driving toward the future

Page 10

Better protection

S.C. plans to distribute more effective face mask beyond pandemic demands.

Page 7

S.C. automakers push tech advancements, electric power

INSIDE

A different view

Women key to closing manufacturing talent gap.

Page 10

Branching out

New Columbia law firm features familiar faces.

Page 15

INSIDE

Upfront ................................ 2 SC Biz News Briefs ................ 3 Best Advice .......................... 4 In Focus: Ports, Logistics and Distribution ................. 15 List: Motor Freight Companies.........................23 Bonus List: Employee Benefit Brokers ..................25 At Work ..............................27 Viewpoint ........................... 31

Upfront ................................ 2 SC Biz News Briefs ................ 3 In Focus: Law..................... 14 List: Law Firms .................. 17 At Work .............................. 21 Viewpoint ...........................23

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industry. It’s going to be painful, but anything worth having always is. This was a rough year, but it has made all of the facilities a lot more cognizant of their weak spots.”

s the COVID-19 pandemic changed the rules in almost every industry on a Nursing homes and residential near-daily basis, nursing homes care facilin par- ities were locked down ticular struggled to keep up with in the first months of the ever-shift- the pandemic, with South Carolina beginning ing landscape and may face even more uncer- to allow limited visitation last September and tainty going forward. before requiring all facilities to “One of the big challenges for allow visitation the facilities in March. During that stretch, family members has been dealing with the almost-constant rule were limited to emails or and regulation change,” said FaceTime to check on Kelli Sullivan, a loved ones. partner at Columbia law firm Turner Padget “I have said several times, I think and a member of the firm’s health that everycare litiga- thing that stinks about tion team. “(Guidance) from getting older is made the CDC and worse by COVID, ” said Sarah St. Onge, an associMedicare changed literally every week, and so ate at Millender Elder Law in Columbia. “If you’re that was quite a challenge. Once you implement doing OK and you’re living at home and you’re something, if it changes two or three days later, independent and you get COVID, a week afterit’s a little bit like turning the Titanic. (But) I ward, you might end up in assisted living. If you’re think the lessons we’ve learned, if we handle in assisted living, you might end up in the nursing them well and take what we’ve learned, could home. If you’re in a nursing home, you might end really ultimately in the long run improve the up in a hospital.

The isolation is terrible.”

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Columbus Street Terminal at S.C. Ports drives business across the state.

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Nursing homes would be well-served to put into place lessons learned during the pandemic, Sullivan said, even as they await any potential legal fallout from COVID-19 infections and deaths at facilities.

Best practices could include revamped disaster planning, increasing staffing options through resources such as temp agencies, and a commitment to “document, document, document,” she said. “Let’s say your facility is low on PPE, and you contacted supplier A, supplier B and supplier C, and you can’t get any N95 masks. It’s great you’ve done that.

You’re doing your best to comply. But four years from now when you’re sued about this, you’ve got to be able to say well, here’s the evidence that I contacted supplier A to get more and supplier B or C, and I couldn’t get it, so our next best step was to do X. But if you don’t document those things, memories fade in the fog of everything See NURSING HOMES, Page 22

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May 24 - June 20, 2021

Midlands Gives provides $3.34 million boost to nonprofits MIDLANDS NEWSROOM Editor - Melinda Waldrop mwaldrop@scbiznews.com • 803.726.7542

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By Melinda Waldrop mwaldrop@sciznews.com

W

ith a recent survey finding that more than half of the state’s nonprofits faced an uncertain future in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the eighth annual Midlands Gives philanthropic drive provided a needed boost to a record number of participants.

The May 4 day-long giving blitz raised $3.34 million in donations to 479 nonprofits. Both numbers set records and came at a critical time, said JoAnn Turnquist, president and CEO of event host Central Carolina Community Foundation.

“Nonprofits are businesses, and like businesses across the country, the pandemic affected their ability to raise money,” Turnquist said. “The pandemic increased the services that they provided to their constituents, and the pandemic also affected their teams, their staff.

Every individual who works for a nonprofit faced the same traumas that we all did. There were parents working from home while trying to school their kids at the kitchen table, members of nonprofit teams who were dealing with sick friends and family, and members of nonprofit teams who themselves were laid off or furloughed because the funds dried up. … That’s why it was so important to support the supporters.”

A March 2021 survey by Columbia-based nonprofit Together SC found that 59% of S.C. nonprofits believed they could survive for six months or less without additional funding.

This year’s final Midlands Gives tally surpassed the 2021 donation total of $3.32 million and saw 21,080 donations made.

“We don’t have expectations,” Turnquist said. “We have hope in the resilience of our nonprofits. We have hope in the continued generosity of folks across the Midlands. We have hope that the appreciation for the incredible work and support that nonprofits have provided to us through the pandemic and throughout

Central Carolina Community Foundation staff, including president and CEO JoAnn Turnquist, celebrate a record $3.34 million in donations during the Midlands Gives charitable fundaising event on May 4. The annual philanthropic drive is in eighth year. (Photo/Provided)

the years will be recognized by those of us who have been fortunate to have them in the communities.”

Christian evangelical organization A Moment of Hope received the most money at $138,016 from 298 donors, while Historic Columbia had the most donors, with 479 unique gifts totaling $54,736.

Oliver Gospel Mission also topped the $100,000 mark with $114,344 received from 390 donors.

Event partners including Dominion Energy, Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp. and the African American Philanthropy Committee contributed $155,000 in incentive prizes, and 105 of the participating nonprofits secured matching donations, “which basically act like an endorsement for people to give,” Turnquist said.

“Our nonprofits were very savvy in developing plans to increase knowledge about their services and products that they provide that improve communities.

They were very resourceful in engaging previous supporters and helping build a

robust campaign message.”

Along with distributing grants and connecting community resources and leaders, Central Carolina Community Foundation provides training to nonprofits in 11 Midlands counties to help streamline business models.

“If a business is run well, it can have a bigger impact,” Turnquist said. “That’s evident in the increased number of gifts, the increased number of dollars that nonprofits are receiving because their companies are more efficient and their operations are more efficient.”

Turnquist said Midlands Gives embodies four key values Central Carolina Community Foundation follows: count on each other, see what’s possible, engage everyone and demand more from ourselves.

“Midlands Gives certainly has done that for all of us,” she said. “We are seeing what is possible when we come together and collaborate under the umbrella of philanthropy.”

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Jesse Bullard 2022 Midlands Heart Ball Chair Joins the American Heart Association's #CHECKIT campaign and encourages everyone to know their numbers.

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To Learn More, visit www.heart.org/Midlands

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May 24 - June 20, 2021

Former Rosewood Church to become high-end apartments

A

Staff Report

new mixed-use development will transform a familiar neighborhood landmark into high-end apartments and retail space including a Starbucks.

Cason Development Group is spearheading the renovation of the former Rosewood Church property at 2901 Rosewood Drive into 52 apartments.

Rosewood Church, which had occupied the property since 1937, put the building up for sale in 2019 and relocated to Moss Avenue.

“Our team is very excited about the opportunity to bring these buildings back to life with this new mixed-use project,” Frank Cason, Cason Development Group president, said in a news release.

“We feel this development will help continue the momentum in the downtown area by bringing new residents and improving the urban lifestyle in Columbia.”

The existing sanctuary was built in 1969-70 by Ralph Lee Construction, which was owned and operated by the late grandfather of Wilson Kibler senior associate Brooks Owings. Owings represented Cason Development Group in the property acquisition.

“My personal connection to the prop-

Rendering/Provided

erty makes this a transaction that I am especially grateful to be involved with,” Owings said. “I look forward to seeing the end-product that Cason Development delivers and its positive impact on the community.”

An existing building at 2809 Rosewood Drive, across Sloan Street from the church, will be converted into retail space, and a second retail building, which will house Starbucks, will be constructed.

Three of the apartments will be above the new retail building.

A portion of Sloan Street will be closed and become a part of the project, creating a dead end, and a pedestrian- and

bike-friendly entrance will be created from Sloan Street off Burney Drive.

“Interest in the retail portion of this project has been outstanding from the start,” said Taylor Wolfe, a developer with Cason. “We plan to be very selective while working through our tenant mix here. Our team wants to be sure we have a collection of retailers that cater to our apartments and serve the Shandon and Rosewood neighborhoods for years to come.”

Boyer Construction is the project contractor, while Garvin Design Group is the architect.

“It’s exciting to be involved with repur-

thank you

and congratulations

First Community offers our deepest appreciation to J. Thomas “Tommy” Johnson who is retiring from our board of directors after 17 years of service.

His insight and counsel have proved invaluable.

Tommy’s retirement gives us the opportunity to announce that Chimin J. “Jimmy” Chao and W. James “Jim” Kitchens, Jr. will step into the roles of chairman and vice chairman, respectively.

We’re grateful for their leadership and applaud their continued commitment to First Community.

posing an existing neighborhood church into really cool living spaces without altering the church’s appearance,” said Scott Garvin, president of Garvin Design Group.

“The mix of permanent residents and the newly created retail next door will result in a very active development for this area of Rosewood.”

The project is Cason’s third announced Columbia-area mixed-use project. Work is underway to convert the Klondike Building at 1813 Main St. downtown into apartments with retail and has also begun on a mixed-use project on Forest Dive at Brentwood Drive in Forest Acres.

