INSIDE THIS ISSUE // SC’S LARGEST HEALTH SYSTEM • CHARTSPAN’S $16M • BOUTIQUE BOWLING IN DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE
JUNE 23, 2017 | VOL. 6 ISSUE 25
Quiet Man The
Tee Hooper may speak softly, but he wields a big influence in the Upstate Photo by Joshua S. Kelly
THE RUNDOWN |
TOP-OF-MIND AND IN THE MIX THIS WEEK
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 25 Featured this issue: ChartSpan closes on $16M in funding........................................................................3 GHS/Palmetto partnership a “merger of equals”..................................................4 First Look: Joe’s Place Bookstore................................................................................6
WORTH REPEATING “All I can tell you is they’re formidable competitors and we’ll tighten up our chinstrap and try to hire the best bankers we can.” Page 5
“We are very proud to be part of Greenville because it has provided us the American dream. God bless America.” Page 8
“We’re not advocating for any one growth pattern, but we’re telling you that you better be prepared based on the decisions you make.” Page 14
VERBATIM
On the Paris Agreement “The President’s denial of global warming is getting a cold reception from America’s cities.”
Bob Jones University has temporarily removed its footbridge spanning North Pleasantburg Drive for general maintenance. Last week, the school’s six-year effort to gain accreditation paid off when it was officially recognized by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Photo by Josephine McMullen 2
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The beginning of an open letter to President Donald Trump, opposing his withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change. More than 200 mayors signed the letter, including mayors Knox White of Greenville, Terence Roberts of Anderson, Stephen Benjamin of Columbia, and John Tecklenburg of Charleston.
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
| NEWS
Jon-Michial Carter, CEO of ChartSpan. Photo by Will Crooks
TECH
Greenville’s ChartSpan raises $16M, plans 300 jobs RUDOLPH BELL | STAFF
rbell@communityjournals.com ChartSpan Medical Technologies, a fast-growing startup in Greenville, said it plans to add 300 jobs now that it has secured $16 million in new funding from investors. The company said it plans to add the jobs over the next year and a half on top of about 200 jobs it has already created. Most of the new jobs would be nurses and certified health care clinicians, ChartSpan said. The company helps doctors manage compliance and care coordination programs. ChartSpan said the funding round was led by Cypress Growth Capital, a Dallas-based firm whose website says it specializes in “royalty loans” as an alternative to equity financing and traditional debt. ChartSpan said existing investors also contributed, but it didn’t identify them in a news release. Jon-Michial Carter, chief executive officer, said ChartSpan would use the
$16 million to deploy a national sales force and expand its business beyond its current stronghold in the Appalachian region. The company was co-founded by Carter and his brother, Patrick Carter, who serves as its chief medical officer. The venture was located in Houston until 2013, when it moved to Spartanburg to take part in The Iron Yard’s “accelerator” program for health care startups. Later, ChartSpan moved to Greenville and opened a headquarters at 2 N. Main St. downtown. Initially, ChartSpan was focused on marketing an app to help patients store and manage their electronic medical records. For several years, the app was the most downloaded U.S. medical app on Apple’s App Store, the company has said. Now, ChartSpan’s core business is helping health care providers take advantage of a Medicare program called Chronic Care Management, according to Katie Walling, the company’s vice president of marketing. 6.23.2017
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䴀䈀䄀䌀 䌀伀刀倀伀刀䄀吀䔀 倀䄀刀吀ⴀ吀䤀䴀䔀 ☀ 䘀唀䰀䰀ⴀ吀䤀䴀䔀
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洀戀愀瀀爀漀最爀愀洀䀀挀氀攀洀猀漀渀⸀攀搀甀
NEWS |
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
Greenville Memorial Hospital would become part of the state’s largest health care system if a proposed partnership between the Greenville Health System and Columbia-based Palmetto Health is approved by the Federal Trade Commission.
HEALTH CARE
‘Merger of Equals’ If approved, GHS partnership with Palmetto Health could net $3.9 billion annually MELINDA YOUNG | CONTRIBUTOR
Last Thursday, the Greenville Health System (GHS) and Palmetto Health in Columbia announced plans to form the state’s largest health system, serving 1.2 million patients annually and earning a projected $3.9 billion in annual net revenue. As South Carolina’s two largest health systems, GHS and Palmetto together have 13 hospitals and hundreds of physician practices and ambulatory centers. If what Riordan calls “a merger of equals” is approved by the Federal Trade Commission, the new nonprofit health care company will be one of the 50 largest health systems in the United States, says GHS CEO Michael C. Riordan. The new organization will employ 2,800 physicians and 28,000 other staff, making it the largest private employer in South Carolina. The new health organization will serve about one-third of South Carolina’s Medicaid population and provide hundreds of millions of dollars in charity and uncompensated care. “Our board voted unanimously to pursue this, and they’re excited about it,” says Frances Ellison, chair of 4
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Greenville’s Strategic Coordinating Organization that governs GHS. “We’ve been looking at all of these Michael C. Riordan issues for a number of months, and we’re delighted to find a partner we think we could work with,” Ellison says. There will be a new name and a new board for GHS-Palmetto Health, but those likely will be decided later this year. “My hope is we’ll be able to close the transaction at the end of the calendar year,” Riordan says. The partnership potentially could save $20 million in health care costs to the combined organizations, Riordan says. An estimated half of South Carolina’s population will be within 15 minutes of one of the new health system’s hospitals, doctor practices, or other facilities. The new company could invest up to $1 billion over the next five years in programs, technology, and other resources to improve the health
of people in the Midlands and Upstate. “Both organizations are committed to ensuring our community members receive the health care they need, regardless of their ability to pay,” Palmetto Health CEO Charles D. Beaman Jr. said in a media release. Another benefit to the community is that the two health systems could offer services that, individually, were not feasible. For example, the new, larger health system could possibly offer transplant services or certain children specialty services that are not available, currently, anywhere in South Carolina. They also could expand health care and medical school training and expand clinical trial research. “We believe we could attract [new medical-science] businesses and be an economic driver for our communities on the bioscience side,” Riordan says. “We could attract individual clinicians and companies that might want to relocate here and partner with us because we will have such a significant portion of the patient population in both communities.” The FTC will investigate whether or not the partnership and new health system will stifle competition and patient choice. Riordan spoke with
leaders at Bon Secours St. Francis (BSSF) in Greenville, AnMed in Anderson, and Spartanburg Regional Health System in advance of the announcement to give them a heads up. “They have been incredibly supportive and see the need for what we’re doing for South Carolina,” Riordan says. “There is nothing better for us than a strong Spartanburg, Bon Secours, or AnMed, and from a competition standpoint, they will keep us on our toes, and I hope they say we do the same thing for them.” Health care job growth continues to be strong nationwide, and the health system’s overall job growth will continue after the change — even if some areas lose staff, he says. The partnership will make financial sense, even if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is changed, Medicaid funding is cut, and incentives for health population and prevention efforts are eliminated, Riordan says. “Under the current Affordable Care Act, we figured out how to make it work,” he says. “What the market is telling us is we have to double-down on prevention services.” The health systems have created a website, scbettertogether.org.
