insight regarding their alternative road funding tax program. Recognizing the ... flourish with âSmall Town Charm and
2017 Annual Report
» » Contents
4
From the Chairman’s Desk
12
Road Trip
6
Executive Committee
14
By the Numbers
7
Board of Directors
16
Leading by Service
8
Our Purpose
18
Bridging the Gap
9
Our Staff
20
#Winning www.GreaterSummerville.org
10 2
The Roads We Travel
22
Totality Cool
402 North Main Street, Summerville, SC 29483 (843) 873-2931 3
In a short period of time, we delivered to our town and county officials, as well as the Council of Governments, a listing of the top 24 road projects needed for our community and the estimated costs to complete these projects. Our board of directors will continue to monitor the progress of these infrastructure needs and future needs as they develop. Our Chamber also organized and participated in our third annual Inter-City Visit. A group of leaders from our Chamber board and staff, the Town of Summerville, Dorchester County and Dorchester School District Two visited Fort Mill and Rock Hill, SC. The trip provided a great opportunity for these leaders to share thoughts and ideas and to learn from another SC community that has conducted a successful re-brand. They contributed their success to new economic development opportunities that were a direct result of thoughtful planning, collaboration and leadership. Some interesting highlights were the transformation from a mill town to a sports tourism destination, as well as a hub for corporate industry headquarters. Additionally, we attained great insight regarding their alternative road funding tax program.
» » From
The Chairman’s Desk
W
hat an honor and a privilege it has been to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors for your Chamber of Commerce in 2017. It’s been a pleasure to serve with a very strong Executive Committee, engaged Board of Directors and our outstanding Chamber Staff. In our January Board planning session, infrastructure was identified as our top priority. From that meeting, we formed our Infrastructure Sub-Committee. Under the leadership of Public Policy Vice Chair Robert Pratt, our sub-committee met ten times over the next five months with leaders from the Town of Summerville, Dorchester County, the Dorchester County Transportation Authority, SCDOT, City of North Charleston, Charleston County, Berkeley County as well as members of our chamber’s executive committee and members of the road construction industry.
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Recognizing the needs of our Downtown Summerville Chamber investors, the Chamber Board of Directors also approved and established a Downtown Area Council. Working closely with DREAM and the Town of Summerville, we expect this council to give our investing partners a platform to organize ideas to improve foot traffic to our Downtown. As a validation to our commitment to support the efforts of building a strong community, we invited city planning expert Joe Minicozzi of Urban3 Planning to give a presentation on the value of placemaking as it relates to economic development and future of downtowns. In closing, I want to thank you all for your support of The Greater Summerville/ Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce. Also, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve our wonderful community as your 2017 Chamber Board Chairman. I invite you to join me in staying engaged to ensure that Summerville continues to flourish with “Small Town Charm and World Class Business!” Respectfully,
Tony Pope 2017 Chamber Board Chairman
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» » Executive
» » Board of
Committee 2017 » » Jim McDaniel Immediate Past Chair
» » Tony Pope Board Chair
Directors 2017 Carrie Bovender
Debbie Clarke
Director, Leadership
Director
Dorchester Advisory
» » Edward
Council
Tupper Chair-Elect
» »Jonathan Patterson Vice Chair, Finance
Ronnie Givens
Debbie Maccario
Jack Mitchell
Director
Director
Director
Director
Naomi Nimmo
Wendell Nolan
Randy Patrick
Robby Robbins
Director, Nonprofit
Director, Young
Director
Director
Council
Professionals Council
John Truluck
Gray Somerville
Russ Touchberry
Lisa Valentine
Director
Director
Director
Director
» »Colin
» »Ron Jaicks Vice Chair, Tourism
Martin Vice Chair, Energy & Environment
» »Michael
» »Robert
Chauvin Vice Chair,
Pratt Vice Chair,
Communications & Marketing
» »Scott
Public Policy
» »Bob
Runyon Vice Chair,
Walker Vice Chair,
Member Services
Workforce Development
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Elena Furnari
7
» » Our
Staff
Rita Berry
Fay Bell
Joann Brooks
Alana Burke
President/CEO
Visitor Engagement
Executive Assistant
Director, Programs and Special Events
» » Our
Purpose
Jena Ferguson
Sue Sanders
Shari Schultz
Kevin Szostak
Director, Marketing and
Visitor Engagement
Director, Investor
Planning and Strategic
Engagement and
Initiatives Coordinator
Communications
Professional Dev.
