Progress has been made on the new Florence Sports Complex. The grass for the Carolina Bank Field, the new home of the Florence Flamingos Coastal League team, has already been placed and construction on the new city track facility is also underway.

The first-ever pitch at Carolina Bank Field is slated for right around 7 p.m. on May 28, as the Florence Flamingos begin their inaugural season in their new friendly confines.

And by all accounts, the 1,400-seat facility will be up and running on time when the home plate umpire shouts “Play ball.”

To read the full story, click here.

As you know, the White House announced sweeping vaccine mandate requirements for large employers over the summer.  The ETS issued by OSHA has been litigated recently in the courts.  Here’s the latest on where those court rulings stand:

• On December 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reinstated the OSHA ETS requiring employers with 100 or more employees to ensure their employees are fully vaccinated by January 4 or allow employees to submit weekly negative test results. This was a reversal of the previous stay by the Fifth Circuit.
• On December 22, the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments for the ETS to occur on Friday, January 7.
• To account for the litigation uncertainty, OSHA updated their enforcement policy stating that it “is exercising enforcement discretion with respect to the compliance dates of the ETS.” It will not issue any citations before January 10 and will not enforce the vaccine or testing requirement until February 9 “so long as an employer is exercising reasonable, good faith efforts to come into compliance with the standard.”

To read more about the OSHA ETS, Federal Contractor Mandate and CMS Rule click below.

https://www.uschamber.com/employment-law/courts-are-ruling-on-vaccine-mandates-what-employers-need-to-know

Join us for this FREE Virtual Workshop presented by a certified SCORE Mentor.

• Tuesday, January 11, 2022
• 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

This course will take you through the step-by-step process of developing a business plan that is very specific to each business. However, while each business needs a unique plan, the basic elements are the same in all business plans. To complete an effective business plan, you must dedicate time to complete the plan.

Click on the link below to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing meeting information.

https://score.tfaforms.net/17?EventID=a105a000005qZQ6

Our 2021-2022 Jr. Leadership Florence County Class participated in their Social Issues and Community Service Day on Monday, December 20^th! Thank you to the Harvest Hope Food Bank in Florence, Lighthouse Ministries, Greater Florence Habitat for Humanity for allowing our students to volunteer today! Also, our students created Holiday Cards to send to our soldiers. There are so many nonprofits in Florence County and our 4-Hers challenge each of you to find a place and use “your hands of larger service” to positively impact our communities!

Special thanks to Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority for providing transportation.

The Junior Leadership Program is a partnership project between the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce, Francis Marion University and Florence County 4-H program. The sessions are similar to the Chamber’s Leadership Florence program but designed for sophomore and Junior high school students.

On Thursday, January 13, The Florence Chamber of Commerce will partner with Francis Marion University and McLeod Health to host the 23rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. event. The annual celebration will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Francis Marion University’s Chapman Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information call Les Echols at the Chamber at (843) 519-0934.