INVESTOR UPDATE FEBRUARY 2014
MORE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT WWW.ACCELERATECHARLESTON.COM OR CALL 843.577.2510
DRIVING GROWTH. Becoming a world-class metropolitan region.
CONTENTS Letter from Leadership
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Innovation
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Talent
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Advocacy
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AGC Investors
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4500 Leeds Avenue, Suite 100 North Charleston, SC 29405 www.charlestonchamber.net p: 843.577.2510
Dear Accelerate Greater Charleston Partner: Since its inception in 2011, your support and participation in Accelerate Greater Charleston has resulted in significant gains for our region in the areas of Talent, Innovation and Advocacy. The start of the third year of this five-year strategic plan shows growth in investors, partnerships and outcomes toward the progression of Greater Charleston as a dynamic global business community. The February 2014 Accelerate Greater Charleston Investors Update highlights the actions and results of our collective efforts thus far. This update only skims the surface on the amount of work being conducted by individuals and organizations across three counties, four school districts and local, regional and state elected bodies. AGC is working and its impact on our region is impressive. Thank you for your investment commitment to Accelerate Greater Charleston. We look forward to working together in our continued strides to accelerate our region’s tremendous success. Respectfully yours,
Christopher B. Fraser 2014 Chairman of the Board Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
Bryan S. Derreberry President and CEO Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
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INNOVATE TO CATALYZE DYNAMIC AND FAST-PACED BUSINESS SUCCESS Dedicated strategies supporting the current and future competiveness of regional business clusters is at the core of Accelerate Greater Charleston. Metro Export Initiative and Plan A training team has been established to assist companies entering into the export arena or expanding their exported products and services. The team is comprised of a coalition from the U.S. Commercial Service, Small Business Development Center and retained export consultants. Training sessions for exporting companies will begin in March 2014. The three-stage training sessions will cover Export Compliance, Shipping Documentation, export ready marketing, banking, taxes/accounting and legal. Deliverables for each company participating in training include an actionable export strategy plan and a coach to facilitate implementation. Twenty five companies are being evaluated to provide customized export plans to new and expanding exporters in the Charleston region. Annually, this program will strengthen and heighten Charleston’s export capacity and wealth generation capabilities by arming businesses to excel in international trade. World Trade Center Charleston World Trade Center Charleston hosted two international delegations (Indonesia and Africa) and is preparing to welcome another (Canada) this spring. African countries represented were Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya and Liberia. Greater Charleston’s business community is effectively bridging into international high growth markets and building new relationships by hosting these delegation programs. Entrepreneur Catalyst Center One of Accelerate Greater Charleston’s top goals is to create and sustain high-growth, highimpact entrepreneurial enterprises in conjunction with like-minded partners throughout our region. The new Entrepreneur Catalyst Center, situated on the Chamber’s second floor, will be unveiled this April. The Center is designed to help aspiring and existing innovators to connect, learn from one another, share space, access resources, meet mentors, receive training and much more. We are focusing on creating fertile ground to launch the next Benefitfocus, Boomtown!, Levelwing or SPARC.
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TALENT FUELS SPEED TO IMPLEMENTATION AND ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY Accelerate Greater Charleston works to provide our region’s employers with a highly skilled, work ready talent pool. Regional Workforce Readiness The Chamber has engaged the consulting team of Avalanche Consulting and The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) to conduct a comprehensive skill and degree gap analysis for the region. The study is examining current jobs in the region, as well as projected jobs, the education/skill requirements for those jobs and where in the region one can obtain the needed skills/education. The study will make recommendations on how the region can best address readying the workforce it needs, including what higher education degrees need to be developed and offered locally. The workforce readiness analysis will be completed in late spring 2014. Scholarships for Trident Tech A foundational goal of AGC is to dynamically strengthen the preparation of regional high school graduates entering employment in hospitality/culinary arts, health sciences and science, technology, engineering and math occupations. $100,000 in AGC scholarship funding to Trident Technical College is now available to metro area public high school graduates pursuing twoyear degrees in these fields beginning in the 2014-2015 academic year.