O
ur commitment to our town and the members of our Chamber are reflected in our core values: integrity, honesty, regional cooperation, commitment to business success, and sense of community spirit. We want you to thrive by being a member of our Chamber.
Since its establishment in 1911, the Greater
As your advocate, we strive to ensure that
Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of
the interests of the business community are
Commerce has been an integral part of growth
well represented and heard in public policy
in Summerville and the surrounding areas.
decisions. You have our promise that your
Jenn Quattlebaum
Susan Worthy
Tina Zimmerman
Contract, Leadership
Contract, Accounting/
Contract, Special
Dorchester
Bookkeeping
Events
Chamber will continue to make it our priority We are dedicated to building a strong local
to focus on the needs of our community and
economy, promoting Summerville, building
the opportunities that make this the best place
business relationships, and being the voice for
to live, work and play. YOU make a difference.
business. As the unified voice of our members,
We are the catalyst to helping our members
the Chamber works closely with elected
grow, improve and protect their business.
officials at the town, county and state levels to create a proactive environment for open dialogue on issues affecting our members.
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“Preserving small town charm, inspiring world class business.” 9
» » The
Roads We Travel
A
t the January Board Planning Retreat, infrastructure was identified as the Chamber’s top priority for 2017. The hard work and collaboration of the Chamber Board and various experts, elected officials, and community leaders led to big strides in the effort to fix our roads. Chamber Infrastructure Sub-Committee
Infrastructure Funding Bill
Born from the Planning Retreat was the
Soon after the Planning Retreat in January,
Chamber’s Infrastructure Sub-Committee, led
the Board voted to advocate for the support
by Vice Chair Robert Pratt, and comprised
of the then-proposed Infrastructure Funding
of industry experts, elected officials and
Bill. Multiple email messages were sent to the
community leaders. Immediately, the
membership explaining the details of the bill
committee got to work identifying the priority
and how it would help to accomplish the goal
road projects that Summerville and Dorchester
of fixing our roads, while also urging members
County desperately needed addressed. The
to express their support of the bill to their
group’s hard work culminated at the October
local legislators. Alongside Bill Ross, Executive
2017 Power Hour, where they unveiled a final
Director of the S.C. Alliance to Fix Our Roads,
list of 24 projects. Although all projects are
SCDOT Highway Commissioner Robby Robbins
necessary, the committee then narrowed
led a Power Hour to even better inform
down the list to five key, top priority projects,
our members of the bill’s benefits. On May
totaling a price tag of almost $500 million.
10, 2017, the bill officially passed as law,
The Chamber’s recommendation to the BCD
increasing funding for resurfacing and safety
Council of Governments and Charleston Area
improvement projects across the state.
The Conference Report • Raise the motor fuel user fee by 2 cents per year for 6 years • Increases point of sale tax on car purchases from $300 to $500 • Fees on electric vehicles $120 and hybrid vehicles $60 • Makes donor CTC counties whole • In-state rebate for residents for preventative maintenance phased in capped at $114 million and sunsets after 7 years • Earned income tax credit • Two wage earner credit • Decreases manufacturing property tax assessment ratio from 10.5% to 9% • Increases tuition tax credit to $1500 • Adds one at large seat to the SCDOT Commission. All serve at the pleasure of the Governor. • Commissioners in the congressional districts to be appointed by the Governor and approved by the delegation.
Transportation System will provide further incentive for funding to be applied to these vital Dorchester County road projects:
1. Dorchester Road widening
2. US-78 widening
3. Orangeburg “Loop” Road widening
4. Proposed Glenn McConnell Parkway
5. Central Avenue widening
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Advocacy After signing on in 2016, the Chamber remains a member of the S.C. Alliance to Fix Our Roads. In March 2017, the Chamber signed on to The Cost of Losing, a campaign organized by various Chamber of Commerces across South Carolina that were pushing for infrastructure fixes.
INFRASTRUCTURE WAS IDENTIFIED AS THE CHAMBER’S TOP PRIORITY IN 2017.