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Nephron to receive $7.9 million in trade secrets case

By Melinda Waldrop

A

mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

three-year legal battle centered around allegations of trade secrets theft from Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp. has been resolved in a $7.9 million settlement that the case’s lead attorney said sends a strong message.

Arkansas-based U.S. Compounding Inc. and parent company Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp. agreed to pay the West Columbia-headquartered company that sum and are also permanently enjoined from using any of the confidential customer and pricing information two former Nephron employees were found to have provided its competitor.

“I think the rulings we obtained and then the fact that the settlement was so big is going to benefit not only Nephron and the protection of the sanctity of its trade secrets going forward but also any company who is trying to protect its trade secrets,” said Nikole Setzler Mergo, Nexsen Pruet’s Columbia office managing partner and lead trial lawyer in the Nephron litigation.

The settlement, reached last month as the case was about to go to trial, involves final judgments and permanent injunctions in Florida, New Jersey and South Carolina.

According to court documents, the first former employee downloaded data including customer contacts, purchasing history and pricing details before leaving Nephron to work for U.S. Compounding.

“Her first week on that job was her last week on my job,” Nephron owner and CEO Lou Kennedy said. “She was double-dipping, and the whole time, they were able to prove, she had four different devices plugged in downloading all my contractual terms, all manner of quality ideas. It was like giving the playbook to a competitor.”

A second former Nephron employee was alleged to have used confidential information in her new sales territory in New Jersey. An individual breach of

West Columbia-based Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp. will receive $7.9 million in the settlement of a lawuit that alleged theft of trade secrets by former company employees. U.S. Compounding Inc. and parent company Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp. agreed to the sun and are permanently enjoined from using any of the confidential customer and pricing information provided by the employees. (Photo/File)

contract suit against that employee was transferred to South Carolina in December 2020.

Nephron relocated its operations to West Columbia from Orlando in April 2017.

“It was three separate federal court lawsuits all going on at the same time,” Mergo said. “It was three years of very hard-fought litigation with a lot of very complicated issues. It was a trade secrets case, which is a complicated area of the law because you have to demonstrate that the information that was appropriated was a trade secret, first of all, which is a very high standard, and you have to demonstrate the company, Nephron, used reasonable methods to protect those trade secrets.”

The settlement was reached April 9, 10 days before a trial was to begin.

Kennedy was prepared to see the cases through, having recently purchased a new accessory in the event the litigation

dragged on.

“I had bought an Apple watch because you can’t take phones into the court room, and if I was going to be subjected to potentially a 10-day trial, there’s no way. I can’t be that far away from technology,” she said. “I wasn’t concerned about not winning. I was concerned about how can I spare that much time away from Nephron?”

Mergo said several factors led to the settlement. On March 29, U.S. Compounding and California-headquartered Adamis were found in civil contempt for violating a Florida injunction against using Nephron’s information while the case was being litigated.

“Once we found out about the second employee, we made a motion for a finding of contempt,” Mergo said.

A ruling in Nephron’s favor reimbursed the company $123,000 in legal fees and imposed daily fines, the amount of which was still pending at the time of

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the settlement.

In addition, Mergo said evidence related to the second employee in New Jersey was going to be allowed into the Florida case.

In an April 15 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Adamis said Nephron’s allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets were without merit, but cited factors including the outcome of pre-trial motions and ongoing legal expenses as well as “the uncertainties of litigation and jury trials, and the possibility of punitive damages and other adverse awards or sanctions” in agreeing to the settlement.

Mergo said that Kennedy’s determination also sent a strong signal.

“She was ready to go to a jury,” Mergo said. “It was that resolve that put a lot of pressure and I think ultimately resulted in the settlement.”

Reach Melinda Waldrop at 803-726-7542.

8

www.columbiabusinessreport.com

May 24 - June 20, 2021

Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant’s planned location in Columbia is in “full design” mode, the project manager for BullStreet District master developer Hughes Development Corp. said, while plans to relocate the University of South Carolina’s medical school campus are also moving ahead. Chandler Cox updated a Columbia Chamber of Commerce online forum about happenings at the 181-acre, mixed-use development. (Rendering/Provided)

Brewery, medical school campus progressing at BullStreet

By Melinda Waldrop

T

mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

he BullStreet District has picked up momentum in the last 14 months despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with a new brewery on pace to open next summer and demolition for the University of South Carolina’s new medical school campus completed.

Chandler Cox, BullStreet project manager for master developer Hughes Development Corp., updated a Columbia Chamber of Commerce online audience on several projects earlier this month. Cox said Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant, which in March 2020 announced a Columbia location originally scheduled to open this summer, is in “full design” mode after a pandemic-related break as work continues throughout the 181-acre, mixed-use development.

“There are seven construction crews onsite right now,” Cox said. “There’s definitely a lot of activity going on out there.”

Cox also said demolition on university-owned buildings on the planned campus of the new medical school has been completed.

In March, the university’s board of trustees voted to allocate $4.2 million toward the proposed 16-acre site, which would include a 130,000-square-foot medical building and a separate 162,000-square-foot research building and lab. The estimated $300 million project is also awaiting funding from the S.C. Legislature.

The current circa-1930s building on Garners Ferry Road, leased from the Department of Veterans Affairs until 2030, needs an estimated $75 million in upgrades.

“In my humble opinion, I think one of the most underutilized assets we have in Columbia is the medical school,” said Carl Blackstone, president and CEO of the Columbia chamber, who expects around $55 million to be allocated to the project from lawmakers. “We cannot attract the talent that we need in an old, rundown building.”

Cox said the medical school could be the first constructed post-pandemic, with opportunities to focus on cutting-edge design to support learning and research.

Other ongoing infrastructure changes, including the connection of Freed Street to Bull Street, Boyce Street to Colonial Drive, and the installation of a new traffic signal as new tenants such as REI Co-op and Starbucks have opened their doors have made BullStreet more accessible to visitors and the surrounding community, Cox said.

Discussions are ongoing with other retail tenants, including restaurants that could fill the space next to Segra Park vacated in February 2020 by BullStreet’s first restaurant, Bone-In Barbeque, but nothing is ready to be announced yet.

“What we’ve learned from COVID-19 is the desire to congregate – there really is an emphasis on great gathering space,” she said. “We’re talking to a lot of developers, none that I can say, but stay tuned.”

Cox also said a “food and beverage con-

cept” is planned for the former chapel on the BullStreet campus.

A 20-acre public park with planned running and walking paths, a dog park, public art features and a natural water habitat now has a name, recently christened Page Ellington Park in honor of a former enslaved man who became a noted self-taught architect and builder. He helped design buildings on the former S.C. State Hospital complex, assisting Dr. James Babcock.

“We’re excited to be able to honor his legacy,” Cox said.

The Babcock Building is the centerpiece of a planned 208-unit luxury apartment complex in the district. That project, threatened by a September 2020 fire, saw renovations begin in December 2020 after key federal funding was secured and is on pace to welcome its first residents by early 2022, Cox said.

“There were some questions for a while about whether it was going to be able to go forward,” she said. “Did it still qualify as a historic project? The determination was made that it did.”

Cox said that the master plan of the BullStreet District has focused from its inception on “new urbanism,” or “an emphasis on people, not vehicles,” she said. “The goal is, you come to BullStreet, you park your car. You might not even know where you want to go, but there is always something interesting to do.”

That philosophy will be exemplified in the lawn of the WestLawn Building, scheduled to open behind Starbucks next

April. The planned green space at the end of Pickens Street will be open to public and is “intended to be the heart of the public space of BullStreet,” Cox said.

Cox also said TownPark at BullStreet, a phased townhome development, has entered its third phase.

Those tenants, along with the residents who began moving into senior living facility Merrill Gardens in July 2020, make up to the 2,000 to 3,000 people Cox eventually envisions living at BullStreet when the 20-year buildout is complete.

While the initial BullStreet design charrette called for up to 3.3 million square feet of commercial space and 3,553 residential units, Cox said those plans, as is typical in projects, have been somewhat fluid, responding to consumer demand and developer interest.

“For us, it’s been less about what the master plan was like and move about where the market is taking us,” she said.

Initial construction is also underway on two parking garages, one a 220-car structure and the other a 660-car structure, Cox said, and both should be open next year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made developers even more flexible, both in timelines and in building design. Cox said there has been a renewed emphasis on outdoor space and amenities such as touchless elevators. “Everybody has done a lot of evaluation on the direction they’re heading,” she said.

Reach Melinda Waldrop at 803-726-7542.

May 24 - June 20, 2021

www.columbiabusinessreport.com 9

Columbia technology startup receives 2nd investment

S

Staff Report

C Launch Inc., the nonprofit affiliate of S.C. Research Authority, has made a second, $200,000 investment in Columbia-based technology startup Land Intelligence Inc. The company’s software solutions support transactions including land development, home construction and investing. Land Intelligence developed a one-step platform which consolidates the

research involved in land development deals by providing customized tools and reporting capabilities.

“Success includes having a product or service that people need and having partners who believe in you and support your vision,” Land Intelligence CEO Gore Bolton said in a news release. “SCRA has been a staunch supporter of our products and are on this journey with us as we prepare for our next level of success. Our products offer a full range of site and civil

land engineering services as they relate to different types and stages of projects.

From initial data collection and surveys to final design, we have the expertise to serve throughout the entire development process.”