Talent Blueprint The Talent Blueprint has been completed, outlining robust, accelerated improvements in four areas: Community On-boarding, Education Bright Spots, Physical Environment and Talent Resources. The first area of implementation in the Community On-Boarding arena is being driven by Charleston Young Professionals as part of a “Welcome to Charleston Program”. A recently established Newcomer’s Crew is developing a presentation for employers to provide to new staff and prospective recruits highlighting the aspects of Charleston that are most desirable for young professionals and their involvement interests.
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High School Career Academy Development and Expansion Six teachers and guidance counselors from Berkeley County School District visited Nashville Academies in November 2013, receiving training to prepare for extensive schedule shifts in the 2014/2015 school year as their Academies expand. The region’s EDGE career academies which, launched in 2013, now have more than 1,300 high school students enrolled in the seven career academies and a total of 23 business partners secured.
Business Partner
High School
AECOM
Goose Creek
Alcoa
Goose Creek
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Boeing South Carolina Charleston County Aviation Authority Charleston Southern University Dr. Garner, The Citadel Duvall Catering Freeland Construction Government Solutions Group
Timberland Summerville Timberland Ashley Ridge, Goose Creek, Timberland Ashley Ridge Fort Dorchester Summerville, Timberland Goose Creek, Summerville
LimRic HVAC
Goose Creek
MEDcare Urgent Care
Ashley Ridge
P.I.E. Bake Shoppe, Charleston Pragmatic Dramatics Roper Berkeley Hospital Santee Cooper SCRA SPARC SpringHill Suites Scientific Research Corporation Trident Health UEC Electronics
Fort Dorchester Fort Dorchester, Summerville Goose Creek, Timberland Goose Creek Goose Creek, Summerville Summerville Fort Dorchester Goose Creek Goose Creek, Summerville Goose Creek
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ADVOCACY IS CENTRAL TO ADVANCING OUR REGION’S PROSPERITY Accelerate Greater Charleston’s advocacy efforts are designed to guarantee our region’s sustainable and prosperous growth.
State Lobbying Efforts The Chamber’s 2014 Legislative Agenda, consisting of local, state and federal priorities, was approved by the Chamber’s Board of Directors and Business Advocacy Committee in December 2013. AGC-funded state lobbyist, Courtney Herring, has been in Columbia, SC advancing this agenda from the first day of the 2014 Legislative Session. Among the legislative priorities, Courtney is championing additional funding for infrastructure in South Carolina, state appropriations for an aeronautical enterprise campus at Trident Technical College and a property tax exemption of privatized housing on military installations. Military Issues and SPAWAR United States Navy Assistant Secretary Sean Stackley recently visited the area to learn more about SPAWAR Atlantic and its impact on the region. The visit was prompted by Senator Lindsey Graham who urged Stackley to visit the region and learn more about SPAWAR operations and the impact the facility has on local business. While here, the Chamber hosted Mr. Stackley for breakfast as well as a reception in his honor with local business and community leaders. S.C. Governor Nikki Haley paid a visit to SPAWAR the same week, at the invitation of the SC Military Base Task Force and Captain Amy Burin, Commander of SPAWAR Atlantic. The visit was Governor Haley’s first visit to the SPAWAR facility. She met with SPAWAR leadership, was briefed on the mission and impact of the facility and toured one of the labs on the complex. Governor Haley was joined by Bill Bethea, Chairman of the SC Military Base Task Force; James Ward, Chamber Military Policy Council Chairman and Mary Graham, Chamber Business Advocacy Senior Vice President and member of the SC Military Base Task Force Executive Committee. Governor Haley told SPAWAR officials she stands ready to support their operations in any way she can.
