Local Senior Living Employee Wins New Car

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enton House of Florence Senior Living Community is celebrating team member Cindy Stokes who won a beautiful shiny red Kia Soul, this year, for the company’s 5th Annual 2023 Team Appreciation Car Giveaway.

Principal Senior Living Group hosted the drawing for 2 car giveaways during National Assisted Living Week for the “hero’s” who provide fantastic service for seniors in their communities.

“Benton House employs a number of unique approaches to show appreciation.  We also offer a number of surprise gifts throughout the year to say thank you, but the car giveaway is always a highlight and emotional moment.” says Kim Jacobs, Executive Director.

The other team member that won a car this year was from Benton House located in St Augustine, FL.

Benton House of Florence is located at 1370 Celebration Blvd. and offers assisted living and memory care services.

Deborah Abraham Cuts Ribbon On Her Chamber Membership

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Deborah Abraham, Senior Account Executive and Regional Representative for Enhanced Payment Systems along with Chamber Ambassadors cuts her ribbon to become a member of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Enhanced Payment offers wholesale merchant services which include Credit and debit card processing, A device for every need: process sales, store customer information, employee schedules, etc., Capital for businesses and Online HR services: payroll, benefits, etc.

Enhanced Payment Systems is a Chicago company with an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, serving merchants throughout the United States. Deborah is new to the Pee Dee area. After working 12+ years in the Manhattan real estate market she said. “I really enjoyed my career in real estate. Now, I take pride in my work supporting and helping businesses add money back to their bottom line. You’d be surprised how much savings a business receives through the services offered by Enhanced Payment Systems.”

To read the full story, click here.

Kyle Gunter Announced As The 2023 Business Person Of The Year

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Kyle Gunter walked to the stage as the 2023 Florence Business Person of the Year to a standing ovation.

It was a shock to Gunter, president of FBi Construction, Inc.

“We try to keep things under wraps, so one of the most fun parts of this is scheming with family members and friends to surprise our Business Person of the Year,” said Amber Tomlinson, a commercial relationship manager with Wells Fargo, who announced the award winner at a luncheon hosted by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce at the Florence Center.

Tomlinson began by reeling off the winner’s biography. When she mentioned that the winner grew up in Mechanicsville – a small community outside of Florence – Gunter started to get the hint.

“There are only so many people in Mechanicsville,” he said with a laugh.

To read the full story, click here.

Jeff Deaton, Managing Director At AESC US, Addresses Crowd At Chamber’s Annual Membership Luncheon

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The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce held their annual Membership Luncheon on Wednesday, September 20th at Florence Center with a crowd of more than 500 attendees.

AESC US Managing Director Jeff Deaton addressed the group about construction progress at the company’s battery plant in Florence.

The Chamber wants to thank our area banks and credit unions for their continued support of the luncheon, Wells Fargo for presenting the Business Person of The Year Award, the Florence County Economic Development staff for helping to secure the program speaker and to Phillip Guyton of Truelight Photography for the photos.

To view photos from the event, click here.

Francis Marion Recognized As Great College To Work, Again

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Francis Marion University has been named to the 2023 Great Colleges to Work For® list for the eleventh year in a row, with top marks in all ten categories measured. Universities are recognized based on results from surveys administered to employees.

Being a workplace that excels in all ten parameters of the assessment, FMU has earned the special designation of Honor Roll institution. This year marks FMU’s tenth time receiving Honor Roll distinction. Out of the 194 universities that participated, 72 received recognition as a “Great College to Work For,” and only 42 received Honor Roll status.

To read the full story, click here.

Governor Provides Update On Workforce Scholarships For The Future Program

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Last week, Governor Henry McMaster and the South Carolina Technical College System announced that over 32,000 South Carolinians to date have been trained or awarded an industry certificate through the Workforce Scholarships for the Future program. The program, which was launched in 2021 by Governor McMaster, provides scholarships to cover the cost of tuition and fees at any of the state’s sixteen technical colleges for any South Carolina resident that wishes to pursue an industry credential or associate degree in high-demand career fields like manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, education, or logistics.

To read the full story, click here.

New Florence Center General Manager Wants To Grow Events Roster

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He’s Vegas born and raised and seen the streets of New Orleans deep in the throes of Mardi Gras and circumnavigated the country three times.

Now, Rex Berman, the Florence Center’s new general manager since Aug. 28, has decided to call Florence his home.

One of the big things that attracted Berman to Florence was the ability to put on a wide variety of shows and its impact beyond just what goes on inside the Center.

“It’s very embedded into wanting to drive heads to beds,” Berman said. “It’s got the convention space to do more trade-show type events.”

To read the full story, click here.

Fellows In Education Visit Briggs Elementary School

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Mrs. Tara Newton, principal at Briggs Elementary School, along with students and school staff shared their 70th birthday celebration with the 2023-2024 Fellows in Education class on Tuesday, September 12th.

The Fellows participants witnessed some retro musical performances by Briggs students and then experienced hands-on exercises with multiple classroom projects.

Each month’s program centers on a different educational experience that is unique to the classroom. It offers opportunities for community leaders to contribute to the development of better education policies in the communities in which they live and work.

The Fellows in Education Program is a partnership between The School Foundation, Florence 1 Schools and the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

To view photos from the day, click here.

The Counseling Center of Florence Hosts Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

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David A Kahn, PhD, LPC, LPCS along with Marlena Hanna Lownsberry of the Counseling Center along with family members, staff, friends, and Chamber Ambassadors welcome the Counseling Center to the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

The Counseling Center of Florence was founded February 14, 2000. What a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, by opening the doors to thousands of people who have experienced healing in their lives and their relationships with the help of our compassionate counseling experts!

TCC was founded by Dr. David Kahn, PhD, LPC, LPCS, and his Business Manager, Marlena Hanna Lownsberry. They had the vision to create a center that would foster healthy relationships and nurture young counselors, teaching them the ethics and procedures necessary to have a successful practice.

To read the full story, click here.

City Of Florence To Offer Citizen’s Police Academy

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The City of Florence will host a Citizen’s Police Academy beginning Tuesday, October 3rd.  The Academy will run for 6 weeks on Tuesday nights (no class on October 31) from 6:00 – 8:00 PM.  Participants must attend all classes and complete a four-hour ride along with an officer. This is a free event and registration is on a first come first served basis as the maximum participants is 25 people.

This will give the citizens of Florence the opportunity to learn about their local agency.  It is not intended to make citizens into police officers, but to allow citizens to learn police operations.  Citizens will become informed as to the actual role of the police and in return, the police will benefit from the wealth of knowledge citizens can give about their community.

If you are interested in attending or have more questions, please call the City of Florence Police Department at (843) 665-4008.