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
| NEWS
FINANCE
BNC Bank branches becoming Pinnacle Bank branches RUDOLPH BELL | STAFF
rbell@communityjournals.com Last year, the leaders of Nashville, Tenn.-based Pinnacle Bank thought about where they wanted to expand their business and identified nine Southeastern markets where the bank had no presence but wanted one. One of those markets was Greenville/ Spartanburg. Pinnacle Bank is now doing business in six of the nine markets, including Greenville/Spartanburg, as a result of its parent company, Pinnacle Financial Partners, absorbing BNC Bancorp, the parent company of High Point, N.C.based BNC Bank, in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.9 billion. Eight BNC branches in Greenville, Spartanburg, Greer, Easley, and Mauldin are scheduled to put up Pin-
nacle signage in September. BNC had acquired most of the branches two years ago from the former Greenville-based CertusBank. Pinnacle’s CEO Terry Turner and former BNC CEO Rick Callicutt, now Pinnacle’s chairman for the Carolinas and Virginia, discussed the merger and Upstate market in a brief interview with UBJ. Callicutt said BNC had located its Small Business Administration lending division at its downtown Greenville office and that it would stay there to serve the combined company. He also said the new Pinnacle would evaluate its eight-branch network in the Upstate, deciding whether the offices are in the right locations. Asked about competing with two other fast-growing regional banks with big footprints in South Carolina —
Pinnacle Financial CEO Terry Turner (left) with Rick Callicutt, formerly BNC Bancorp’s CEO, who is now Pinnacle’s chairman of the Carolinas and Virginia. Photo provided.
United Community Bank and South State Bank — Callicutt said he knows the leaders of both. “All I can tell you is they’re formidable competitors and we’ll tighten up our chinstrap and try to hire the best bankers we can, and I think we can compete with them and anybody else in that market,” Callicutt said. The merging of Pinnacle and BNC, which closed June 16, gives the com-
bined company more than $20 billion in total assets and about 125 branches in four states: Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. In addition to Greenville/Spartanburg, Pinnacle picked up its first presence in Charleston and Roanoke, Va., as well as five markets in North Carolina: Charlotte, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point.
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FIRST LOOK |
A SNEAK PEEK AT NEW LOCATIONS IN THE UPSTATE
The interior of Joe’s Place is a mix of old and new, including all new light fixtures, the original oak flooring, repurposed ceiling above the wine bar, and the coffee bar constructed from unused doors. Photo by Will Crooks
First Look: Joe’s Place Bookstore reopens in Pettigru District ARIEL TURNER | STAFF
aturner@communityjournals.com Co-owner Mary Bernard says when people first learned Joe’s Place Bookstore was moving from 640 S. Main St. to Greenville’s Pettigru Historic District, they expressed concern about it being off the main downtown drag. But she wasn’t worried. “For us, foot traffic didn’t always translate into sales,” she says. Instead, she and her husband, Alix, planned their new location in a renovated 1920s home at 2 Williams St. to be a destination location. “Once people find out about us, they’ll come here,” Mary Bernard says. “We want to be a place where people stay and have meetings here.” The new and used bookstore, coffee shop, and wine bar reopens July 1 in its new three-story, 4,400-square6
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foot location. The basement and third floor will not be open to the public. The home was already zoned commercial when the Bernards purchased it in January and includes eight parking spaces. The owners officially closed the original 1,900-square-foot Main Street store May 22 after three years in business. While the Pettigru location is new to the Bernards, they chose to keep much of the former residence’s history intact. “We try to really respect the space,” Bernard says. That meant restoring the oak hardwood floors on the first level and cedar floors upstairs. Bernard says most homes of that era would have put oak on the first floor for durability and a less expensive and softer pine upstairs. When they removed the carpet, they discov-
ered the cedar, which was a pleasant surprise, Bernard says. “We were really happy to find the floors, because we didn’t know what we’d find,” she says. They chose not to refinish them to hide the imperfections, but rather cleaned and sealed them to keep the character intact. The Bernards worked with architects Craig Gaulden Davis to make some necessary structural changes, including installing a second staircase leading to the upper level, opening a wall to allow the view from the front door to extend to the back Charleston-style porch, removing a couple of other walls to create nine total book rooms throughout the house, and making it ADA accessible. The additional staircase leads to a sunroom, three sides of which are windows that also feature a custom-made window seat that doubles
as a bookshelf. As funny as it may sound, the upstairs restroom is a favorite room, Bernard says. The overhead light fixture is a repurposed gramophone, which is a nod to the bookstore’s namesake — Mary’s brother Joe who died unexpectedly in 1999. Joe loved Nipper the RCA dog and the accompanying gramophone in the iconic logo. A large Nipper wearing a “Shop Local” bandana greets customers in the front hallway and a smaller figurine sits on a mantle behind the cash wrap next to Joe’s photo. Also a favorite feature in the restroom is a small vignette where the drywall has been removed so the original, hand-hewn supports and remnants of the old knob-and-tube wiring are visible. An original medicine cabinet also remains. Each of the five rooms upstairs has a different collection of used books,
A SNEAK PEEK AT NEW LOCATIONS IN THE UPSTATE
Morning sun hits the Charleston-style back porch, but by midday it’s in the shade with the ceiling fans providing a comfortable breeze, says co-owner Mary Bernard. Photo by Will Crooks
including a children’s room that is zoo-themed in honor of the nearby Greenville Zoo. Downstairs has four book rooms, a chalkboard wall where specials and the café menu will be listed, a coffee bar, wine bar, and small kitchen.
The bookshelves are a variety of thrifted pieces and items from the former location. The L-shaped coffee bar, where Due South coffee and espresso will be served, was built out of unused doors removed from the home. The wooden
| FIRST LOOK
The upstairs zoo-themed children’s room is a nod to the nearby Greenville Zoo and features various seating options designed for young readers to pick up a book and stay awhile. Photo by Will Crooks
ceiling over the wine bar was also created from repurposed lumber from the building. “I knew it was going to be awesome, but it’s beyond what I thought,” Bernard says. Initially, Joe’s Place will be open
Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–7 p.m. It will open at 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday, with closing times to be determined later.
