Congratulations to the Chamber and City of Florence‘s Business of the Quarter, MiLadies 182, led by Doris Lockhart, Starlee Alexander and Charlene Lowery! We were very honored to recognize MiLadies 182 during a meeting of Florence City Council and look forward to their continued efforts to help make Florence an even better place to live and do business.
By: Katrina Moses, Morning News
“FLORENCE, S.C. — On May 18, an event at the Waters Building in downtown Florence will let people relive the disco era.
Leadership Florence will host the event and is encouraging everyone to wear disco attire. The best-dressed man will win a $100 gift card from Butler’s Fine Men’s Clothing, and the best-dressed woman will win a $100 gift card from Pretty N’ Bliss.
“We’re trying to encourage people to dress appropriately with the bellbottoms and afros,” said Celeste M. Kahn, who is doing marketing for the event.
“Leadership Florence had a class that focused on local nonprofits, and those three caught our attention,” Kahn said.
Kahn said disco theme music will be provided by a deejay. She said there will also be a silent auction at the event. Items on auction are fine jewelry, wines and spirit, art and sporting goods.
Leadership Florence assists participants in increasing their knowledge of the Greater Florence Area. The class meets once a month for nine months.
“We as a class voted on different themed events, and disco was more popular,” Kahn said. “We’ve been planning this since the end of 2016.”
People interested in attending can buy tickets through Eventbrite at eventbrite.com or purchase tickets at the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.
The Disco Ball will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 apiece or $50 for two tickets. The proceeds of the event will go to Naomi Project, Help 4 Kids, and SNAC.
The Naomi Project assists families that go through domestic violence. The organization provides housing, educational, financial, emotional, mental and spiritual support to families.
Help 4 Kids is a program that supplies food packs to elementary schools in Florence County to decrease the amount of kids who go home hungry. SNAC works to improve the conditions for homeless children and their families within Florence School District One. SNAC provides faith-based programs, counseling services, financial education classes and job assistance.”
SCNow Web Article – Leadership Florence’s Disco Ball set for May 18
By: Jessica Imbimbo, Morning News
“FLORENCE, S.C. – First Heritage Credit, located at 960 Pamplico Highway, celebrated its grand opening Wednesday morning alongside members of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.
First Heritage Credit is a community-based lender that provides personal and consumer financing to local merchants for items such as furniture, appliances, electronics, ATVs and more. Founded in 1995, First Heritage Credit serves over 116,000 customers through more than 100 offices operating in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama.
Chamber ambassadors joined First Heritage Credit staff members and administrators for a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony to congratulate and welcome them to the chamber. The company has two Florence locations. The second, on Woody Jones Boulevard, will host its own grand opening ceremony in the coming weeks.
Larry Mixson, vice president of First Heritage Credit, said the business has opened 10 new offices since the start of the year and he is happy to have two locations serving local residents.
“We’re super excited,” Mixson said. “We’re going to be all over South Carolina and we looking forward to a great relationship in the Florence area.”
Vicki McLeod, district manager for First Heritage, oversees the Florence offices as well as three other surrounding locations. McLeod said both she and the three-person staff at First Heritage are looking forward to not only helping the Florence community but also being an active member of the chamber.
For more information about First Heritage Credit, visit 1stheritagecredit.com.”
SCNow Web Article – First Heritage Credit holds grand opening in Florence
By: Jessica Imbimbo, Morning News
“LORENCE, S.C. – BluFish IT Solutions Inc. became a member of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday afternoon following a ribbon cutting held at the chamber office in downtown Florence.
BluFish IT Solutions is a computer networking company located at 908 S. Parker Drive that offers an array of services including network consultation, management, maintenance and security. The company also offers off-site and remote backups, web design services, mobile app development, infrastructure upgrades and hardware repairs.
Bryan Smith, co-founder of BluFish IT Solutions, said the company opened for business in August 2016 and has provided 24-hour services to a wide range of clients from medical and dentist offices to engineering and printing industries.
“Our main goal was to solve the issue for small-to-medium-sized businesses hiring an on-site IT staff,” Smith said. “We virtualize that at less than half of the cost. We really pride ourselves on saving people money.”
Smith, along with his family members and fellow co-founder Bryan Wollan, shook hands with chamber ambassadors during the ribbon cutting ceremony. Smith said BluFish’s becoming a chamber member will allow the company to continue to grow and provide connections with other local businesses.
“There’s a lot of influential business members and organizations that are a part of this group,” Smith said. “It’s just a really nice opportunity to meet with some of the more influential members of the community.”