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DOT Vote on I-526 In December, the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the amended intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between Charleston County and the state to complete the Mark Clark Expressway. The vote to approve the contract to complete I-526, following the testimonies of Chamber President and CEO Bryan Derreberry and 2013 Chamber Chairman Stuart Whiteside, was a culmination of decades of hard work by both Charleston elected officials and business community leaders. The Chamber on Capitol Hill In January, Military Policy Council Chairman James Ward, Charleston Defense Contractors Association Board member Steve Amell, Retired Navy Captain Ken Ryan and Business Advocacy Senior Vice President Mary Graham traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with representatives of the South Carolina Congressional Delegation to discuss the region’s efforts to relocate Africa Command to Charleston. The group had eight appointments with the military/legislative staff of each of the state’s congressional offices, and in addition, met with Congressman Mark Sanford and Congressman Joe Wilson. All of the state’s congressional offices are supporting the region’s effort to relocate Africa Command from Stuttgart, Germany to Joint Base Charleston. The group also discussed issues related to SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic and other defense-related matters.
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THANK YOU AGC INVESTORS Abi Angel
Colin Ross
Adams Outdoor Advertising
Cooper River Partners
AECOM
CresCom Bank
ALCOA Mt. Holly
Daimler Vans Manufacturing LLC
Anderson Insurance Associates LLC
Dale Carnegie Training of SC LLC
Avison Young
Daniel Island Company, Inc.
Baker Motor Company
Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Dunhill Staffing Systems
BB&T
East Cooper Medical Center
Benefitfocus.com, Inc.
Elliott Davis LLC
Bently World Packaging
First Federal
BERCHTOLD Corp.
Francis Marion Hotel
Cady Nell West
Go To Team
CB Richard Ellis Carmody
Greg Barrett
CC&T Real Estate Services
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd PA
CCCS International
Hendrick Automotive Group of Charleston
Chad Woods
Island Realty
Charleston Branch Pilots Association
Jay Werth
Charleston County
Jessica Jackson
Charleston Defense Contractors Association
John Osborne
Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority
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John Rizzo Johnson Controls
Charleston Water System
Jules Deas III
Chernoff Newman
K&L Gates LLP
Choate Construction Company
KapStone Charleston Kraft LLC
City of Charleston
Laura Alberts Tasteful Options
City of North Charleston
Life Cycle Engineering
Clawson and Staubes, LLC
Limehouse Produce Co.
Lowcountry Residential Builders LLC
Scientific Research Corporation
LS3P ASSOCIATES LTD
SCRA
Maverick Southern Kitchens
Seamon Whiteside + Associates
Maybank Properties LLC
Seidler & Associates LLC
McKesson Corporation
Showa Denko Carbon, Inc.
McRae Hamer
Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP
Medical University of South Carolina
Solvay
Meridian Energy & Environment LLC
South Carolina Aquarium
Moody CPA’s & Advisors LLC
South Carolina Bank and Trust
Mount Pleasant Waterworks
South Carolina Federal Credit Union
Mungo Homes
South Carolina Ports Authority
MWV
SteelFab of South Carolina
NAI Avant
Stubbs-Muldrow-Herin Architects, Inc.
Nexsen Pruet LLC
SunTrust Bank
Nucor Steel
TD Bank
O.L. Thompson Construction Co.
The Beach Company
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart
The Boeing Company
Pegasus Steel Premier Logistics Solutions PURE Rawle Murdy Residence Inn by Marriott - Charleston Riverview
The InterTech Group Inc. The Post and Courier Town of Mount Pleasant Trident Health Trident Technical College WebsterRogers LLP
Richard Guerzon
Wells Fargo
Robert Bosch Corp.
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLC
Roper St. Francis Healthcare
Young Clement Rivers LLP
Santee Cooper SCE&G
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Thank you for reviewing this Accelerate Greater Charleston Investor Update and for your ongoing support of our region’s metro advancement plan.
P.O. Box 975 Charleston, SC 29402-0975 www.charlestonchamber.net