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NEWS |
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
HOSPITALITY
JHM putting two hotels in one downtown Greenville site RUDOLPH BELL | STAFF
rbell@communityjournals.com Three of the eight hotels in downtown Greenville have come on the market in the past year and a half. Four more hotels are under construction, and two others are planned. Even so, HP Rama, chairman and chief executive officer of JHM Hotels, says he isn’t worried about too many hotels going up. “Downtown Greenville is growing,” Rama said during a June 14 groundbreaking ceremony for his company’s latest downtown project. “And we feel it will continue to grow.” Greenville-based JHM is erecting a seven-story building at the corner of Washington and Spring streets to house a 120-suite Residence Inn and a 166-suite SpringHill Suites. The two hotels will share 3,100 square feet of meeting space and a 103-space parking garage. The complex of nearly 250,000
square feet will also include a bar and restaurant, swimming pool, courtyard, and fitness center. It’s scheduled for completion in fall 2018. After that, JHM plans a 165-room AC Hotel directly across Main Street from the Peace Center. Rama arrived in the United States from India 48 years ago with $2 in his pocket. Today, his company owns 38 hotels in the United States, including the downtown Hyatt and the Greenville Marriott along Interstate 85. “We are very proud to be part of Greenville because it has provided us the American dream,” he said during the groundbreaking. “God bless America.” Rama’s bullish outlook on the downtown Greenville hotel market is supported by the latest available data from STR, a market research firm. According to STR, total revenue from hotels in the 29601 zip code rose 28.4 percent, to more than $20 million,
Rendering by Overcash Demmitt Architects
SUN TRUST
PUBL
IX
STAP
LES
during the first four months of this year, compared to the same period in 2016. Hotel occupancy was up 3.4 percent, to more than 77 percent, while revenue per available room rose 0.9 percent, to $132.08.
The average daily room rate dropped 2.5 percent, to $170.60, according to STR. While supply rose 27.3 percent, demand rose by a greater percentage, 31.7 percent.
RISING REVENUE
The City of Greenville imposes a 3 percent local accommodations tax on each hotel stay. The total tax revenue collected from downtown hotels grew nearly 19 percent in the three years between 2013 and 2016.
• • • • •
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
$1,006,790.46 $1,057,145.96 $1,264,860.68 $1,194,688.12 $542,028.65 (Jan. – April)
Source: City of Greenville 8
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HP Rama, left, chairman of Greenville-based JHM Hotels, and brother JP Rama, vice chairman, at June 14 groundbreaking for the company’s latest downtown Greenville property: a seven-story building with nearly 250,000 square feet of space that will house two hotel brands, Residence Inn and Spring Hill Suites. Photo by Hannah Moreno
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
| NEWS
ENTERTAINMENT
First Strike
Atlanta-based boutique bowling alley The Painted Pin looks to set up pins in downtown Greenville ARIEL TURNER | STAFF
aturner@communityjournals.com The owners of an Atlanta all-in-one, high-end bowling, bar, and entertainment venue are looking to put their first non-Georgia location in downtown Greenville. Justin Amick, co-owner of The Painted Pin in Buckhead, says he and his partner William Stallworth want Greenville to be the location of their first outof-state location while they are also looking at Nashville, Charleston, S.C., and North Carolina for future sites. “Greenville has a booming downtown,” Amick says. “It’s a vibrant, cool, great Southern town. We’ve known it was growing, and there’s so much potential. We want to be a part of it.” Greenville’s first boutique bowling alley, Stone Pin Company, opened on Stone Avenue under the Revel event venue earlier this month. It features six lanes and a bar menu in an industrial rustic atmosphere. The three-year-old, 24,000-square-foot, and highly acclaimed Painted Pin features 20 full-service bowling lanes in an industrial warehouse space, along with classic interactive pub games such as indoor bocce courts, giant Jenga, Bimini ring game, two oversized basketball pop-a-shots, table shuffleboard, ping-pong, Skee-Ball, and Southern Skittles. “Basically, anything you can do with a craft beer or artisanal wine in your hand,” Amick says, describing the types of games available. The restaurant and bar offers shareable small plates, wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas, tacos, sliders, sandwiches, and salads, along with signature and
classic cocktails, craft and local beer, and artisanal wines by the glass. “We are a bar first and foremost,” Amick says. The venue also features live music Thursday–Saturday. “We’re a social gathering place for all age groups,” Amick says. The venue is open seven days a week and starting at 5 p.m. each evening enforces a dress code of no athletic wear or excessively baggy clothing. Hats, headbands, and sunglasses are prohibited at all times. The Painted Pin has received praise from Zagat (“10 Hottest Bars in Atlanta,” “10 Sexiest Places in Atlanta”) and Business Insider (“50 Coolest New Businesses in America”), among dozens of other regional and national publications. Painted Hospitality, Amick and Stallworth’s hospitality group created in 2014, is also set to open the nearly 26,000-square-foot Painted Duck in the Westside area of Atlanta this fall, which is similar to The Painted Pin but offers vintage duckpin bowling, a variation of tenpin bowling that uses three-pound bowling balls, which are slightly larger than a softball and lack finger holes. Amick says it’s possible the future Greenville location could be a Painted Duck concept, but that hasn’t been decided yet. Amick comes from a family of restaurant operators. His father, Robert Amick, owner and founder of Concentrics Restaurants, has owned and operated restaurants nationally since 1974. Some of those include the Morton’s Steakhouse Group in the 1990s, along with a series of high-profile, chef-driven dining experiences in the prospering area of Midtown
The Painted Pin is a 24,000-square-foot entertainment venue that features bowling, pub games, and a highly acclaimed restaurant and bar. Photo provided
Atlanta. In May 2012, Amick launched The Spence with “Top Chef All-Stars” winner Richard Blais. According to the Concetrics Restaurants website, the elder Amick’s upcoming projects include three concepts in Atlanta’s newly built Mercedes Benz Stadium; Dockery’s, a destination restaurant on Daniel Island in Charleston, S.C.; and an upscale restaurant, also located in Charleston. The Painted Pin owner says he worked with his father for many years to learn the ropes of the restaurant industry. Amick has been named “Best Sommlier” by Atlanta Magazine, holds a spot on the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival’s advisory council, and is the recipient of the prestigious Rudd Scholarship from the Court of Master Sommeliers, an award that honors the individual who received the highest combined score in the advanced sommelier exam. Following his graduation from Tulane University in 2004, Amick worked for three years in nationally acclaimed chef Tom Colicchio’s New York Craft Restaurant’s management training program. He then relocated to the Napa Valley, where he worked for the Trinchero Family Estates’ winemaking team. Upon returning to Atlanta, he managed the restaurant Two Urban Licks and was general manager and beverage director for PARISH Foods & Goods and The Spence. Amick says he eventually left Concentrics to launch his own concepts and start his own path, but with his extensive experience, he was prepared. “We understand the synergy and décor in restaurants,” Amick says. “We’ve operated high-volume bars and restaurants for years.” 6.23.2017
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NEWS IN BRIEF |
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
gy was being used to manage 190,000 trucks and the company had annual revenues equivalent to 91 million euros. Michelin said then that the purchase price was 440 million euros, or more than $490 million at the current exchange rate, plus 80 million euros in debt. Asked if Michelin plans any changes at NexTraq, Dimenna said, “Business plans will be discussed at a future time.” —Rudolph Bell
At the time, Great Point Partners said in a news release that the investment would “enable Softbox to expand its global geographic footprint, diversify its product offering, and continue to invest in superior customer service for its clients.” A Softbox executive referred questions to a Great Point executive, who did not respond to an inquiry from UBJ. —Rudolph Bell
TECHNOLOGY
SYNNEX corporation advances to No. 198 on the Fortune 500 List of Largest Companies MANUFACTURING