Land Intelligence became an SCRA member company in 2020 and progressed through the SC Launch program, becoming an SC Launch Inc. portfolio company the same year when it received its first investment of $200,000, accord-

ing to the release.

“Land Intelligence had a swift journey through our SC Launch program and became investible in the same year as their acceptance,” Lee MacIlwinen, SCRA investment manager, said in the release. “They were able to do this because they were well-prepared with an experienced executive team. They also had a solid customer base, matured operations, and products already doing well in the market.”

New Columbia tourism experience highlights Reconstruction landmarks

E

Staff Report

xperience Columbia SC and Historic Columbia have launched a history-centered tourism trail featuring eight pivotal locations and 10 trailblazers of the Reconstruction era.

Reconstructed: A Journey Through the Reconstruction Era in Columbia includes Historic Columbia’s Museum of the Reconstruction Era at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home as well as Reconstruction-era churches and Benedict College.

The experience also highlights historical figures such as Clarissa Minnie Thompson Allen, an educator and author, and

Robert Brown Elliott, a newspaperman, lawyer and state congressman.

“The period of Reconstruction was pivotal in our city and the nation’s history, yet myths surrounding this time remain prevalent today,” Robin Waites, Historic Columbia executive director, said in a news release. “We found it critical in this moment to partner with Experience Columbia SC on Reconstructed to showcase Columbia’s historic sites essential to the Reconstruction Era. Through this tour, visitors will explore the history of the places and people significant to Reconstruction, while also becoming familiar with the advancements made by

Black citizens prior to their rights being revoked under Jim Crow.

“It’s our hope that everyone who takes the tour comes away with an appreciation for the Black men and women who were trailblazers for freedom and equality.

Their stories deserve to be heard.”

A copy of the trail guide is available at the Columbia SC Visitors Center on Lincoln Street in the Vista or Historic Columbia’s gift shop at The Robert Mills House and Gardens. A new website, reconstructedcolumbiasc.com, has been created to accompany the experience, and the trail can be accessed digitally by scanning the QR code found on Recon-

struction Trail booklets.

“Many people don’t know how important the Reconstruction Era was to our nation, let alone that many of the most iconic buildings are still standing today in South Carolina’s capital,” Charlene Slaughter, Experience Columbia SC director of communications, said. “We’re proud to partner with Historic Columbia to bring this time period to life in an authentic and meaningful way to residents and visitors.”

The tour also includes the Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens, the S.C. State House, the University of South Carolina and Randolph Cemetery.

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Ija Charles completed a mural commemorating Columbia’s Black Wall Street at 1401 Main St. in three and a half weeks. The mural is part of a series of artwork throughout the city. (Photo/Melinda Waldrop)

Columbia artist’s mural captures moment of city’s history

By Melinda Waldrop

A

mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

young man in a dapper hat turns his head to gaze at an office building as people mill about on either side

of him.

The man’s hat, a swirl of green, yellow and orange, accents a bright green vest and echoes vibrantly hued scenes of folks dancing and mingling behind his left elbow. The building that has attracted his attention, however, is black and white, save for signs advertising attorney and real estate services.

At first glance, it could be a scene from any city street, but there are clues the mural unveiled May 13 on the side of a downtown building captures a specific moment in time.

“This is literally uncovering history that used to exist here that was buried over time,” artist Ija Charles said.

“The Pursuit of Opportunity: Celebrating African American Business” pays homage to the Washington Street corridor known as Columbia’s Black Wall Street. The area housed the law offices of Nathaniel J. Frederick, Matthew J. Perry Jr. and Harold R. Boulware, Victory Savings Bank, and the Capitol Theatre, along with a tailor shop, a photography studio and the Lighthouse & Informer, a Black newspaper published from 1941-1954 by journalist and civil rights advocate John Henry McCray.

“When I got the idea, I said I want to bring the past but also include the present,” said Charles, 24, a Columbia native who completed the expansive work at 1401 Main St. by herself in three and a half weeks. “I kept the Wall Street building in black and white to showcase the fact that this is from the past, this is something that you need to learn about, but kept the residents that existed during that time in color, because we’re all experiencing it again at the same time.

“I wanted it just to breathe life into the city as it used to be here.”

The mural is the latest in a series of public artwork displayed throughout Columbia City Council districts. Hyatt Park, in District 1, is home to “The Pursuit of Citizenship,” while District 3’s Valencia Park showcases “The Pursuit of Education” and Woodland Park in District 4 features civil rights pioneer Sarah Mae Flemming in “The Pursuit of Justice.”

“So often public art, statues, are used as ways to divide people,” Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said in remarks before a ceremonial ribbon cutting in front of the mural. “We have been very vocal about these symbols, and how each and every one of these symbols should be opportunities to tell a story, to tell our common story, and pull people together, to unify people. This council unanimously determined that we would tell that story, of the important con-

tributions of African Americans all across the city, and tell it in a way that was edifying and brought all people together.”

Other key Black Wall Street locations in the pre-Civil Rights era included the Simkins gas station, the Masonic Temple, beauty and barbershops, and the Blue Palace and Green Leaf cafes.

Only a few structures, including the North Carolina Mutual Building, the Pearson-Champion Funeral Home, and Frederick’s residence, survive.

“In so many ways, this mural helps to chronicle a missing, deleted, and demolished moment in our history,” said Bobby Donaldson, an associate history professor at the University of South Carolina and director of the school’s Center for Civil Rights History and Research. Donaldson also leads Columbia SC 63, an initiative commemorating Columbia’s civil rights history through efforts such as establishing local historical markers with details of significant area events.

Charles, a self-taught artist and graduate of Westwood High School in Blythewood, has a hand in telling stories throughout the Midlands. Her work is also on display in a mural in downtown Cayce and has been featured at Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

“I’ve been a complete muralist for three years now, doing all the jobs,” said Charles, who will start a project on Gervais Street

next week. “I can’t see myself stopping anytime soon.”

Charles’ family, including her grandmother, beamed with pride as the artist posed for pictures in front of her latest work on an afternoon shaded by sun and shadow.

“It’s a beautiful piece of art that tells an even more beautiful story,” Benjamin said.

“It tells the story of contributions of African American businesspeople to the long-term vitality of this city and is done by an amazing young artist who I think is representative of the cradle of talent that we have here in this city.”

Charles, whose work can be purchased through her Instagram account @ija_ monet, says bringing happiness her hometown is one of the most rewarding parts of her murals.

“It means the world to me, because for me to grow up here in South Carolina, it really was the residents that gave me the power that I have as an artist now,” she said.

“Everybody told me, ‘Push on, I love your work.’ Just being able to paint positive vibes on art canvases of South Carolina life, it makes me feel extremely good to be able to bring all these whimsical art works all over town.

“There’s going to be plenty more to come.”

Reach Melinda Waldrop at 803-726-7542.

May 24 - June 20, 2021

www.columbiabusinessreport.com 11

BridgeTower names group publisher for SC Biz News

By Andy Owens

B

aowens@scbiznews.com

ridgeTower Media has named Rick Jenkins group publisher for SC Biz News.

Jenkins formerly served as the publisher for GSA Business Report in the Upstate and will now oversee all operations for the statewide business-to-business media operations.

SC Biz News is the publisher of GSA Business Report, Columbia Regional Business Report, Charleston Regional Business Journal, SCBIZ magazine and many associated digital, print and event-driven media products.

BridgeTower named Jenkins after a nationwide search to replace long-serving group publisher Grady Johnson, who stepped down in March.

“I’m so honored to have the opportunity to lead SC Biz,” Jenkins said. “The company has been the leader in producing and distributing valuable content to high-level business executives throughout South Carolina for more than 25 years, and the SC Biz brand is as strong as ever.”

BridgeTower is an independently owned company, serving commercial interests in more than 25 markets from coast to coast with a strong focus on digital, print and

Rick Jenkins has been named group publisher for SC Biz News after a nationwide search to replace longserving group publisher Grady Johnson who stepped down in March. (Photo/Kim McManus)

event marketing.

Jenkins said this is an exciting and challenging time to be in the media industry, but those challenges provide flexibility to innovate and serve the SC Biz News community with creative, data-driven products the way businesses want them.

Photo/File “Our industry continues Jenkins to transition from traditional print to digital technologies, and I’m that draws

galvanized by the continued trend toward digital media and all that entails,” Jenkins said. “Providing valuable content that helps businesses and business leaders make strategic decisions remains vital, but how we deliver that content is changing.”

Jenkins has been the driving force behind the S.C. Manufacturing Conference and Expo, an annual event thousands of manufacturing

professionals and executives from across the U.S. Jenkins also helped pioneer SCBIZtv, a digital video channel that provides news, information and conversations with South Carolina’s thought leaders with more than 140 business-related videos.

“We started it in the early stages of COVID, and it has blossomed,” Jenkins said. “Over the past three months, SCBIZtv has garnered more than 30,000 video views. It’s just another example of our willingness and desire to provide content to our readers in any format they wish to consume.”

Jenkins said BridgeTower Media, the parent company of SC Biz News, continues to invest in digital transformation, giving the community of B2B business leaders sophisticated and targeted options for connecting to customers, investors and talented professionals.

“We are reaping the rewards of that investment into the digital transformation of our business,” Jenkins said. “Now we are able to offer advertisers an exhaustive suite of digital products, which provides them more ways than they ever could’ve dreamed to reach potential customers.