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» » Road
Trip
F
or three years now, the Chamber has packed a bus full of Board members, elected officials, and community leaders to embark on an annual Inter-City Visit. These trips have proven successful in generating new and innovative ideas to make Summerville and Dorchester County a better place to live and do business. This year, the group headed to York County, SC to visit the Fort Mill and Rock Hill communities. Trip attendees left with the consensus that community collaboration, as well as private-public partnership, are the key factors that have led to the successful re-brand of these York County communities. The trip was filled with presentations by leaders of Fort Mill and Rock Hill, who all mentioned that when they put aside their differences and worked together, they were able to meet their shared goals. At a breakfast wrap up meeting on the last day of the trip, attendees agreed that the biggest takeaways included the potential benefit of private-public partnerships and the importance of parks and recreation opportunities for our residents. They agreed that what Fort Mill and Rock Hill have done well is building on their own uniqueness and history. The communities have identified what makes them special and have enhanced those elements in order to bring value to their residents and intrigue to tourists. A visit to the area master planned communities, Baxter Village, Kingsley, and Riverwalk, showed similarities and amazing potential for the areas of Nexton and Summers Corner. Both the Fort Mill and Rock Hill downtown areas boasted strong connectivity to area parks through walking and biking trails, which gave insight to the possibilities of the Sawmill Branch Trail. Fort Mill’s Anne Springs Close Greenway, a 2,100-acre nature preserve complete with 36 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding, plus picnic areas and kayaking, made attendees even more excited for the benefit of the newly proposed Ashley River Park. Taking parks and recreation one step further, sports tourism areas in the Riverwalk community in Rock Hill like the Giordana Velodrome, a 250 meter world-class cycling track, and the BMX Supercross Track, showed us that the sky is the limit. Previous Inter-City Visits have included visits to Greenville and Greer, SC, and Asheville and Hendersonville, NC. In 2018, the Chamber will bring the previous Inter-City Visit attendees together for an Intra-City Visit in
our area, where we plan to take a hard look at how to apply some of the best practices and ideas generated from the three previous visits.
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» » By
SOCIAL MEDIA
The Numbers
FACEBOOK
It was in the air from the very start: 2017 was a year of growth. We could feel it, but for those that need to see it, here is the Chamber’s year by the numbers.
+641 TOTAL LIKES: 3,130
TWITTER INSTAGRAM
+372 +284
TOTAL FOLLOWERS: 2,580
TOTAL FOLLOWERS: 927
A goal born during our strategic planning session of 2016, it was the marketing
119
83.4%
755
New Members
Retention Rate
Members
department’s mission to radically increase engagement in the digital age. Much of our event marketing took
42
1906
place on social media
2,917+ Facebook Live Views
this year, Facebook especially, in an effort to attract young professionals. The Chamber even went “live” with the very first
Ribbon Cuttings
$3,000
BAH Attendees
931
“Jena and Kevin Show.”
65,980 Member Web Page Hits
Scholarships Awarded
14
Power Hour Attendees
15
» » Leading
By
Service
T
he Chamber’s Leadership Dorchester program is an 11-month intensive and comprehensive study of the political, civic, economic and social dynamics of Dorchester County. Each year, class members graduate with a better understanding of what makes Dorchester County great and the capacity to make it even better.
Sitting in the conference room of Camp
The 10 months in between were
St. Christopher on Seabrook Island,
packed with visits to the Statehouse,
23 new faces awkwardly greeted
SC Chamber of Commerce, Norfolk
each other and sipped their coffee.
Southern’s Brosnan Forest, Francis
This was the first official meeting of
Beidler Forest, Upper Dorchester
the new Leadership Dorchester 2017
County, Summerville Medical Center,
class, an overnight retreat to get to
and presentations by local industry
know each other. Little did they know
professionals, non-profits, first
at the time, they would become fast
responders, downtown retailers and
friends, and the November graduation
elected officials.
would be here before they knew it. Our Furry Friends Leadership Dorchester 2017 chose to assist the then Frances R. Willis SPCA to re-brand and make renovations to their facilities. After raising over $50,000 in funds and in-kind donations, the class was able to initiate a total re-brand, including a new name, Dorchester Paws, new logo, color scheme, and road sign. The class also funded extensive renovations at the shelter, including a new water line, campus-wide cleaning and painting, new floors and furniture in the front office, and much more.