Proterra raises another $55 million Proterra said it has raised another $55 million from investors and will spend part of the money improving its Greenville factory. The California-based maker of battery-powered transit buses said its latest funding round was led by Generation Investment Management LLP, a London-based firm chaired by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore that invests in “sustainable companies.” BMW’s venture capital arm, BMW i Ventures, also contributed, Proterra said. Proterra said it would use the new money to increase production at its factories in Greenville and the Los Angeles area and bolster research and development at its headquarters in Burlingame, Calif. The latest cash infusion brings to $345 million the total amount that Proterra has raised from investors. The company says it has sold more than 400 of its zero-emission buses. Proterra announced its single biggest cash infusion, $140 million, in January. —Rudolph Bell
Michelin buys Atlanta tech company Michelin Group has agreed to buy an Atlanta company that uses GPS and cloud technologies to remotely track and manage fleets of small commercial vehicles. The French tire maker said its purchase of NexTraq would be an all-cash transaction, but it did not specify terms beyond that. The deal is scheduled to close in the third quarter, Michelin told UBJ. Michelin said NexTraq would operate independently within Greenville-based Michelin North America but would continue to be based in Atlanta and operate a telesales center in Tampa, Fla. NexTraq sells monthly subscriptions to various digital services that help fleet operators track, manage, and dispatch vehicles. Michelin said NexTraq has 117 employees and about 7,000 small to medium trucking companies as customers. Ralph Dimenna, chief operating officer for Michelin North America’s heavy truck tire business, said through a company spokesperson that the acquisition would enable Michelin to build on what it had learned from buying Sascar, a Brazilian company that also uses digital technology to manage fleets. Michelin Group announced the Sascar acquisition in 2014, reporting at the time that Sascar’s technolo10
UBJ | 6.23.2017
PACKAGING
British pharmaceutical packager Softbox to put HQ in Greenville A British packaging company said it will put a headquarters operation in a new building to be constructed in Greenville near the intersection of interstates 85 and 185. Softbox Systems, which makes temperature-sensitive packaging for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, already operates a distribution facility off of Pelham Road. In a news release, the company said it plans to put its headquarters for the U.S. and Canada in the new building, along with production, warehousing, and an advanced lab. The company said the new building is scheduled to open next year and that the expansion will involve 70 new jobs. That will bring Softbox’s total employment in Greenville to just under 100, according to Tony Smith, a project manager with the Greenville Area Development Corp., Greenville County’s economic development organization, which helped arrange a property tax break for the project. Smith said Softbox didn’t want to disclose how much it was spending on the expansion, but he said it involves a sizable investment, “a brand-new facility, new machinery and equipment.” A Greenville developer, The Furman Co./Development, will design and build the 65,000-square-foot building for Softbox Systems, according to a news release from the state Commerce Department. The state’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development authorized a $200,000 grant to help defray the cost of the new building, according to the Commerce Department. Softbox Systems does business around the world from its base in Long Crendon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, according to its website. In 2014, a Connecticut investment firm called Great Point Partners announced an undisclosed investment in Softbox Systems.
SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX), a leading technology solutions distributor, announced that its Fortune 500 ranking of the largest U.S. companies advanced 14 positions to 198. The Fortune 500 list ranks the largest private and public U.S. companies based on their prior year’s annual revenue. SYNNEX reported $14.06 billion in revenue for its 2016 fiscal year and celebrated a 12.7 percent year-over-year increase in net income. Since its debut on the Fortune 500 list in 2007 at No. 360, SYNNEX has moved up 162 spots to its current position. —Kristen Ferris
HUMAN RESOURCES
Propel HR designated as a Certified Professional Employer Organization by the IRS Propel HR, a South Carolina provider of human resource and payroll solutions for more than 20 years, announced today that Propel PEO Inc. has been designated as a Certified Professional Employer Organization (CPEO) by the Internal Revenue Service. Out of nearly 1,000 Professional Employer Organizations in the U.S., only 84 received the certification in the first round of CPEO designations. “We are honored to be among the first CPEOs in the country,” said Propel President Lee Yarborough. “This is especially great news for our clients, who will now be further protected from employment tax liabilities.” The IRS established the voluntary certification program under the Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA) of 2014, which passed through both houses of Congress with rare bipartisan support and was signed by President Obama. —Kristen Ferris
RESOURCES
Piedmont Natural Gas hosts Spartanburg stop on cross-country natural gas vehicle road rally Piedmont Natural Gas recently hosted the only South Carolina stop on a coast-to-coast tour of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) when the 2017 “From Sea >>
REAL ESTATE DEALS AND DEVELOPMENTS ACROSS THE REGION
ARIEL TURNER | STAFF
aturner@communityjournals.com |
| SQUARE FEET @arielhturner
Upstate Healthcare Holdings opens AFC Urgent Care in Powdersville Upstate Healthcare Holdings, a new partnership between three RealOp Investments principals and an American Family Care franchise owner, recently opened its first of several planned AFC Urgent Care franchise locations in the Upstate. The group’s first AFC Urgent Care is located at 3613 Highway 153 in Powdersville in a strip mall developed by RealOp. The existing Easley franchise will also be operated by Upstate Healthcare Holdings. The two- to three-year plan calls for eight to 10 new locations, including a location at 1665 E. Main St., Duncan, which was planned to break ground the week of June 18. Each location will employ 10-15 staff members. Upstate Healthcare Holdings is comprised of Paul Sparks, Reggie Bell, and Kyle Putnam of RealOp, though acting independently from the investment company; AFC franchise owner Tim Groves and his wife, Lisa; and Dr. Jeff Harris, who is the medical director currently based in the Powdersville location. Groves previously owned and operated the current five AFC Urgent Care locations in Greenville County but sold those to Bon Secours St. Francis Health System and will continue to manage them through August. Upstate Healthcare Holdings’ future locations will not be in Greenville County, per an agreement with Bon Secours, Groves says. Sparks says he was introduced to the concept of urgent care after letting a physical issue go too far. He visited a care center in Simpsonville to receive treatment and was impressed with the concept. “I thought, ‘There’s something here,’” he says. He began looking into possibly investing. After cold-calling Groves, they realized their particular
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to Shining Sea” NGV Road Rally passed through Spartanburg. The second annual event, nationally organized by NGVAmerica, the American Public Gas Association, and The American Gas Association, celebrates natural gas as a cleaner, low-cost alternative to diesel and other transportation fuels and showcases natural gas vehicles as a cost-effective option for clean transportation projects in the Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund. “As part of our commitment to sustainable business practices, Piedmont Natural Gas has been a longtime proponent of using cleaner, low-cost CNG as a transportation fuel, and we are proud to host today’s NGV Road Rally,” said Karl Newlin, senior vice president and chief commercial officer for natural gas opera-
Future plans call for an additional eight to 10 AFC Urgent Care locations, including one in Duncan set to break ground the week of June 18.
business interests would align well. Sparks and his investment partners work with the RealOp development team to find locations near other retail and areas where having an urgent care center would be convenient for customers already running their regular errands. RealOp develops the buildings that will house the AFC franchise, and Upstate Healthcare Holdings leases the space, Sparks says.