SCNow Web Article – BluFish IT Solutions joins Florence Chamber
“FLORENCE, S.C. – More than 20 high school students from Florence County spent the last year gaining leadership skills and an increased awareness of the community through the Junior Leadership Florence County 4-H Program.
A commencement ceremony was held Thursday afternoon at the Francis Marion University Frank B. Lee Nursing Building. Students received certificates for their participation in the leadership program.
Over the course of the school year, the students attended monthly sessions that focused on leadership skills, successful team work, health care, community awareness, business and industry, agriculture, natural resources, history, art and education, according to the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.
“I feel blessed to have had the experience of meeting new people and being exposed to new environments,” said Junior Leadership Florence County participant Jordan Snipes. “This exciting 4-H leadership opportunity has brought together high school sophomores and juniors from 10 public and private schools from across Florence County.”
Snipes, a sophomore at Florence Christian School, said that although the group of participants was diverse, they formed a great team and look forward to making a difference in their communities.
Francis Marion University President Fred Carter gave the keynote address at Thursday’s ceremony. He offered five tips to the students for their future: Use the Junior Leadership Florence County experience to broaden their perspective, seize opportunities, develop a network, cultivate and sustain new friendships and read.
“The network that you develop here, and the network that you’ll carry with you into your college years will be critically important to you,” Carter said. “You don’t know how important that is now, but you’ll come to understand in your 20s, and 30s and 40s that the networks that you establish now will sustain the perspectives that you maintain throughout the rest of your life.”
Grayson Jeffords, a student at Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School, said it was very interesting to get to grow and meet people from other schools that she would not normally meet.
“And it (the leadership program) made me raise my awareness of Florence County and just see all of the job opportunities that are available,” Jeffords said.
Erin Lassiter, also a Trinity-Byrnes student, said she loved the experience.
“I thought it was a great experience to get to know more about Florence and just get to meet a lot of new people,” Lassiter said. “We traveled around Florence County and got different aspects of what our community needed and what it was made of.”
The presenting sponsors for this year’s program were Clemson Cooperative Extension, the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and Francis Marion University.”
SCNow Web Article – Junior Leadership Florence County graduates 2017 class
The Florence Chamber was proud to host ‘Noon Tunes’, a live concert performed by Karen Hertzog as a part of Play Me I’m Yours project. The piano was painted by local artist Gina Dyess.
The Janis Project by Frank Hyder also found a temporary home at the Chamber this week. Sponsored by several local businesses, The Janis Project will be at the Chamber until May 6th.
“FLORENCE, S.C. – The end of April marks the beginning of the Florence After Five season for many Florence residents who turned out for the free downtown entertainment Friday evening.
Entering its tenth season, Florence After Five hosts a free concert on the last Friday of each month in historic downtown Florence at the Renaissance Dining Courtyard. The series runs from April until October and offers food, drinks and entertainment.
Hundreds of people helped kick off this year’s Florence After Five season starting at 5:30 p.m. Guests could indulge in food and beverages from vendors including Dolce Vita, The Library, Victors and Wholly Smokin’. This year the stage is now at the south end of Dargan Street allowing for more space and for the food vendors to be closer to the action. Host and emcee Dan E. Lockemy said he is especially excited about the new dance floor added to the front of the stage that will help get the Friday crowd going.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Lockemy said. “I get to host a lot of beach music events and that’s what we spotlight here. It gives people not only from Florence but from the Pee Dee to come and enjoy what we have to offer in downtown Florence.”
At 6 p.m., The Pizazz Band took the stage to entertain with soulful, funky sounds featuring rock, beach, top 40 and country hits. The Pizazz Band is the first of seven bands to perform during this year’s Florence After Five season. The entertainment continued at 8:30 p.m. with the musical stylings of Tastes Like Chicken during the Florence After Five after-party.
New to the event this year was a Kids Fun Zone sponsored by the Florence Recreation Department where children and their families enjoyed an evening of games and prizes. Another addition to the Florence After Five festivities was a Pecan Cook-Off sponsored by the Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“There no kid that’s going to leave with some sort of prize,” Buchanan said. “We think every kid will leave the zone happy.”
The next Florence After Five is set for Friday, May 26, featuring the band Second Nature. The event is free and open to the public. For more information about Florence After Five events, contact the Florence Downtown Development Corporation at 843-665-2047.”
SCNow Web Article – Hundreds help kick off season for Florence After Five
“FLORENCE, S.C. – The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce held a press conference and meet-and-greet Tuesday morning to celebrate the start of National Small Business Week.