“We are also constantly looking at refining technologies that deepen reader engagement.”

Reach Andy Owens at 843-849-3142.

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Inland Port Greer launches expansion project, grows cargo capacity

By Molly Hulsey

O

mhulsey@scbiznews.com

n the heels of opening of a new terminal in Charleston, the S.C. Ports Authority today announced plans to expand Inland Port Greer — a pair of developments drawing praise from some players in the manufacturing and logistics sectors.

The installation of Charleston’s Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal has already spurred one Upstate-based logistics company, Greer-based TA Logistics, to consider doubling or tripling his personnel over the next 12 months.

Swafford Transport and Warehousing, a logistics company with several foreign-trade zone warehouses within a few miles of the inland port, also has seen a sign of greater things to come.

Dusty Locke, vice president of the company’s operations, expects Charleston’s port expansion to attract some companies away from a Savannah port of call, thus making his trucking prices far more competitive with Inland Port Greer factored into the equation.

“If I were to send a driver from Greer to Charleston and back, that’s his day,” Locke said. “He can do one load. Now those containers can come in from the inland port from Charleston where they can’t from Savannah, and that same driver can get 10 containers in a day.”

That difference could alter consumer freight costs from — for example — $1,000 a container to $100, he said.

Today, after the S.C. Port Authority announced the expansion of Inland Port Greer, TA Logistics and Swafford Transport’s predictions could be one step closer to fruition with the promise of additional container volume and extended rail infrastructure.

“The Leatherman Terminal provides more big-ship capabilities, cargo capacity and efficient operations for S.C. Ports,” Liz Crumley, manager of corporate communications for the S.C. Ports Authority told GSA Business Report in an email. “The additional capacity means more cargo can flow in and out of port terminals and inland ports. The efficient operations provide reliability and speed-to-market for customers needing to move imports and exports, as goods swiftly travel between Inland Port Greer and the Port of Charleston via overnight rail.”

With a $25 million grant from the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development Fund, Greer’s inland port will expand with additional rail processing and storage tracks within the terminal that will expand the container yard to the east and west, according to today’s announcement.

The existing chassis yard will widen in response to the record rail moves report-

Inland Port Greer extends the Port of Charleston’s reach 212 miles inland via rail. (Photo/Provided)

ed this March, and new facilities for heavy lift maintenance and terminal operations will be added to the port’s roster of construction projects.

“This funding supports the expansion of Inland Port Greer, which has been a true success story for South Carolina, growing significantly every year since opening,” S.C. Ports CEO Jim Newsome said in the release. “We continue to invest in port infrastructure to handle more cargo for companies. Our strategic investments provide more capacity and efficiency, which attracts more companies to invest in our state.”

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the BUILD grant to the S.C. Department of Transportation to help fund the Upstate Express Corridor Program, which includes both the expansion of S.C. Ports’ Inland Port Greer and the lengthening of Norfolk Southern’s Greer Lead Track and Carlisle Siding Track, according to the release.

“S.C. Ports is a major economic driver for our region, with more than half of its $63.4 billion annual economic impact occurring in the Upstate,” Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C., said in the release.

“Many companies, such as BMW Manufacturing Co. and Michelin, depend on S.C. Ports’ Inland Port Greer to handle their imports and exports. The expansion of Inland Port Greer will further enhance our supply chain, prompting more companies to invest in our region and creating more economic prosperity throughout the Upstate.”

More than half of S.C. Ports’ $63.4 billion annual economic impact in South Carolina already occurs in the Upstate, according to the news release. John Lummus, president and CEO of Upstate SC

“This funding supports the expansion of Inland Port Greer, which has been a true success story for South Carolina, growing significantly every year since opening.”

Jim Newsome CEO, S.C. Ports

Alliance, told GSA Business Report that means a $32.8 billion economic impact in just the Upstate.

“I know you’ve seen that BMW is the largest exporter of automobiles in the United States,” he told SC Biz News earlier this month, adding that roughly 70% of exported value from Inland Port Greer contains BMW products bound abroad.

“And to be able to compete and do that, we have to have a port that handles that and continues to grow.”

Today, Lummus added that S.C. Ports’ continued investment in its infrastructure like the Inland Port expansion was a keystone in South Carolina’s ability to speed up the supply chain to and from the Upstate, ultimately driving additional jobs, investment and economic growth to the region.

“The port, in the overall big picture, is just so critically important to the Upstate,” Lummus said following the opening of the Hugh Leatherman Termi-

nal. “Fifty-two percent of all traffic going in and out of the port is from the Upstate.

The largest users are mainly from the Upstate: BMW, Michelin, TTI and other Upstate companies. Just Greenville County alone has about $7.5 billion in economic impact from the port; Spartanburg: about an $8.5 billion economic impact each year. It’s just an incredible asset.”

While BMW spokesperson Sky Foster reported that the Hugh Leatherman terminal would not directly impact the auto manufacturer’s exports of finished products — Charleston’s Columbus Street Terminal met that demand a few years ago — it would allow the company and suppliers to boost the container volume of imported and exported parts to Greer.

Especially now that worldwide, the BMW Group is gearing up for a 50% increase in electric car sales, including hybrid models, this year following Plant Spartanburg’s record-breaking sale of plug-in vehicles in 2020. So far, Swafford Transport and Warehousing’s Locke notes that he has had four brokers reach out to him lately on the hunt for a specialized warehouse able to store the lithium ion batteries used in BMW’s electric models.

After hearing the announcement, BMW President and CEO Knudt Flor praised the port system’s longtime relationship with the company’s North American hub and credited it for the manufacturer’s success as the largest U.S. auto exporter by value.

“We export 70% of our South Carolina-made vehicles through the Port of Charleston to 125 countries around the world,” Flor said in today’s release. “BMW was also the first customer for S.C. Ports’ rail-served Inland Port Greer in 2013.

Inland Port Greer has proved incredibly beneficial to our supply chain. We depend on reliability and speed to produce every car to order, and S.C. Ports continues to deliver for BMW.” The announcement also follows logistics company DHL’s $92.7 million expansion in Cherokee and Dorchester counties set to directly create at least 249 jobs in the state.

Doug Rink, CEO of Keller Manufacturing and president of its subsidiary TA Logistics, supports DHL’s operations through his five-person logistics team. He noted TA Logistics is cautious in expanding in response to predicted demand, but he knows that S.C. Ports’ recent slew of expansion projects will prompt strong growth within his company and partners across the eastern seaboard.

“I think they’re right on,” Rink told GSA Business Report. “Right on time. It’s going to help us a lot … it’s a great time, a great time to be in logistics.”

Reach Molly Hulsey at 864-720-1223.

14

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May 24 - June 20, 2021

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www.columbiabusinessreport.com 15

Urgent Care Centers Ranked by No. of Employees in the Columbia Area, Then Listed Alphabetically Doctors Care 2601 Rosewood Drive Columbia, SC 29205 803-782-4051 www.doctorscare.com Top Local Official(s): Shelley Janssen Year Founded: 1981 Employees: 1,000 Midlands Locations: 19 Services: Urgent care, family care, virtual urgent care, occupational medicine Lexington Medical Center Urgent Care 811 W. Main St. Lexington, SC 29072 803-358-6100 www.lexmed.com Top Local Official(s): Tod Augsburger Year Founded: 2001 Employees: 170 Midlands Locations: 5 Services: On-site services include urgent care, outpatient surgery, lab services, X-ray, physical ther-

apy, occupational therapy, cardiac rehab, MRI, CT, ultrasound, bone densitometry testing, and 3D mammography, many physician practices are also on-site KershawHealth Urgent Care at Elgin 40 Pinnacle Parkway Elgin, SC 29045 803-424-8020 www.kershawhealth.org jkidd@kershawhealth.org Top Local Official(s): Sue Campbell Shugart, Susan R. Burroughs Year Founded: 2009 Employees: 39 Midlands Locations: 1 Services: Cold, flu or sore throat, sinus and ear infections, allergic reactions, rashes, sprains and strains, simple cuts and burns, diagnostic technologies on site, comprehensive lab, 16-slice CT scanning, open MRI and digital X-ray, ultrasound, digital mam-

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Colonial Urgent Care 327 Broad St. Sumter, SC 29150 803-773-5227 www.colonialhealthcare.com

MinuteClinic Inside CVS/pharmacy No. 830, 900 Assembly St. Columbia, SC 29201 803-212-7016 www.minuteclinic.com

Faster Care 3440 Declaration Blvd.

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CAYCE/WEST COLUMBIA GROWTH REPORT LISTS: Urgent Care Centers, Page 15

NEXT ISSUE’S FOCUS:

Architecture, Engineering and Construction

TALES OF TWO CITIES Cayce, West Columbia growing into their own roles across the river from downtown Columbia Cayce Mayor Elise Partin speaks in front of one of the murals that showcase local artists in the city’s River Arts District. (Photo/MPA Strategies)

By Melinda Waldrop

T

mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

he sun is shining on a recent afternoon in Cayce, but it’s not yet the kind of famous Columbia hot that coats the air and crosses the river.

The door to the coffee shop opens and the smiles start. Elise Partin is here for a scheduled meeting, but on her way to purchase her kombucha, Partin, in her 13th year as Cayce mayor, has hands to shake and news to catch up on.

It’s a scene played out wherever Partin goes in this city of 13,600 across the Blossom Street bridge from the S.C. Capitol. She’s recognized by all and always spares a moment to talk.