Sparks says the Affordable Care Act’s providing insurance coverage for many more people was “the perfect storm” because it created a demand for more retail-based medical care. “We’re helping to provide access to better health care with convenient hours,” Sparks says.
tions for Piedmont’s parent company, Duke Energy. —Kristen Ferris
staff to 10 attorneys and 24 staff. Additionally, the firm announces that attorneys J. Chris Brown and H. Stewart James have joined the firm as members. Stewart and Chris will both be based in the new Upstate office. “Expanding Blair Cato’s footprint to the Upstate was a natural progression of the firm’s growth, given how much business we already have there,” said Rex Casterline, managing member. —Kristen Ferris
LAW
Blair Cato Pickren Casterline expands to Upstate Columbia-based Blair Cato Pickren Casterline LLC announced the law firm has opened a new office that will serve Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Mauldin, and surrounding areas in the Upstate part of South Carolina. The new office is located at 406 East Butler Road in Mauldin. The expansion will increase the firm’s total number of attorneys and
ANNOUNCING THREE DAILY NONSTOP FLIGHTS TO
CHICAGO! 6.23.2017
|
STARTING JULY 5, 2017
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FOUNDERS |
THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE BUSINESSES
Acting on Instinct
How quiet intuition helped Tee Hooper leave his mark on a diverse set of Upstate organizations WORDS BY LAURA HAIGHT | PHOTO BY JOSHUA KELLY
In khakis and sport shirt, Tecumseh “Tee” Hooper Jr.’s attire matches his demeanor — quiet, unassuming, and laid back. But in that same under-the-radar way, Hooper has left his mark on more than a half-dozen businesses, an impressive array of community organizations, and the state Department of Transportation. And he did it all without ever raising his voice.
After leaving the military, you went to work with your father, who owned WQOK, a Greenville rock ’n’ roll station. Was it your plan to go into the family business? I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I really did not want to grow up to work with my father. I went to graduate school and then the Army, and I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. And he wanted me there, so that kind of helped me make my decision. I had some opportunities, but I just wasn’t sure. My father had worked in sales and administration at the radio station but bought it from the owner in the early ’70s. But we had an AM station, and this 12
UBJ | 6.23.2017
was during the time period when FM started to become more prominent. We competed against a couple of large FM stations and tried to buy an FM station, but that deal fell through. I didn’t feel we could be competitive without FM.
After leaving the station and over the past 37 years, you have launched or led six different ventures across a spectrum of industries. Was your business career planned, or are you more of an accidental entrepreneur? I really didn’t think of myself as an entrepreneur. I got lucky early when I got involved with Jack Sterling, who was 10 years old than me, but he had gone to The Citadel. He said he was going to start a venture capital company and wanted to know if I was interested in coming in with him. His partners were very wealthy, which was really fortunate for me to get involved in a company with some big hitters investing in this venture capital fund. Good stroke of luck for me.
You didn’t have much business experience at the time you became a venture capitalist. What prepared you for that role? I really probably wasn’t prepared. ... I kind of learned on the job — on-the-job training — and Jack Sterling did have a financial background, so I learned pretty quickly. For me, what was most important — as much as the financial — was instincts about people. Trying to understand who they are and can they do what they say they are going to do. The financial part is very important, but if you have the financial part without the right skill set or the right team in place, it’s not going to work. And that ended up being my philosophy when I did get into businesses of my own. It’s all about people.
Have your instincts about people always been good? Fortunately, somewhere along the way I realized that people made the difference. [I have been] real serious about how to hire people. The cost of a hiring
THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THE BUSINESSES
Do you think most people take the time to do that?
TEE FACTS Family: Married for 46 years to wife,
Sherry. They have two children, Travis and Amy, and five grandchildren.
Community Service: Has served as the
chairman of the Greenville Urban League and the Patriots Point Authority; has been a member of the boards of Goodwill Industries, Greenville Chamber, United Way, YMCA, Leadership South Carolina, Camp Greenville, and the South Carolina Council of Competitiveness. Inducted into the Greenville Tech Foundation’s Entrepreneur’s Forum in 2007. He is currently a member of the board of Southern First Bank and Verdae Development.
What does Tee stand for?: Tecumseh mistake is so much more than the cost of putting the time into making sure you get the right person. That’s what hurts a lot of entrepreneurs. Somewhere early on, I was talking with someone about a candidate and he said, “I respect him, but I don’t like him.” And I thought, “Well, wouldn’t you want to have someone that you respect and you like?” That became a key piece of the team fit. There are three legs of the stool in hiring. One is “can do,” one is “will do,” the third is “team fit.” They might have the ability to the job; are they motivated to do the job? The only way you’re going to find that out is to look to the past. You’ve got to talk to people they worked with, worked for, work under, and find out if they were really motivated. And from other people you have to find out if they were a good team fit.
No. It takes time and, in some ways, [you have to] get around the typical HR reference. You can, but you have to take the time. And it’s worth doing, because people want to work at a place where they get along with other people. I just think the most important part of having a business is getting the right people onboard. When I’ve done that well, it’s really worked great. And when I didn’t do that well, I’ve had some failures.
What has been your biggest asset in running successful businesses? I was a good problem solver. And I believe that most problems can be solved, but you can’t do it alone. You have to agree on what the problem really is, because sometimes you end up solving something that is not the problem.
And weakness? I am not a reactionary guy. I can sometimes overanalyze. It was good to have people around me to provide a counterbalance.
Were you always an optimist, or did that develop over time? At Modern Office Machines, we had a consultant come in and do training on problem-solving. We learned a step-by-step process, but instinctively I had operated that way anyway. I don’t panic, I don’t get overexcited, and I never really feel that there’s a problem that can’t be solved. I got that from my mother. She was a real optimist. She built a lot of confidence in me. If I became concerned about something, she would say, “Just work on it, you’ll figure it out.”