Approximately 30 small-business owners and community leaders gathered at the chamber office at 100 W. Evans St. for the press conference initiating National Small Business Week in Florence. During the event, small-business owners were recognized for the role they play in a thriving, successful community. After the conference, chamber members, business owners and city officials had the opportunity to exchange business cards and connect with one another during a short meet-and-greet session.
According to the Small Business Administration, there are about 400,000 small businesses in South Carolina, which make up about 48 percent of the state’s workforce. Chamber President Mike Miller acknowledged the importance of small businesses at both at state and local level.
Miller said the number of small businesses opening in Florence has increased by three percent in the last year and that number is continuing to climb. As he addressed the crowd at the press conference Tuesday morning, Miller acknowledged the small-business owners in attendance and expressed his gratitude for all they do for the Florence area.
“We’d like to salute our small-business owners, their entrepreneurship, their hard work and dedication,” Miller said. “They are an integral part of our fabric, particularly here in Florence.”
City Councilman Glenn Willis also had a turn at the podium on Tuesday, saying small businesses improve not only the local economy but also the quality of life for Florence and other surrounding residents.
“We are working diligently to improve every avenue we can to promote small businesses throughout the city,” Willis said. “We hope to be able to bring a small business type of environments back into our neighborhoods.”
Since 1963, the president of the United States has issued a proclamation every year to announce National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small-business owners. During the chamber’s press conference, Florence Mayor Pro Tem Buddy Brand issued a proclamation of his own, recognizing Small Business Week in the Florence area.
Brand recited the proclamation, which identified small businesses as “the backbone of our economy and the cornerstone of our nation’s promise.”
“I’ll be honest with you. Seven years ago I had no idea we would see what we’ve seen,” Brand said. “It’s only just started. We’re moving forward.”
SCNow Web Article – Florence entrepreneurs, city leaders connect during chamber meet-and-greet
“FLORENCE, S.C. – The name Zoë in Greek translates to the word “life.”
In Zoës Kitchen, the Mediterranean way of life is embraced to the fullest with a family-recipe-inspired menu using fresh ingredients. The Zoës Kitchen franchise has more than 214 locations in 20 states with its newest store set to open in mid-May at 2100 W. Evans St. in Florence.
Zoës Kitchen features a variety of Mediterranean cuisine highlighting not only Grecian food, but also food from other countries including Spain, Italy and Tunisia. Guests can choose from appetizers, salads, and entrees including classic chicken or steak kabobs, pita sandwiches or hummus plates. The fast-casual restaurant also offers vegan and vegetarian options.
Each item is prepared with lean proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil and fresh herbs. With no microwaves and no fryers, Zoës Kitchen staff members prepare each food from scratch. Regional operator Keith Beaulieu said Zoës Kitchen will offer a fresh, healthy food option not readily available in to Florence residents.
“It definitely struck me as there not being something that we offer in this area,” Beaulieu said. “The balance of the healthy lifestyle as well as our hospitality and the food, I didn’t see anybody else doing that over here so that really spoke to me as to why we needed to be in Florence.”
Along with its dine-in services, Zoës Kitchen also offers take-out and catering options. Beaulieu said a large percentage of their business is driven through catering so he expects the Florence location to have a high volume of catering requests, especially with the continued development of downtown.
“This is an up-and-coming area,” Beaulieu said. “Having a district down there with so many options that we can cater to was definitely a good option for us to be here. I’m excited about this town.”
Fresh, Mediterranean-inspired food isn’t the only priority for Zoës Kitchen, according to Beaulieu. Establishing a new business also means creating more jobs for the local community and Beaulieu said Zoës Kitchen makes sure that not only the customers are satisfied but also the staff members are too.
James Blease is the general manager of the Zoës Kitchen in Florence and he has 15 years of experience. Blease said the core values of the company are what drew him to apply for the position and said Zoës’ mission to put people first sets it apart from the other restaurants he has worked in the past.
“The whole culturel and vibe here is totally different,” Blease said. “We’re going to bring a lot of things to Florence that people aren’t going to be used to. People are going to be amazed at the level of service we have.”
“We’re Mediterranean with Southern hospitality.”
Zoës Kitchen is hiring for all positions. Those interested in applying can visit careers.zoeskitchen.com.”
SCNow Web Article – New Florence restaurant to offer ‘Mediterranean with Southern hospitality’
The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and the Darlington Chamber of Commerce held their annual Administrative Professionals Day Luncheon at SiMT on Wednesday, April 26th. Nearly 400 people came to hear speaker Laura Hamilton talk on the topic of SuperWoman: Are You Invincible? Those in attendance also saw 150 prizes given away. The program was sponsored by Duke Energy, SPC Credit Union and AT&T Mobile.