“She’s such a relater,” said Meghan Hickman, executive director of EngenuitySC, the nonprofit economic development organization whose board Partin chairs. “She’s so compelling oneand-one and in a small group. She has a way of making you feel like you’re the only person in the room.”

Partin’s leadership style has pro-

duced more than a friendly atmosphere.

Piecewise Coffee Co. on State Street is one of eight new businesses that have opened in Cayce’s downtown River Arts District in the last four years. The district, connected to the Congaree riverwalk by bright signage, is also home to four new murals, four art buildings and two new sculptures.

One of the new businesses lured to the area was public relations firm MPA Strategies, which recently relocated to the River Arts District from downtown Columbia.

“In addition to the beautiful backdrop of original works of art from the Cayce Arts Guild members along the office walls, I also have the riverwalk just outside my office, and we can walk down the street to a coffee shop, restaurants, art galleries, a brewery and distillery,” CEO Ashley Hunter said in an email. “It is the perfect place for both the members of our public relations team and all of our clients.”

Population projections forecast another 1,800 residents by 2030, according to numbers provided by the city.

The population of ages 25-34 has grown by 51% in the last five years, while the number of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher increased by 47%.

“It was a city I had been watching and inspired by,” said Tracy Hegler, the former director of community planning and development for Richland County who became Cayce’s city manager in 2018. “It was just experiencing some really cool growth, smart growth, well-planned and strategic growth. You could just tell that there was vision, and that vision was being enacted.”

Partin honed her vision for her city at the Mayors Institute for City Design in 2015, emerging with development blueprints such as the arts district overlay that created pedestrian- and bike-friendly travel in the area, relaxed signage regulations and helped created live/work opportunities in the former city center.

“This is the original heart of our city,” Partin said. “It’s the original downtown.

It’s where our first city hall was. It’s where people remember walking to the movie theater and the men’s clothing

store. It’s got great bones, and it’s so fun to see it come back and have its second life.”

One of the first events spawned by the 2015 municipal conference was the Soiree on State, which debuted in 2017 and was attended by more than 1,500 people who were treated to live music, local art and food trucks. The city partnered with The Avenues Neighborhood Assocation to give the Cayce Festival of the Arts a fresh, attention-getting makeover.

“I think one of my strengths is connecting people,” Partin said. “I’ve done it my whole life. It doesn’t have anything to do with being mayor. It has to do with going, ‘Hey, you would like so-and-so.

We should all get together.’ ” Partin comes by that talent honestly.

“My mother worked for Mayor (Joe) Riley in Charleston,” Partin said. “She was his director of media relations almost my entire life, and so I knew as a young person that sidewalks and parks didn’t just happen. Somebody See CITIES, Page 21

May 24 - June 20, 2021

IN FOCUS: CAYCE/WEST COLUMBIA GROWTH REPORT

www.columbiabusinessreport.com 17

Nephron owner and CEO Lou Kennedy, speaking during the November 2020 beam-raising ceremony on the pharmaceutical corporation’s $215.8 billion expansion in Lexington County, took the reins of the company in 2007.

She oversaw its relocation from Orlando, Fla., to West Columbia and has presided over its accelerating growth, though she still encounters occasional surprise that she’s a woman. (Photo/Melinda Waldrop)

COMING FULL CIRCLE

Nephron CEO Lou Kennedy making a major impact at home

By Melinda Waldrop

T

mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

he executive who strides into her expansive office may have come a long way from the Fulton County government building where she once stood in line to get her water service turned back on, but Lou Kennedy remains the same Lexington County product, rooted in hard work and family, that other S.C. businesses leaders say they have known for decades.

The national spotlight has recently shone on Kennedy, owner and CEO of West Columbia-based Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp., as a program she created to help teachers earn extra cash was featured on NBC News while her on-premise lab has churned out respiratory drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic and processed tests for the community. But those who have known her the longest say that, along a career path that wound through Georgia and Florida before circling back to her hometown, Kennedy has never changed who she is.

“Lou has always been a dynamo,” said Sam Konduros, the former CEO of SCBio who recently became president and CEO of a new health innovation division at

Charleston-based Vikor Scientific. “Her mother taught me first grade. We actually met when we were six years old at Seven Oaks Elementary School in Columbia and have known each other ever since.”

With a July birthday three days before Kennedy’s, Konduros shares both her Zodiac sign of Cancer and her love for the water.

“She says Cancers are water babies and that’s why we both love swimming, boating and being at the lake all the time,” Konduros said. “I’ve said there is not one passive bone in Lou’s body, and that’s the truth. She is very action-oriented, and very results-driven.

“I love that about her, but the fact is, she is so much fun to be around, too, just a great personality and zest for life.”

Kim Wilkerson, president of South Carolina for Bank of America, grew up “caddywampus backdoor neighbors” with Kennedy in the Cayce subdivision of Edenwood, home to many families with members employed by Eastman Chemical Co., where Kennedy’s father worked for 44 years.

“Our daddies worked together at Eastman back when we were little girls,” said Wilkerson, who is five years Kennedy’s

“She is just a very genuine person. What you see with Lou is absolutely what you get.”

Kim Wilkerson President of South Carolina, Bank of America

senior. “I’ve known Lou literally just about her whole life. … She is just a very genuine person. What you see with Lou is absolutely what you get.”

Although Kennedy has led Nephron since 2007, there are still those who are surprised by what they see when she walks into a room, ever-present high heels clicking.

“If they haven’t seen a picture of me — now it’s better, because you have social media — they’re going to assume Lou’s a man,” Kennedy said. “You call always tell: ‘Oh, we’re waiting on Lou Kennedy.’ ‘Hi, I’m Lou Kennedy.’ ” Kennedy has also encountered those who know who she is but have a faulty perception of how she came to be where she is.

She said she still deals with folks who think her success is from her husband, Bill Kennedy, a fellow University of South Carolina

graduate who in 1997 founded Nephron, a producer and manufacturer of generic respiratory medication that relocated from Orlando, Fla., to Lexington County in 2017.

“That happens to this day,” she said. “If you spend about half a day around here, you’ll see that that’s not the case. My husband and I are 20 years difference in age. He has a pharmacy degree. I have a journalism degree. So one would think that I got a kind of free ride onto his coattails.

“But what you have to know is he doesn’t like daily execution. He likes business, five and 10 years (out) and what’s going to be the goal for this profitability or the pricing mechanism. He doesn’t want to know what goes on to make the sausage. He wants to talk about who’s the buyer of the sausage, what’s the contractual price, those kinds of things.

“Once you spend some time around us, which has happened with our bankers, which has happened with the lawyers — they know now that they’re going to face Bill for this kind of question, and they’re going to face me for what goes on around here.”

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KENNEDY, from Page 17

Long road home

Kennedy left Lexington County after college in search of bigger things on a journey that took her to Atlanta and Houston, among other places, and through difficult life experiences that proved invaluable.

“I had two failed marriages. The father of my child, the second ex-husband, was an addict, and it was a really, really tough life,” Kennedy said. “He did a lot to ruin my credit, a lot to make life hard for me, but I’m forever grateful, because when you have to live with an addict, you learn a lot about the field of psychology. How not to set them off, how not to cause this to happen, how not to have the house come tumbling down, how to keep the creditors from evicting you. These are skills in my little middle-class wonderful upbringing that I never thought I’d have to have. But I swear I benefit. I can see bull---- from 40 miles off. I can spot a con artist, a liar.

“I got my daughter from that. I’m never regretful, because many of the skills that serve me well today came out of those rough eight to 10 years.”

As she got back on her feet, Kennedy, with a background in marketing, worked three jobs, including a stint as a house painter with daughter Xanna often in tow.

“She’d sit, on the weekends, underneath me on a ladder,” Kennedy said. “I had all these Little Golden Books for her to try and read to keep her occupied so I could make enough to keep our lights on. I had this little blond mouth to feed. You just figure it out.”

Visting South Carolina for a girlfriend’s shower, Kennedy was talked into meeting someone, a friend of her friend’s brother-in-law, who had also gone through a divorce. The girlfriend’s selling point to her? “ ‘We think you might at least finally have somebody who could afford to pay for the date,’ ” Kennedy said.

After spilling a glass of wine on her, Bill Kennedy told her what he did for a living.

Xanna took one of the respiratory drugs, albuterol, manufactured by Nephron, and Kennedy’s interest was piqued. She peppered her new acquaintance with questions about his business, learning he had three customers.

“I met him 10 minutes before this, and I said, ‘Don’t you think you ought to diversify? Three customers. Aren’t you a little concerned?’ ” Kennedy said. “And that’s how this whole thing started.”

The personal partnership became professional when Kennedy joined Nephron in 2001. As the Kennedys were contemplating a Nephron expansion in Florida, Lou Kennedy reached out to an old friend with economic development connections at the S.C. Department of Commerce.

“She called on a day that she was a little frustrated and said, ‘You know, I really think it’s time for us to look at South Carolina to diversify where our company is going,’ ” Konduros said. “I ended up looping her in with the Department of Com-

Nephron owner and CEO Lou Kennedy hands out hand sanitizer on the campus of her alma mater, the University of South Carolina. Nephron donated more than 100,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, manufactured at its West Columbia facility and featuring a private label, to the university in June 2020. (Photo/Provided)

Kennedy

merce leadership, and the rest is kind of history. Not only did they diversify to South Carolina, they ended up bringing the entire company, and here we are, several years later, with over 2,000 employees and a

huge expansion.”