TEE TIMELINE 1969 1971 1971-1974 1975-1976 1975-1980 1980-1984 1983-1993 1993-2001 2002-2006 2003-2008 2009 2006-2013 2006-2016 2000-present 2002-present
Graduates with Bachelor of Business Administration from The Citadel Receives MBA from the University of South Carolina U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, stationed in Germany U.S. Army Reserve WQOK, family-owned Greenville-based rock ’n’ roll radio AM station Reedy River Ventures, general partner Modern Office Machines, president IKON Office Products, SE regional president Profit Lab, CEO Chairman of the state Department of Transportation Receives Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian honor General Wholesale Distributors, co-owner and board chair Sign Crafters USA, co-owner and board chair Southern First Bank, founding member, board of directors Find Great People (FGP), co-owner and board chair
| FOUNDERS
‘IT WAS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT FOR ME’ Tee Hooper has answered the call of both parties to serve in state government. And in 2003, Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican, called on him to lead the state Department of Transportation. It seemed an easy decision. As his friend, David Wilkins, said at the time, “You gotta do that. People would die to get that job.” Thinking the DOT was, as legislative contacts told him, “the best agency in the state,” Hooper took the job. “When I got there, there were a lot of good people, but it was a very poorly run organization,” Hooper recalls. A key problem was patronage: The agency did not tackle projects based on prioritization or needs, but rather reflexively responded to the requests of powerful legislators who wanted to get things done in their districts. Hooper determined that the problem could not be corrected with the current leadership in place and proposed that the Executive Director Betty Mabry step down. “I got butchered,” Hooper says, when he presented his findings and proposals to the DOT Commission. His confidential report was leaked to newspapers and legislators, including the powerful senator from Greer, J. Verne Smith. Smith then declared from the floor of the State Senate: “Tee Hooper is the worst thing to happen to South Carolina in 50 years!” “It was very, very difficult for me,” says Hooper. “But I was asked to be the chairman, and I was not just going to sit there and let things go.” Hooper fought back with the power of the press and met with editorial staff at papers in Greenville, Charleston, and Columbia. The papers started to call for a legislative audit, which eventually was undertaken and supported all of Hooper’s conclusions, as well as exposing other issues, including millions of dollars of waste, mismanaged contracts, and legal violations. When Gov. Sanford made a surprise visit to the DOT in 2009 to award the Order of the Palmetto to Hooper, he praised him for his integrity and “a life incredibly well lived.” Hooper, in his fashion, praised agency employees who “stepped up” and made the legislative reforms possible. Since its inception in 1971, 89 South Carolinians have been recognized with this honor. —Laura Haight 6.23.2017
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THE TAKEAWAY |
NOTES FROM THE BEST TALKS YOU MISSED
‘You’d Better Be Prepared’ Revelations and calls to action from the Shaping Our Future Growth Alternatives Analysis WHAT: Shaping Our Future
Forum WHERE: BMW Zentrum, Greer FEATURE PRESENTATION:
The Shaping Our Future Growth Alternatives Analysis, presented by City Explained and Urban3 WHO WAS THERE: A diverse
audience of nearly 200 leaders and community members from across the Upstate interested and concerned about growth in the region
By LISA HALLO Land Policy Director Upstate Forever
Last month, more than 200 people gathered at the BMW Zentrum to learn about the results from the Shaping Our Future Growth Alternatives Analysis, a study released recently by Upstate Forever, Ten at the Top, and Furman’s Riley Institute. The study, which was conducted by an award-winning consultant team led by the Charlotte-based firm City Explained in conjunction with Asheville-based Urban3 and Stantec, paints a sobering picture of the Upstate’s future if our current development patterns remain unchecked. Matt Noonkester, principal of City Explained, said the study is meant to illustrate growth scenarios, not to make recommendations. “We were asked to measure the tradeoffs of different growth choices you have. We’re not advocating for any one growth pattern, but we’re telling you that you better be prepared based on the decisions you make, because they have wildly different futures for you,” he said.
The Issue: The Upstate is Growing at a Breakneck Pace It’s not a new revelation that the Upstate is growing rapidly. Past studies have shown that by 2040, the 10-county Upstate region is projected 14
UBJ | 6.23.2017
From left: Terence Roberts, mayor of Anderson; Sue Schneider, CEO of Spartanburg Water; Mark Farris, CEO of GADC; and Phil Lindler, Greenwood planning director, listen as Barry Nocks, professor of city and regional planning at Clemson, speaks during a panel discussion presenting the Shaping Our Future Growth Alternatives Analysis.
to welcome more than 300,000 new residents, half of which are anticipated to choose Greenville County as their new home. More troubling, however, is the way the region has chosen to accommodate growth over the past 25 years — our “trend” growth scenario. This sprawling trend development pattern is characterized by low-density, automobile-oriented, single-use developments moving increasingly further away from city centers. We have seen land use decisions of this sort play out in regions like Atlanta, and many Upstate residents have consistently agreed they do not want that for the Upstate. Skyrocketing housing costs, overcrowded schools, rapid loss of rural and agricultural lands, expensive infrastructure projects, and legendary traffic congestion issues are all associated with sprawl.
We Can’t Afford to Keep This Up… Literally Unsurprisingly, this sprawling growth pattern also consumes a tremendous amount of land — primarily farms, forests, and other open space — and makes providing typical government services (sewer, water, roads, transit, and fire and policy protection) costly and inefficient.
For example, costs for government services across the Upstate could climb to nearly $660 million per year by 2040, while anticipated revenues to support those costs could likely be less than $330 million per year by that time. According to Joe Minicozzi, principal at Urban3, there’s a reason large cities across the centuries have grown “upward”: It’s more cost effective. “When you start stacking those stories, you’re seeing an exponential jump in productivity,” he said. Minicozzi said communities need to think about their fiscal viability just like a corporation would. “I’m throwing a lot of numbers at you to get you in the mindset of seeing this stuff as an investor, as a shareholder having an expectation about a return on your community and how the cash flows,” he said. Upstate Forever Executive Director Andrea Cooper, who served on the project’s steering committee, urged communities to take notice of the study’s findings. “Make no mistake, we are on a crash course to becoming the very type of congested, paved-over metropolitan region that we have always said we do not want to become,” she said.
Better Ways to Grow Fortunately for the Upstate, there are ways to accommodate growth that consume less land, cost less to serve, and better protect the things that make the Upstate so special. Three alternative growth patterns were evaluated as a part of the Growth Alternatives Analysis: compact centers (an extreme example of compact development); major corridors (which focuses new growth on major corridors); and rural villages (which steers new development to many “rural village nodes” as well as major city centers across the region). “This study helps us gain more clarity around the impacts of our current path and why it is important now to support communities and leaders who are trying to grow differently,” said Ten at the Top Executive Director Dean Hybl. The study — which can be downloaded in its entirety at ShapingOurFutureUpstateSC.org — was made possible through the generous contributions of Hollingsworth Funds, Ten at the Top, Furman’s Riley Institute, the Greater Greenville Association of Realtors, New Belgium Brewery, Duke Energy/Piedmont Natural Gas, and Upstate Forever.
