Join Darlington Raceway for the final Track Laps of the season on Saturday, November 16th from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm. They will be hosting track laps benefiting Toys for Tots! The cost is $25 per car or a new unwrapped toy (of equal value).
November is Diabetes Awareness Month and The Diabetes Institute at HopeHealth wants to celebrate with you! Drop-in and learn tips to improve your health and blood sugar, discover how to rethink your drink, move with us for a dance party, and sample some new recipes. You can also register to win a prize! Click here to find an event near you!
Last week, the Tax Foundation published its 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index, which is a rebranded and enhanced version of the State Business Tax Climate Index that it has published annually since 2003 to better reflect states’ overall tax competitiveness, not just their business tax climates. The Index compares states on several key tax metrics including corporate taxes, individual income taxes, sales, use, and excise taxes, property and wealth taxes, and unemployment insurance taxes, and has been relied upon by policymakers and advocates to understand how their state’s tax code stacks up relative to peer states and identify areas for improvement.
South Carolina’s tax system stayed stagnant at 33rd overall in this year’s Index, the same as in 2024 after applying the revised methodologies. South Carolina’s corporate and individual income tax rankings remain unchanged this year at 11th and 24th respectively, while the state’s unemployment and property tax rankings improved two spots each to 28th and 41st. Its sales tax ranking slid one spot to 33rd.
Do you want to work in a clean, quiet, safe, temperature-controlled, and highly automated manufacturing facility? Attend their Job Fair on Wednesday, November 13th, starting at 8AM at SiMT. 8:00 AM-9:00 AM is Veterans Hour with refreshments; 9:00 AM-5:00 PM will be for all other interested applicants. No experience required. Walk-ins welcome. Applicants must be 18+.
To view the full flyer, click here.
The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) will host a Celebration of Life ceremony on Nov. 13, 2024, honoring the late Dr. Bhuvana Parameswaran, a cherished and long-serving member of the GSSM faculty. The ceremony will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. in the GSSM Campus gym, where students, alumni, faculty, and the public are invited to gather to remember and celebrate Dr. Bhuvana’s life and legacy.
Dr. Bhuvana, who taught in the Biology Department, joined GSSM in 1998, where she served as faculty lead for the Health Occupations Students of America and Asian Culture clubs. Over her remarkable 25-year tenure, Dr. Bhuvana made an indelible impact on her students and colleagues alike. Her sudden passing on October 14 at the age of 64 has left the GSSM community deeply saddened.
“Dr. Bhuvana’s over two decades of service to GSSM has impacted students, colleagues, and families in countless ways. So many of our graduates attribute their current studies or employment to Bhuvana’s class and passion for her subject,” shared Danny Dorsel, GSSM President and a member of the Class of 1990. “Bhuvana’s passing is a significant loss to the GSSM community, but knowing her, she would want us to continue working hard and getting better, and so we will.”
To read the full press release, click here.
Kelli Cox, Manager of Volunteer Services at MUSC of Florence and Matthew Corbin, MUSC Liaison were the Florence Chamber’s guest this past weekend talking about all things volunteer at the MUSC of Florence Medical Centers. We encourage you to tune-in every Sunday from 12:00-12:30pm on LIVE 95.3FM in Florence, SC.
This program is brought to you by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.
You can review past ChamberLink Radio Show interviews by clicking https://www.flochamber.com/events-programs/podcasts/
Jeff Gregory, Executive Director of Mercy Medical Free Clinics was the Florence Chamber’s guest this past weekend talking about the medical and dental services Mercy Medical offers to low income, uninsured and underinsured adults without healthcare. We encourage you to tune-in every Sunday from 12:00-12:30pm on LIVE 95.3FM in Florence, SC.
This program is brought to you by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.
You can review past ChamberLink Radio Show interviews by clicking https://www.flochamber.com/events-programs/podcasts/
The Greater Florence Chamber held its fall Community Breakfast on Friday, November 1, as an Education and Workforce Update. The event was held at Florence Center.
The breakfast speakers included Francis Marion University President, Dr. Fred Carter, Florence-Darlington Technical College President, Dr Jermaine Ford and Florence County Economic Development CEO, Gregg Robinson.
Gregg Robinson started the program session with an economic development update and shared the need to continue to develop the area workforce given the dramatic industry expansion here in the Pee Dee.
Dr. Carter and Dr. Ford followed on the workforce topic with impressive statistics on what Francis Marion University and Florence Darlington Technical College have added to their classrooms and educational programming.
This program was made possible by Signature Wealth Strategies and First Reliance Bank.
To see more photos from the event, click here.
Everyone in the 2024 Fellows in Education group enjoyed the visit to Southside Middle School on October 15th. Did you know that it has the highest enrollment of the middle schools and has a performing arts program that includes dance, theater, chorus, orchestra, piano and photography?
The Southside Middle School Principal, Ms. Beverly Greene, shared the school’s history and academic achievements over the years and provided a firsthand student tour of typical classroom activities.
The class of 30 local civic and business leaders will visit 8 different Florence 1 Schools over the next 8 months to showcase what is being done each day educating our children.
Fellows In Education is a joint community project between Florence 1 Schools, the School Foundation and the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.
To see more photos from the day, click here.
Over the last several months, the SC Chamber embarked on its annual Grassroots Tour to take the pulse of businesses across the Palmetto State on a variety of different economic and political issues. The SC Chamber team visited over 31 local chambers, including the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce, and collected 792 responses from engaged audiences. Through this interactive presentation, respondents had the opportunity to make their voices heard on challenges affecting their businesses and provide invaluable feedback to help shape the SC Chamber’s 2025 Competitiveness Agenda that will be released prior to the start of the legislative session.
While most of the respondents felt poorly about the United States’ economy (52 percent rated it as bad), an overwhelming majority (83 percent) rated South Carolina’s economy as either good or excellent. Other notable results include:
The full 2024 results can be found here.
