Entrepreneurship Training Offered for Pee Dee Healthy Food Businesses

/in , , , /by

Feeding Innovation Flyer Florence_

To view the flyer in full size, click below:

Feeding Innovation Flyer

In an effort to improve access to healthy, fresh food in our city, the City of Florence and the SC Community Loan Fund will host entrepreneurship training for people or entities interested in developing or expanding healthy food businesses in our area that focus on underserved areas. Accepted applicants will receive entrepreneurship training at no charge from an NxLevel-certified instructor in the areas of business organization, planning, research, marketing, financial planning, negotiations and deal making.   NxLevel Entrepreneurship Training is known to be one of the largest and most effective entrepreneur training networks and was established in 1994.

The application process to receive the free NxLevel entrepreneurship training (valued over $500.00) is competitive and applications are due no later than August 26, 2016 to anna@sccommunityloanfund.org.

Applications are available by email request (anna@sccommunityloanfund.org) , in person on the second floor of the City Center (324 W. Evans Street) in Florence, or online at Florencedowntown.com (click on “food access training”).

Applicants will be notified by September 1, 2016 of their selection to participate, and the training program will begin September 12 for nine consecutive Monday evenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Florence. Participants who complete the program will walk away with a completed business plan reviewed by professionals and access to business mentors.

Additionally, participants will pitch their business plans to a panel of judges on December 12, and the first place winner will receive a $12,500 seed grant. First and second place winners will also receive bonus points towards a Tenant Up-fit Downtown Redevelopment Grant in the downtown Florence area.

The training program is open to individuals, non-profits, and businesses with an idea, start-up, established project, or expansion in the region. The application process is competitive and up to fifteen (15) participants will be selected. Note that it is  open to folks across the Pee Dee region to apply.

Tim Clark Band to Headline Florence After Five Concert on August 26

/in , , , /by

From Florence After Five:

“You don’t want to miss Florence After Five this month, featuring The Tim Clark Band! Join us on August 26th at the 100 Block of S. Dargan between Evans and Cheves Streets, beginning at 5:30 pm for the best block party in Florence!”

You can find more information about the Florence After Five concert series by clicking on the link below:

Florence After Five Concert Series

Historical Florence Images Courtesy of Myflorencetoday.com

/in , , , /by

Corner_Irby_and_Evans_F_W_Woolworth-46-800-600-80     Central_Graded_School___Poynor-56-800-600-80        East_Evans_St._looking_east_1914_-83-800-600-80

 

Captions:

Left photo: Corner of Irby Street and West Evans Street, circa 1951. The Art Trail Gallery currently occupies this historic building constructed in 1905 for Hampton Lodge 204’s Masonic Temple. The original building had three stories with the lodge hall on the third floor. Farmer’s Mechanic Bank occupied the left front and was replaced by Palmetto Bank & Trust in 1915 when it purchased the Masonic Temple. During a renovation in 1950, the third floor was removed and Woolworth’s moved into the building in 1951. Photo courtesy of Tom Kinard.
Courtesy: myflorencetoday.com

Middle photo: The Central Grammar School in 1918. (Later renamed Poynor and became a junior high school. Currently Poynor Adult Education. ) Principal was KR Schoenberg; teachers Mrs. R. Lee Brunson, Miss Nona Dudley, Miss Lillian Gentry, Miss Marie Gregory, Miss Carolina Hood, Miss Alva Hutcheson, Miss Marie Jones, Miss Louise Lancaster, Miss Lucie Miles, Miss Marguerite Murphy, Miss Margie Scarborough, Miss Georgie Stackley and Miss Linda Todd. Photo from the 1918-21 yearbook.
Courtesy: myflorencetoday.com

Right photo: East Evans Street, looking East. Circa 1914.
Courtesy: myflorencetoday.com

Take a look at these awesome flashback photos of the downtown Florence area, courtesy of myflorencetoday.com and the Florence News Journal!

We’ve come a long way since some of the photos were taken, but the downtown area still has a lot of the charm that made it so great many years ago.

You can view the entire album on myflorencetoday.com‘s “Do You Remember?” section by clicking the link below:

http://myflorencetoday.com/index.php/news/do-you-remember#!

City Gives Land Parcel to Magnolia Mall for Potential Retail/Restaurant Space

/in , , , /by

Magnolia Mall, image courtesy: createworldwide.com

From the Morning News:

Florence City Council voted to give a portion of property near the corner of David McLeod Blvd. and Dunbarton Dr., to the owners of Magnolia Mall.

The portion of land could be used for a variety of things, including a potential new restaurant, officials said.

According to the article, “The city council originally was given the parcel by the state and decided to convey the land to PR Magnolia, LLC.