MOVERS, SHAKERS, AND DISRUP TORS SHAPING OUR FUTURE
| INNOVATE
Listen Up To give your customers what they want, you’ve got to hear what they’re asking for else’s experience surely must mirror Vice President of Economic our own. Development and Corporate Training, Also key is to Greenville Technical College avoid formulating your next response while the speaker is Shortly after I arrived in still talking. If you’re thinking of your Greenville last fall and settled into my reply, you’re probably missing out on role as vice president of economic what the person is actually saying. We development and corporate training may think we’re skilled at multitaskat Greenville Technical College, I met ing, but in actual practice, it’s a lot with the leader of a local company to harder to concentrate on the here and determine how we could best work now while you’re focused on the next. together. I brought to the meeting a Customers aren’t going to deliver full range of professional development the solution. We should be ready to offerings. This leader brought a wide listen, however, when they start a range of employee training needs. In sentence with “I wish,” “I want,” or “I many ways, we were on the same page. need.” Some of the best-known As the conversation developed, product innovations have resulted however, my counterpart mentioned from listening, whether to customers that it would work best for her or employees. company to allocate professional de“Change by Design,” written by Tim velopment funds at the beginning of Brown, takes a look at breakthrough the fiscal year. Although they want the ideas. One is the emergence of the flexibility to request training throughcruiser type of bicycle that began to out the year as needs arise, they like gain popularity about 10 years ago. the security of knowing that the money This was a response to customers for that training has already been set saying that they remembered the fun aside. of bicycling as children. They wanted All too often, we focus so intently to recapture that fun, but they didn’t on what we have to offer that we miss want the complications of fancy the messages our customers deliver clothing, difficult-to-maintain bicyabout what could make our best even cles, and sophisticated gears. better. Listening to what the needs The business owner I met with last and expectations really are can allow fall expressed a desire to pay for us to innovate and change to meet training at the beginning of the fiscal them instead of offering up something year. Initially, I thought, “Well that that continues to miss the mark, even would be helpful, but we don’t offer if only slightly. that option.” Upon reflection, and after There are formal and informal ways hearing similar comments in other of listening. Data gleaned from surveys meetings, I realized that although we and other assessments, comments didn’t offer the option, we could. We coming from focus groups, simple developed a new corporate training observation, and more. Some of the model with a subscription-based most productive listening can take option that gives employers the ability place sitting across a table from one to pay for training in advance and another, having an honest conversaschedule the training on demand. A tion, and acting on that information. second option also resulted from those Many people have studied commuconversations. It gives a company’s nication successes and misfires, and employees an incentive to utilize there’s extensive information available tuition reimbursement funds providon how to listen and respond more ed by their employer or to upgrade effectively. their skills with a partnership agreeAmong the best tips I’ve found is to ment in place between the company avoid making assumptions, thinking and the college that includes discountthat we already know what the other ed professional development tuition. person wants or needs, that someone
By DR. JERMAINE WHIRL
All too often, we focus so intently on what we have to offer that we miss the messages our customers deliver about what could make our best even better.
I’ve been in Greenville for almost nine months now. I’ve spent much of that time listening, and I plan to do a lot more of it. Those in leadership roles with business and industry have a wealth of information to share with me about what’s working and what
isn’t. If I pay close attention, I have the chance to better meet their needs. If I’m listening carefully, I can offer a solution or work to create one.
BRIDGING PHILANTHROPY & PURPOSE Jeannette and Marshall Winn established a Donor Advised Fund to make their charitable giving easier, tax-effective, cost-efficient, and more powerful.
864-233-5925 • cfgreenville.org 6.23.2017
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NEW TO THE STREET |
THE FRESHEST FACES ON THE BUSINESS LANDSCAPE
Open for business 1. Dunkin’ Donuts opened a new location at 722 Grove Road across from Greenville Memorial Hospital. Learn more at bit.ly/2rxrwvz.
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2. Highlands at Market Point recently held their official grand opening. The apartment community is located at 30 Market Point Drive in Greenville. Learn more at highlandsatmarketpoint.com. 3. Gold’s Gym recently opened two new Greenville-area locations, located at 1207 W. Wade Hampton Blvd. in Greer and 1332 S. Pleasantburg Drive in Greenville. Learn more at goldsgym.com. 4. Leadership Greenville Class 43, Project Team 3, celebrated the completion of the new walking path at The Family Effect’s Serenity Village. Photo provided
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CONTRIBUTE: Know of a business opening soon? Email information to aturner@communityjournals.com.
Photo provided
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Village of West Greenville - Downtown 582 Perry Ave 16
UBJ | 6.23.2017
PLAY-BY-PLAY OF UPSTATE CAREERS
HONORED
HIRED
HIRED
HONORED
HAROLD HUGHES
JANICE HORNE
PAIGE FINNEY
Received the CommunityWorks’ Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Hughes is the founder and CEO of BANDWAGON, a Greenvillebased sports technology company that captures and enhances the game day experience for fans, teams, and brands through the use of data. BANDWAGON is expanding to all Power Five conferences this fall with a special emphasis on the Southeast.
Hired by the Hartness development as a sales executive. A licensed real estate agent with more than 20 years of experience, Horne will promote the cottage-style homes in the startup community. Horne is a graduate of Lander University and previously worked as a sales representative at Meritage Homes.
Selected to participate in Jackson Marketing, Motorsports & Events’ summer internship program in the public relations department. Finney is a senior communication studies major at Furman University. In her role as public relations intern, she will learn skills in content planning and writing, and assist Jackson’s PR team with a variety of PR services and social media management.
VIP ASHLEY TAYLOR Greenville native Ashley Taylor has been promoted to administrative director of marketing and public relations at Bon Secours St. Francis Health System. Taylor has worked at Bon Secours for the past year and a half leading the media and public relations efforts and has worked to strongly position Bon Secours within various broadcast, print, and online media outlets locally and at the national level. As a result of Taylor’s background as a news anchor and reporter within the TV broadcast industry and her strong relationship building, Bon Secours has been consistently and prominently featured in an earned media capacity since her arrival to the organization. In her new role, Taylor will lead the marketing and public relations team on the entire branding efforts for the Greenville market.
Education As Lillian U. Harder steps down from her role as director of the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts, three members of the performing arts department and the Brooks Center have been named to the new leadership team and will take the helm July 1. Sarah Edison, Brooks Center coordinator, will become the director of outreach and operations and will oversee production and community outreach efforts. Thomas Hudgins, director of marketing and communications, will become managing director. He will oversee artist booking, fundraising, patron management, and public relations. Dr. Eric J. Lapin, lecturer of music, has been named director of artistic initiatives. He will oversee grant writing, assist with marketing, and consult on artist selection.
| ON THE MOVE
HONORED
HANNAH BARFIELD SPELLMEYER
HUNTER GIBSON
Voted by Leadership Greenville Class 43 to serve as their class speaker, which entails speaking at Leadership Greenville’s graduation. Spellmeyer, of Godshall Professional Recruiting & Staffing, graduated from the Greenville Chamber’s Leadership Greenville program in May. As the class speaker, Spellmeyer is tasked with maintaining communication post-graduation and serving on the Leadership Greenville Advisory Council.
Appointed as board member for Verdae Development Inc. (VDI), the master developer for the 1,100-acre integrated community of residences and businesses known as Verdae. Gibson graduated magna cum laude from Wofford College with a Bachelor of Arts in finance. He comanages Standard Capital Partners, a real estate development business specializing in multifamily properties throughout the Southeast.
Construction Hartness welcomes Jim McCoy as their new director of construction. McCoy will supervise and coordinate the construction process at the Hartness community taking shape just minutes from of downtown Greenville. McCoy is a graduate of The Citadel and is also a warrant officer in the South Carolina Army National Guard, where he serves as a Blackhawk pilot and tactical operations officer. He has had nearly 20 years of experience in project management ranging from residential to commercial construction.