Work on Nephron’s $215.8 million expansion of its Saxe-Gotha Industrial Park campus, announced last July and projected to increase its workforce by 380 workers, is nearing completion. The project was the fourth-most lucrative capital investment secured by the state in 2020 and the latest in a line of Nephron initiatives that have boosted the state and area economy.

The Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center in the University of South Carolina’s College of Pharmacy was established by a $30 million gift announced in 2010, the biggest splash in a long-time partnership between the Kennedys and their alma mater that has also included a donation to the Pastides Alumni Center. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company also donated more than 100,000 bottles of company-made hand sanitizer to the university.

“There’s a reason that people call her Cockadoodle Lou,” said Wes Hickman, CEO of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association. “She is one of the biggest fans and supporters of our institution, and the generosity she and Bill have shown the university and the alumni association in particular have made a real difference. … Beyond the financial support, it’s her engagement and her willingness to share ideas, to participate in events, and to help drive innovation.”

Nephron has also donated its hand sanitizer to the Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, partnered with Clemson

University to develop rapid robotic drug processing and has donated welding equipment to programs at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College. The company also partnered with Dominion Energy to transform Dominion-owned land off Interstate 77 near Nephron’s campus into a drivethrough COVID vaccination site that was inoculating up to 150 people per day in February.

Wilkerson pointed to that initiative as an example of how Kennedy gets things done — and fast.

“She is a real difference-maker,” Wilkerson said. “She’s a dot connector, an outsidethe-box thinker, (and) because she is such an outside-the-box thinker, she is able to make things happen so quickly. She looks for ways to collaborate with others to make a difference for the greater good. … Her Lexington County roots really have paid off for us here in the Midlands.”

‘Lift as you climb’

For Meghan Hickman, like many Midlands professionals, Kennedy’s reputation proceeded her.

“I remember hearing stories of Lou before I actually got to meet her,” said Hickman, executive director of nonprofit economic development organization EngenuitySC who has worked with Kennedy on initiatives to improve the Midlands’ competitiveness and livability. “The story I kept hearing was that she was boundless energy and would take these men on tours of this facility in high heels and outwalk all of them. I was like, ‘I don’t know who this woman is, but I want to meet her.’ ” The reality exceeded the expectation.

“She’s one of those personalities that has a way of magnifying any room she’s in,” Hickman said. “When she’s around, you know it. When she’s participating, she wants to be relevant. She wants to play a role. She doesn’t give anything just half of who she is. … One of the things that I

love the most about Lou is her unabashed candor. She is honest to a fault, and I love watching the way that she will say what’s on her mind and on her heart in a room without any fear of how it will land or without fear of repercussion. I love that bravery.”

That freedom stems from success in putting principals into practice. Nephron, a certified woman-owned business as recognized by the National Women Business Owner Corp., employees a workforce that is 44% female and is offering a diversity internship program this summer.

Kennedy believes in such efforts because she has seen what they produce. At the height of the pandemic in March 2020, Nephron’s monthly production of inhalation solutions increased 141% from 80 million doses shipped to 193 million. And while demand has since subsided, Nephron is still operating all 12 of its production lines while adding new packaging lines.

The company is also in talks with two potential vaccine partners to help produce pre-filled sterile syringes and are part of the company’s booming 503B Outsourcing Facility arm that supplies hospitals nationwide and is newly supported by the 110,000-square-foot vaccine production, chemotherapy and antibiotic wing that is part of its expansion.

Such results give Kennedy confidence in her methods.

“After this many years as the lone female in the room, I feel like it’s really the right person for the job,” Kennedy said. “It’s not my problem to get you to accept that I’m the right person for the job. That’s your problem. If I’m putting numbers on paper and we’re productive and we do the things that we promise patients we’re going to do, then haven’t I already proven that I’m the right person for the job? You can respect me or not. That’s not my problem anymore.

That’s yours.”

See KENNEDY, Page 20

20

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These days, respect for Kennedy is not in short supply. Elected to the National Association of Manufacturers board of directors in March, Kennedy is chair of the SCBio board, a position she has also held for the S.C. Chamber of Commerce.

Awards line the shelves of her office, and she’s particularly proud of a recent honor: In March, Lou and Bill Kennedy were recognized with the 2021 Townes Award from the S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics.

The award is named for S.C. native Dr. Charles Townes, whose pioneering research into lasers earned him both the Nobel and Templeton prizes. Kennedy especially appreciates the honor’s focus on encouraging STEM education.

“Much as I love my journalism degree, I really wish I’d have stepped out on a limb, taken an extra three hours of some sort of science other than a geology class,” she said. “I do regret not taking high school chemistry. I’m always telling kids, even if you make a C, learn it. Just go learn it.”

Journalism did afford Kennedy one of her first mentors: Mary Caldwell, a journalism professor of Kennedy’s for whom the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications’ excellence in teaching award is named.

“She had a snappy briefcase, and in the 80s, you still carried briefcases,” Kennedy said. “She whisked in there and she, just like me, loved to wear heels. She’d come into class and she had a blazer, she had a snappy briefcase and some heels, and she had worked in Atlanta in a giant PR firm, and that to me seemed like an episode of Mad Men from my little seat in Lexington County. Atlanta, New York, Madison Avenue — it all seemed like big potatoes to me.

She would look at me and say, ‘’You can do anything you want to do. You just have to work hard enough.’ ” And Kennedy believes hard work has given her a different kind of knowledge.

“I definitely think there is a value to a female in a leadership role with the focus on emotional intelligence,” she said. “Forget the academic IQ of it. I mean emotional intelligence. Are the people ready for a bold statement? Do you need to couch something? I just believe the communication skills that most women utilize when they’re working on any project serve us well.”

Some of those professional skills were borne out of personal hardships, Kennedy said.

“When you have to struggle as a single mom to put food on the table, pay for gas, pay the rent, pay the light bill — forget having cable; that was too much of a luxury — all of that makes you cognizant of how to look toward a leaner operation,” she said.

“And when you live with a spouse that has a lot of issues, it teaches you about reading people. … I’m telling you. I feel like it’s a life experience Ph.D. in psychology is what I’ve obtained, based on my experiences.

May 24 - June 20, 2021

“It’s not an academic Ph.D.; it’s a lifetime wear and tear.”

A product of those life lessons is a phrase that Wilkerson, Hickman and other women who’ve worked with Kennedy use: Lift as you climb.

“We get into a place and we send the elevator back down to pick others up and bring them with us,” Wilkerson said. “This idea of lifting as you climb, for Lou and for me, is very, very real. It’s just a part of how we think.

“We are both in unique positions of being able to help young women see what’s possible.”

Echoed Hickman: “Particularly with females, for a long time, opportunities that came along to lead were so few and far between that you fiercely protected those opportunities. It’s almost like, for women in leadership, there was a scarcity mindset that defined what it meant to be a leader, as opposed to this abundance mindset. … With Lou, there’s such an abundance mindset.

“It doesn’t matter whether she’s working in her business or she’s working in the community. There is no such thing as scarcity. There is abundant opportunity.”

Contributing to her hometown, in an office “which, as the crow flies, is right through the woods” from Eastman Park, where her family picnicked in facilities maintained by her father, makes extending those opportunities all the more meaningful for Kennedy.

“You walk around here and there are people that actually worked with my daddy in the first part of their career, so that feels really good,” Kennedy said. “It feels good to do that in South Carolina. I had said I was never coming back. I left for 35 years, and to come home and provide jobs is way more meaningful than doing it in Orlando, Florida.”

With a lineage from the Tennessee mountains that includes a Baptist preacher grandfather and tobacco-farming relatives, Kennedy saw that attitude exemplified by her parents, Nancy and Jerry Wood. Kennedy’s mother signed her up for gymnastics classes so she could be better prepared for cheerleading tryouts and “expected perfection in all things,” Kennedy said.

“She would probably argue that she didn’t, but she did … My dad’s the greatest man ever. He can just do anything, fix anything.

He could patch a cheerleader uniform. He could sew. He can do all these things. So I guess maybe I’ve always aspired to try and be half as useful.”

Kennedy is proud of what she’s been able to give back to her community and pleased when employees, especially women, chose science careers after working at Nephron.

And while she’s quick to show off pictures of new grandson Lincoln, Kennedy laughs at the idea of contemplating her legacy right now.

“Are you kidding me?” she said. “I’m more focused on what isn’t right than that.”

Reach Melinda Waldrop at 803-726-7542.

May 24 - June 20, 2021

IN FOCUS: CAYCE/WEST COLUMBIA GROWTH REPORT

CITIES, from Page 16

had to think those through. My husband says that on our first date I said that I was going to be mayor. I don’t recall that, but he says I did, and he usually has the better memory.”

Partin was first spurred to political participation by the contentious rezoning and eventual annexation of a large area development, diving into grassroots action to see how she could help.

“That’s, I think, not uncommon for women,” she said. “They see an issue and they go, ‘Ah, I want to step up and solve that,’ for women that wind up in elected office. And here we are 13 years later.”