“By doing that, Magnolia Mall proper can develop it how they see fit,” Florence Mayor Pro Tempore Buddy Brand said. “Which could be two or three parcels, or extra parking for Chik-fil-a, really however they want to use it,” Brand continued.

Brand said he sees growing potential for another restaurant or something similar at the location.”

Read the entire article by clicking the link below:

SCnow.com web article- City Council Gives Surplus Land to Mall

Apply Now to Take Part in Upcoming Leadership Florence Program

/in , , , /by

There is still time to complete an application for Leadership Florence Class of 2016-2017.

Leadership Florence is a comprehensive nine-month program designed to identify, cultivate and motivate new leadership for the Greater Florence Area. Participants will increase their knowledge of the Greater Florence area, and enhance their involvement in community activities while further developing their leadership skills.

To find out more about Leadership Florence or to secure an application, contact the Chamber today at 843-665-0515.

Small Business Owners: Don’t Spend Your Money on These 3 Things

/in , , , /by

From Inc Magazine:

“You have a choice as a small company: Are you going to spend frivolously on things you don’t need, or are you going to be appropriately frugal?

“Being appropriately frugal means saving money on things you can save money on,” says Brett Fox, Former CEO at Touchstone Semiconductor, GM at Micrel and EIR at Crosslink Capital. Fox continues his explanation below:

  1. Buy all your office furniture used or get it for free. We got our first set of 20 cubicles for $500. The next set we got for free. They didn’t match, but who cares.
  2. Buy all your test equipment used. We bought everything in our lab second hand. The equipment was perfectly fine, and we saved a bundle of money.
  3. Fly coach. This is an obvious one, but I’m still surprised at how many people don’t do this.

There are many more you can do, but setting the tone of frugality is contagious. The rest of the automatically starts thinking of ways to save money when you lead by example.

On the flip side, spend money where you need to spend the money. Each situation is different, so we spent on:

  1. Hiring the best engineers we could. High quality engineers in our industry (high performance analog ICs) are a scarce commodity. We spent what we needed to spend in order to hire A players.
  2. Having the appropriate software and tools for the engineers. Releasing a hardware product costs a reasonable amount of money, so the more first-time successes the better. We never scrimped on the verification tools our engineers needed.
  3. Healthcare. We wanted our benefits to match up with our larger competitors. This was a big selling point for new employees.
  4. Marketing. Our business model was predicated on having 1000’s of customers buying from us, so we spent what we needed to spend. At the same time, we negotiated great deals with the various trade publications in our industry.”

See the entire article on Inc’s website by clicking the link below:

Inc Magazine Article: 3 Things a Small Business Should Never Spend Money On

First Friday Concert Downtown to Feature Mark Humphries and the Easy Kind

/in , , , /by

2016-0805_MarkHumphries

From the City of Florence:

Happy Friday Florence! It’s not just Friday, it’s FIRST FRIDAY!

Join us downtown this evening from 6-10 pm in the James Allen Plaza with the sounds of Mark Humphries and the Easy Kind!

Hope to see you there!

For more information, visit:

Florence Downtown Website

Second Aldi Store Opens in Florence

/in , , , /by

aldi

(image courtesy: Aldi.com)

A second Aldi store opened its doors to the public on Thursday, near the intersection of David McLeod Blvd. and N. Beltline Drive.

The 17,000 square foot grocery store stays in line with the grocer’s national commitment to cost-saving measures that the company says, “offer incredibly high quality at impossibly low prices.”

You can read more about the grand opening and the newest Aldi location in the following story from the Morning News:

SCnow.com web article- Second Aldi Store Opens in Florence

Ribbon Cut on Luther F. Carter Health Sciences Facility

/in , , , /by

            

(Images courtesy: City of Florence Facebook page)

City officials, FMU representatives and local leaders gathered Thursday morning for a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Luther F. Carter Health Sciences Facility in downtown Florence.

The more than 50,000 square foot facility will house the advanced medical education programs at Francis Marion University and third and fourth year medical students who will be finishing their education in the Pee Dee.

You can read more about the ribbon cutting ceremony by clicking the link below:

SCnow.com web article- Ribbon Cutting Coverage

You can view the entire album from this morning’s ribbon cutting by clicking on the following link:

City of Florence Facebook Album: Health Sciences Facility Ribbon Cutting

 

Junior Leadership Florence County Welcomes 2016-2017 Class

/in , , , /by

(2016-2017 Junior Leadership Florence County Class)

This year’s class of Junior Leadership Florence County met for the first time this week.

The leadership program enables high school students from public and private schools across the county, to come together to get an inside look at the business and government communities in Florence.

Please stay tuned for updates on this exciting program that is presented by Clemson Extension, the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and Francis Marion University.

 

We can’t wait to see what unfolds this year!

For a look at the entire album from the orientation session, click on the link below:

Junior Leadership Florence County Facebook Page