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» » Bridging
the Gap
I
n communication with the Town of Summerville and Summerville D.R.E.A.M., it became apparent that there was a service gap for businesses located in our historic downtown area. In September 2017, the Chamber introduced the new Downtown Area Council, a “neighborhood” of member businesses located in downtown Summerville, which facilitates open communication and allows for focused attention on their specific interests and concerns. The first meeting of the Downtown Area Council resulted in the identification of three key priorities for the council: the expansion of the Farmers Market, completion of the Hutchinson Square renovations, and increased connectivity to the Sawmill Branch Trail. In December, the Downtown Area Council hosted their first Shop & Dine Local Tour, a fun event to drive foot traffic to downtown retailers and restaurants.
F
ollowing the example set forth by the Downtown Area Council, the other Chamber area councils met to discuss key priorities for bettering their communities.
Knightsville Area
North Summerville Area
Oakbrook Area
1. Parks and walkability
1. Complete turn lanes at
1. Wayfinding signage on and
Rackaway Drive
off the Sawmill Branch Trail; connectivity past Dorchester
2. Emphasis and support for
Other Area Councils: Knightsville North Summerville Oakbrook
18
a technical school campus in
2. Building a strong
Dorchester County, potentially
relationship and collaboration
in the Knightsville area
with Berkeley County
3. Encouragement of economic
3. Facilitate the discussion
Road to the Ashley River 2. Increased Oakbrook presence in the Summerville
development
Visitor Center
about the Town of Summerville gateway from the Nexton
3. Support and advocate for
interchange
revitalizing Oakbrook area
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» » #Winning Both Rita Berry and Jena Ferguson were recognized for Chamber excellence at the 2017 Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (CACCE) Staff Leadership Conference held in Salisbury, NC. Chamber President/CEO Rita Berry received a Service Award to recognize her ten years of service in the chamber industry. Jena
Annual Chamber Awards Wingate by Wyndham at CSU
Ferguson, Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications Design, received two
The Chamber held our annual Economic
Communications Excellence Awards to
Forecast Luncheon, Annual Membership
recognize her outstanding efforts in both the
Meeting and Awards Ceremony in January,
Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union
Advertising/Marketing and the Publication
where we had a chance to recognize some of
2016 Large Business of the Year
categories. Ferguson was also the recipient
our members for their excellence.
of the exclusive Ashby Ward Institute Scholarship, a one-year full-ride to attend the Southeast Institute of Organizational Management, a four-year professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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2016 Small Business of the Year
Summerville Family YMCA Each year, we award in the categories of Small
2016 Nonprofit of the Year
Business of the Year, Large Business of the Year, Nonprofit of the Year, Volunteer of the
Faith Sellars & George H. Seago, Jr.
Year, and Berlin G. Myers Lifetime Achievement
2016 Berlin G. Myers Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Award
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» » Thank
You
On behalf of the Chamber Board of Directors and staff, we want to say thank you. Without your investment, we cannot succeed in building a strong economy and a governmental climate favorable to your growth and prosperity in our area. Vision Leader Investors 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Occuring on August 21, 2017, this total solar eclipse spanned the entire United States,
» » Members
starting in Oregon and ending in Charleston, SC.
» » Totality
Say
Cool
A
lthough we planned for Chamber of Commerce weather, the skies were mostly cloudy in Summerville on August 21, 2017. The Chamber and its staff were ready and excited for the once in a lifetime event of a total solar eclipse passing over our town. In preparation for the phenomenon, the Chamber invited Dr. Chris Fragile to speak at our July Energy and Environment Division Meeting about the science behind an eclipse, as well as the true uniqueness of the one our community was about to experience. We decided to create an equally one-of-a-kind commemoration by designing and selling t-shirts, with a portion of the proceeds
The Chamber embodies
I like seeing many of
I am a member of multiple
the small-town spirit
the same friendly faces
chambers of commerce
of this beautiful area.
each month. I know a
in the Greater Charleston
When I attend events,
lot of hard work goes
area. Without question,
I forget about the
into the planning and
the Greater Summerville/
“business” and think
execution of these
Dorchester County
more bout the quality of
events, but the smiles
Chamber of Commerce is
life.
are welcoming and
one of the most accessible
contagious.
for all its members.
Jane L.
Allen P.
benefiting the Chamber Scholarship Fund. What makes a regular black cotton t-shirt so cool? It glows in the dark.
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Meranda M.
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