Partin’s tenure has also seen development along Knox Abbott Drive, Cayce’s main throughfare that funnels many travelers to the Columbia Metropolitan Airport and is home to a several new businesses including a Starbucks that opened last year. Streetscaping projects have spruced up Knox Abbott between the Blossom Street bridge and 12th Street, and public spaces such as Guignard Park have also been the target of thoughtful improvements including a permanent ping-pong table that increase the city’s recreation opportunities.

“We’ve set the tone really that customer service is what we do,” Partin said. “We don’t make widgets. Our team really does that. That’s who our people are. That’s the culture that we’ve set. That matters to us.”

Partin’s administration also oversaw the transformation of a former city recycling plant into Steel Hands Brewing as well as spreaheaded a huge civic undertaking. In 2017, the city embarked on an ambitious project to replace 75% of its aging waterlines, establishing a 24-hour hotline staffed by consultants to inform residents of the plan and address any concerns. City staffers took before-and-after photos of affected backyards to be sure everything was put back in place.

“That’s the kind of thing that the city is very strategic about,” Hegler said. “We didn’t accept that that’s the state of our infrastructure.”

Cayce also recently conducted a housing study to help ensure its diverse housing stock remains available to both the young professionals flocking to town and the 60% of residents who have called the city home for 20 or more years.

“We all focus, as we should, on the federal level and what that means to our country, but if you want to talk about your daily quality of life, it’s what happens right here,” Partin said. “It’s that sense of do you feel safe? Do you have great places to be able to go and sit and enjoy? Can you walk to school? It’s that quality of life that’s affected on the municipal level, and that’s really powerful.”

With one of the lowest tax bases in the region, Cayce also has to get creative about funding such projects — another area where Partin puts her connections to use.

St. Ann’s Alley, a community of 34 single-family residences in West Columbia’s River District, has sold out of its first phase of properties, developer Joe Taylor said. (Photo/Melinda Waldrop)

“She’s a learner. She really wants to understand. She wants context, she wants details,” Hickman said. “Good leaders craft a vision that others can buy into.

That’s what I think is so compelling about her, is people believe in her, and in doing so, adopt her vision.”

Partin’s future priorities include finding ways to extend State Street’s success into other areas of town and securing tenants for the city’s remaining vacant buildings. Also on the infrastructure horizon is a mixed-use development, set to break ground soon, at the intersection of 12th Street and Interstate 77.

But although she’s often asked about it, Partin’s plans don’t seem to include running for higher office.

“We are too polarized in this country right now, and I am thankful that my position is nonpartisan and I have never declared a party,” she said. “I’m making a difference here, and I like that.”

Quest for West

When Joseph Dickey was looking for a place to move his law downtown Columbia office and to raise his family, he researched many locations, even several outside of his native South Carolina.

Then he realized that what he sought was just across the river.

“In West Columbia, I feel like it’s more of a community,” Dickey said. “We all look out for each other. I know the people I deal with. I know the people I see on the street.”

Dickey didn’t stop at relocating his business to West Columbia. In November 2019, he was elected to city council.

“I wanted to get involved, to hopefully be an asset to my community, a place that I love and reside in,” he said. “If there’s something I can do to help or offer some assistance to serve, I wanted to do it.”

That’s the attitude the city of 17,600 strives to project to residents both brandnew and long-term as its growth spurt continues. In 2020, West Columbia issued 154 new business licenses, and has issued

127 from January to April 2021.

“West Columbia has low taxes, low utility rates, a low cost of doing business in the city, and first-rate services,” Brian Carter, city administrator, said in an email. “Business leaders from across the region have taken notice of our ease of doing business and our ability to say ‘yes’ to new and innovative ideas. ... With the construction of public infrastructure, such as parking, new utility lines, and vibrant public spaces, and the private investment that follows, we continue to demonstrate that we know how to lay the groundwork and then get out of the way so that businesses can do what they do best: Grow their business.”

A drive across the Gervais Street bridge shows the fruits of that focus.

West Columbia’s State Street is home to an assortment of businesses and restaurants and will soon welcome D’s Wings, relocating from Cayce. Savage Craft Ale Works opened its expansive new facility earlier this year and regularly draws hordes of cars to the public parking available around the city’s interactive art park.

As Gervais becomes Meeting Street, business booms at WECO Bottle and Biergarten, where patrons pack the outdoor patio that opened last year. Primal Gourmet kitchen and market has also weathered the pandemic well, while a Class A office building at 508 Meeting St. conceived by West Columbia developer Joe Taylor now houses law firm D’Alberto & Graham Attorneys & Advisors, which located from Columbia last July.

“You’ve got a very business-friendly mayor, city administrator and city council over here,” said Taylor, also the driving force behind St. Ann’s Alley, a community of 34 single-family residences in West Columbia’s River District now in its second phase of development. “They’re very responsive to getting building permits.

They spend their time telling you what you can do versus what you can’t do.”

Taylor cites zoning rules that don’t require on-site parking for commercial

www.columbiabusinessreport.com 21

businesses zoned C1 in West Columbia and lauded the city’s investment in a 100space parking garage near the mixed-use Brookland Development that he said “set a quality appearance standard for this area.”

“Everybody that owned a building that had a parking area that didn’t look as good paid to make theirs look as good as the city,” he said. “And so now you’ve got the shining appearance example set by the city, and everybody began to modernize and improve their buildings. Over here, you don’t have to go get permission from the city of West Columbia if you want to repaint your building. It’s easier to make things look better, and that’s what’s happened.”

Areas remain with visible room for improvement, notably the Capital Square Shopping Center that faces the House of Raeford chicken processing plant and is largely vacant save for an Army/Navy store and a discount retailer. Talk has swirled of residential development there like the FLOW Townhomes across Sunset Boulevard and possibly a hotel, but there are no official plans as of yet.

“We’ve heard all the same things that everybody else has heard,” said Anna Huffman, West Columbia communications and technology director. “I know that the owner of the property is looking for developers to develop it. I know developers that have plans. I haven’t seen any of the plans. I’ve heard that it’s mixed use, possibly a hotel, possibly a grocery store, but nothing’s set in stone at all. Obviously, if that happens, we would be extra, extra excited to have that become another spot that people can make a destination for West Columbia.”

The city takes care to control future development through its zoning and planning boards, Huffman said, and through annual adherence by city council to action items in a 2018 revitalization study. “They’re making sure that there’s a focus and there are goals and priorities created each year, specifically for that budget year,” she said.

Huffman, who has lived in West Columbia since 2013 and been working with the city since 2003, has enjoyed witnessing the transformation of the area during that time. A recent highlight, she said, was the Art on State festival that drew area musicians, artisans and retailers eager to showcase West Columbia’s wares to patrons strolling by on a late spring evening.

“The growth has been amazing, awesome to see,” she said. “The goal is to make West Columbia the place to visit, the place to live, to work, to play. That’s our goal. We want people to come here, enjoy themselves, bring their families, and then to live here and stay here and grow here and retire here. We have all of the above right now. We just hope that that continues.”

Reach Melinda Waldrop at 803-726-7542.

At Work

PEOPLE, PLACES AND HAPPENINGS ACROSS THE MIDLANDS

People in the News BUSINESS SERVICES Howard Kaplin has moved to Qwerkz as chief recruiting officer. Qwerkz is a staffing company whose focus includes placement of former collegiate and professional athletes.

The new director of sales for The Center for Sales Strategy is Elissa Nauful. She spent the last 15 years running two digital marketing agencies, the Ingenuity Group and BallywhoSocial.

vice president of finance, managing the accounting department and responsible for the company’s financial statements, general ledger, job cost accounting, payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, budgeting, and tax compliance.

EDUCATION Kaplin

Nauful

CONSTRUCTION Kevin Kirkland is now operations manager at Palmetto State Exteriors. He studied biology at Coastal Carolina University. A resident of Columbia, Kirkland previously worked in real estate.

People are moving up at M. B. Kahn.

Mallory Baldwin has become vice president of human resources; she is graduate of the University of South Carolina with degrees in human resources management and marketing.

Regie Bedenbaugh has become vice president, in which capacity he supports operations for the division that primarily builds healthcare and administrative support facilities; he graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in electrical engineering.

Josh Craft is now

Kirkland

Professor Barnett Berry, founding director of ALL4SC at the University of South Carolina, received the James A. Kelly Award for Advancing Accomplished Teaching from National Board Berry for Professional Teaching Standards.

Former recipients include Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and former South Carolina Governor Richard W. Riley.

The Midlands Technical College Commission named Marshall “Sonny” White Jr., PhD, as president emeritus.

He was the college’s fifth president.

White

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Baldwin

Bedenbaugh

Craft

Leslie Chaplin joined First Reliance Bank as executive vice president, director of human resources. She holds a bachelor of arts and master of public administration from the University of South Carolina.

Chaplin

It’s South Carolina Super Lawyers season. Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd can boast that 25 of its attorneys have been listed in the 2021 edition, including seven who were named as Rising Stars.

Shareholder Reid Sherard is among the Top 25. Columbia office attorneys recognized are A. Parker Barnes III, real estate; James Y. Becker, business litigation; J. Donald Dial Jr., tax; Manton M. Grier, business litigation; George S. King Jr., securities and corporate finance; Robert Y. Knowlton, business litigation; Steve A. Matthews, appellate; Stanley H. McGuffin, bankruptcy: business; Hamilton Osborne Jr., business litigation; Robert L. Reibold, civil litigation: defense; and Benton D. Williamson: real estate.

Columbia Rising Stars are Elizabeth H. Black, business litigation, and Mary M. Caskey, creditor debtor rights.

Nine Robinson Gray attorneys are on the list of 2021 South Carolina Super Lawyers, with members Betsy Gray and Bobby Stepp, both business litigation, among the Top Ten. Also on the Super Lawyers list are Grady Beard, workers’ compensation; Becky Laffitte, personal injury–products: defense; Bill Metzger, creditor debtor rights; Beth Richardson, business litigation; Monty Todd, personal injury medical malpractice: defense; and Rob Tyson, administrative law. The firm’s Rising Stars are Ben Gooding, business litigation; Paul Hoefer, creditor debtor rights; Michael Montgomery, personal injury general: defense; and Jasmine Smith, business litigation.

Steve A. Matthews, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd shareholder, was elected to the board of directors for the Atlantic Legal Foundation. He joined the foundation’s advisory council in 2016.

MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

HEALTH CARE The National Home Infusion Association presented its 2021 Gene Graves Lifetime Achievement Award to Varner Richards, president and CEO of Intramed Plus.

LAW

Richards

The South Carolina Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America announced its latest Mercury Award winners. The overall Best in Show Mercury Award went to Bright+Co for “Turn Positive into a Positive Campaign.” The overall Best in Show Silver Wing Award went to We Are Sharing Hope SC for “#SociallyDistant #VirtuallyConnected. Robert Reeves, APR, an

assistant professor of communications at Anderson University, received the chapter’s Educator of the Year Award. Jalesa Cooley, a public relations account executive at Crawford, received the Rookie of the Year award. Tiffany Norton, a public information officer with Dorchestor County, received the SCPRSA Volunteer Service Award.

Chernoff Newman has two new media coordinators: Monique Holland and Tia Ternberg. Both graduated from the University of South Carolina, where Holland earned a bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communications with a minor in African American studies, and Ternberg received a BA in advertising with a minor in business administration.

NONPROFIT The Salvation Army of the Midlands has appointed Mary B. Sesler as chair of the advisory board. Sesler joined the advisory board in 2018 and served as the vice-chair this past year.

Sesler

REAL ESTATE Homesnap gave its 2020 Excellence in Client Service Award to Margaret-Ann Ashburn, a real estate broker with Carter Realtors. The award is presented Ashburn to professionals who excel in client service.

Homesnap analyzes tens of thousands of real estate agents each year to determine eligibility.

Clark McCarthy is now an associate in Wilson Kibler’s Columbia office, where he will specialize in office leasing and sales.

Submit items using our online submission portal: www.SodaCityBizWire.com. Publication is subject to editorial discretion.

McCarthy

Viewpoint

VIEWS, PERSPECTIVES AND READERS’ LETTERS

It’s time for hotels, other businesses to press the play button

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ome hoteliers hit the pause button in March 2020 with COVID-19’s arrival to wait and see what would happen.

So, why is now the time to press play? Simply put: The world is beginning to move forward and reopen, and halting operations in hopes of the pandemic suddenly vanishing may be more harmful than helpful.

For over a year, ALIA BOSTAJI the world has experienced the first strain of the virus and now it evolves almost daily. The virus and vaccines are adapting which means hotel industries need to as well. Pausing each time something new happens often leaves opportunities untapped. If there is one thing the virus has taught everyone, it’s the importance of evolving and adapting to stay functional, efficient and safe.

Hoteliers need to be asking the questions: How can I provide a safe hotel experience for my staff and guests to generate revenue? How can I resume high-quality amenities and services for my guests in a safe and efficient manner? It’s time to press the play button again and market the property, staff and services — now more than

ever. While the public slowly eases their travel fears, the best support hoteliers can offer is to clearly advertise the actions the property is taking to provide a safe and pleasant experience for travelers. Marketing the property during these times will keep the hotel top of mind and show how it has adapted to stay ahead of the curve.

Be strategic

Many owners were scrambling at the initial pandemic announcements. Some hotels thought doing something was better than doing nothing; however, they lacked a plan or strategy.

There was no way of telling if these changes would be temporary or permanent. Not having a crisis plan or emergency strategy can be costly, and in this market, losing talent can be just as detrimental as losing revenue.

During the start of the pandemic, the hospitality market saw various layoffs.

Many hotel owners rushed into laying off staff as services were halted due to travel bans and business closures. Then, as the first round of the Paycheck Protection Program was issued, many tried to reinstate their former staff only to learn they were too late. Their talent had sought other opportunities.

Don’t be reactive this year — be strategic! Take 2020’s experiences as a learning

opportunity to develop or strengthen the hotel’s crisis management strategy and ensure that it will emerge with organizational stability, a consistent revenue stream and customer trust intact.

Reinvigorate your plans

The world may be beginning to move forward; however, the term “normal” should probably be thrown out of common vernacular for now. Things may never be exactly the same, but this presents new opportunities. It’s time to stop repeating and regurgitating the old business cycles, models, processes and plans. For the next few years, suburbs, metropolitan areas, neighborhoods, downtowns, outer districts, etc. will reflect a new look and feel, some of which are being highlighted now.

Masks, social distancing and safer sanitizing standards may be here for a while.

The key to success will be adapting former routines to fit the new standards of safety to provide the best service for staff and guests..

How do hoteliers plan for 2021?

As the pandemic nears an end, it’s time that the hoteliers begin to operate​with flexibility and perseverance. Bold moves, decisive actions and strategic planning will be essential. These may require certain sacrifices and calculated risks.

For some hoteliers this may mean planning to let go of one or two hotels out of their portfolio. However, they shouldn’t fear; this doesn’t have to be a bad divorce with a lender. Now more than ever, lenders are willing to listen and work with owners to collaboratively market, position and sell the property. With a lender’s guidance and understanding, this will help hoteliers move on and strengthen their position in the market. When the time is right again, hoteliers can resume acquisitions with the lender to build the portfolio again.

Alternatively, hoteliers who have equity in some properties may want to leverage that equity to acquire a property that has stood the test of time. Many hotel properties in the economy class fared well and sustained a cash flow for their owners during the pandemic. Resilient properties are out there. 2020 and the pandemic changed the hotel industry significantly, prompting hoteliers to now evaluate and execute business plans, protocols, and services differently.

As the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune.” For the hotel industry, the pandemic may have been a covert catalyst of opportunities.

Alia Bostaji is a brokerage associate and hotel expert at Colliers South Carolina.

DRIVE-Safe Act would provide needed reform for trucking industry

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ince the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our economy has lost over 22 million jobs. Congress has spent over $6 trillion on various forms of stimulus, but most sectors are now struggling more than ever to find applicants for good-paying jobs.

Questionable federal policies and too many obstacles make it ever-more challenging for businesses to hire Americans. Arbitrary or antiquated government restricRICK TODD tions block some qualified job seekers from earning a good middle-class living, while some fixes are slowed by unelected bureaucrats sitting on policy updates. Thankfully, South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace is tackling one major obstacle hampering a critical link in our economy and daily lives: the trucking industry.

While 49 states today — including South Carolina — permit 18-, 19- and 20-yearolds to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License and operate large vehicles, federal regulations still prohibit them from crossing state lines. This means a 20-year-old trucker can run her rig 426 miles from Charleston to Greenville and back, but she can’t take that same load fifteen miles across the bridge into Savannah, Georgia. Drivers can cover I-85 back and forth across the up-state, but not to Charlotte, North Carolina and back.

Rep. Mace has introduced the DRIVESafe Act, which would empower select, qualified younger drivers — those already licensed to drive within their state — to cross state lines and participate in interstate commerce. But more importantly, the DRIVESafe Act would first raise safety and training requirements far above today’s standards.

Under the DRIVE-Safe Act, under-21 drivers who’ve successfully passed their skills and knowledge tests and currently hold a CDL would be able to apply for a rigorous apprenticeship program requiring

400 hours of additional on-duty training and 240 hours of driving time accompanied by an experienced driver in the cab. All trucks would equipped with the most-advanced safety technology, including active braking collision mitigation systems, video event capture and a speed governor set at 65 mph or less.

Only after specific performance benchmarks are successfully met would the candidate then be permitted to cross state lines.

These are careers in one of the most vital and high-demand industries in our economy that don’t require being stuck in college classrooms, coming out years later with a piece of paper and decades of debt. Washington’s fix seems to be $1.7 trillion of student loan forgiveness. Like Mike Rowe, former host of Dirty Jobs once said: “We are lending money we don’t have to kids who can’t pay it back to train them for jobs that no longer exist. That’s nuts.”

Trucking companies now offer starting salaries of $50,000 per year with full benefits to attract new drivers. Many make a

lot more, with major fleets paying $70,000 plus. But the ban on interstate commerce — where the greater pay and opportunities lie — prevents high school graduates from pursuing these opportunities, This is exacerbating a severe and worsening national truck driver shortage, which is choking our nation’s supply chain and threatening to raise the price of everything we purchase.

This solution would let industry and would-be workers more quickly pave the way to their own future. We encourage the South Carolina Congressional delegation to co-sponsor the DRIVE-Safe Act. Rick Todd is president and CEO of the South Carolina Trucking Association.

We want to hear from you Write: Melinda Waldrop, Editor Columbia Regional Business Report, 1612 Marion St., Suite 301 Columbia, SC 29201 Email: mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

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