Commerce Anderson native Kevin Capell will assume the newly created role of director of business development and external affairs at the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce on June 26. Capell will oversee efforts related to marketing and communications, events, community partnerships, membership sales, and overall revenue growth for the organization. Kevin will also directly handle the Chamber of Commerce’s two leadership programs: Leadership Anderson and Junior Leadership Anderson (JLA).
Marketing For the ninth time since 2006, VantagePoint Marketing was named Agency of the Year by the Business Marketing Association (BMA) of the Carolinas. In addition, VantagePoint received 13 project-level awards at the organization’s annual ProAds awards ceremony. Included in the honors were two gold awards, four silver awards, and seven bronze awards for projects and initiatives completed for clients S&D Coffee & Tea, T&S Brass, Antunes, Saia, and for VantagePoint’s internal marketing. CONTRIBUTE: New hires, promotions, & award winners may be featured in On the Move. Send information and photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com. 6.23.2017
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#TRENDING |
INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW
THE WATERCOOLER Social Chatter RE: GHS ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH PALMETTO HEALTH “Doesn’t it seem wrong that an entity providing services to people who are sick will have projected 3 BILLION+ in annual net revenue?”
Libby Waldrep “Just what we need, the Greenville Health System take over the state of South Carolina.”
Becky U McGowan
RE: JHM PUTTING TWO HOTELS IN ONE DOWNTOWN BUILDING “The numbers don’t lie... Downtown Greenville is now tourism-based, which means our hospitality and culinary scene has a huge opportunity for growth. Even during the toughest times in U.S. history, people will always find a way to eat, drink, and play. There is a bright future for more craft breweries and entertainment options in the years ahead as well = JOBS.”
Joey Burton
RE: OWNERS OF ATLANTA’S THE PAINTED PIN LOOK TO PUT FIRST OUT-OF-STATE LOCATION IN DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE “Can’t wait until it opens! I’m glad more entertainment options like this are coming to Greenville!”
Miller Hyatt “Yay! Now we need a Topgolf.”
Caitlin Ullom *In response to “Where do you think it should go?” “North Main and Stone.”
Mark Duvall “This could be cool around the Village of West Greenville.”
Johnathan Prochaska “I vote for lower LaurensRoad near Willy Taco!”
Sally Eastman
TOP 5:
INSIDE
1. Owners of Atlanta’s The Painted Pin look to put first out-of-state location in downtown Greenville
2. GHS announces partnership with Palmetto Health, plans to form state’s largest health system
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“It’d be nice to have it toward The West End (between Riverplace and Fluor Field). Especially since there are so many new developments over there. Plus the bowling alley at Revel just opened up on Stone, so having it on the other end of downtown would allow competition without too much interference of each other.”
chefjordan18
“I thought the old Handlebar was going to be it, but no. Let’s try to E X P A N D idea of where downtown is. Can’t cram more anywhere – esp. with no parking. So what about The Village [on] Pendleton Street? The redevelopment of the mill near St. Francis? Great old warehouse space #paintedpinbowling.”
terri_mint
DIGITAL FLIPBOOK ARCHIVE
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*The Top 5 stories from last week’s issue ranked by pageviews
Kelly Shedd Geppi
RWAR D
3. Greenville’s ChartSpan raises $16 million
5. JHM putting two hotels in one downtown building
“Augusta Road area!”
FLIPS S K O O C PU TS TH
4. From cook to ‘fobbler’
Kathleen Mussay Johnson
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EVENTS YOU SHOULD HAVE ON YOUR CALENDAR
DATE
EVENT INFO
WHERE DO I GO?
HOW DO I GO?
6/23
Friday Forum feat. Dick Wilkerson
Hilton Greenville 945 W. Ochard Park Drive 8–9:30 a.m.
Cost: $15 for investors, $25 general admission For more info: bit.ly/2svOJuF, tjames@greenvillechamber.org, 864-239-3728
Tuesday
Small Business Development Center’s Summer Breakfast
The Old Cigar Warehouse 912 S. Main St. 8:30 a.m.
For more info: 864-370-1545, ClemsonSBDC@clemson.edu
Basic Small-Business Startup
NEXT Innovation Center 411 University Ridge 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
7/20
Basic Small-Business Startup
Tri-County Technical College Pendleton Campus 7900 US-76, Pendleton 5:30–8 p.m.
Cost: Free For more info: piedmontscore.org/workshops
Friday
Innovative Leadership Series Presents: Gary Parsons
Clemson MBA at Greenville ONE 1 N. Main St. 6-8 p.m.
Cost: Free For more info: bit.ly/2sAUOtb
Friday PRESIDENT/CEO
| PLANNER
Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com
UBJ PUBLISHER
Ryan L. Johnston rjohnston@communityjournals.com
EDITOR
Chris Haire chaire@communityjournals.com
7/11
MANAGING EDITOR
Jerry Salley jsalley@communityjournals.com
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JUNE 30 THE LEGAL ISSUE Critical information from local experts.
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
UBJ milestone
UBJ milestone jackson Marketing Group’s 25 Years 1988 Jackson Dawson opens in Greenville at Downtown Airport
1988
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OPERATIONS Holly Hardin
ADVERTISING DESIGN
Kristy Adair | Michael Allen
CLIENT SERVICES
Anita Harley | Jane Rogers
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Chairman larry Jackson, Jackson marketing Group. Photos by Greg Beckner / Staff
Jackson Marketing Group celebrates 25 years By sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com
JULY 14 THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ISSUE Tomorrow’s game-changers and disruptors.
Kristi Fortner
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1997 Jackson Dawson launches motorsports Division 1993
Solve. Serve. Grow. Those three words summarize Jackson Marketing Group’s guiding principles, and according to owner Larry Jackson, form the motivation that has kept the firm thriving for the past 25 years.
Jackson graduated from Bob Jones University with a degree in video and film production and started his 41-year career in the communications industry with the U.S. Army’s Public Information Office. He served during
Vietnam, where he said he was “luckily” stationed in the middle of Texas at Fort Hood. He left the service and went to work in public affairs and motorsports at Ford Motor Company in Detroit. After a stint at Bell and Howell, where he was responsible for managing Ford’s dealer marketing and training, the entrepreneurial bug hit and he co-founded Jackson-Dawson Marketing Communications, a company specializing in dealer training and product launches for the auto industry in 1980. In 1987, Jackson wanted to move back south and thought Greenville would be a good fit. An avid pilot, he
learned of an opportunity to purchase Cornerstone Aviation, a fixed base operation (FBO) that served as a service station for the Greenville Downtown Airport, providing fuel, maintenance and storage. In fact, when he started the Greenville office of what is now Jackson Marketing Group (JMG) in 1988, the offices were housed on the second floor in an airport hangar. “Clients would get distracted by the airplanes in the hangars and we’d have to corral them to get back upstairs to the meeting,” Jackson said. Jackson sold the FBO in 1993, but says it was a great way to get to know Greenville’s fathers and leaders
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2003 motorsports Division acquires an additional 26,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space
1998
1990 Jackson Dawson acquires therapon marketing Group and moves to Piedmont office Center on Villa.
1998 Jackson Dawson moves to task industrial Court
with a majority of them utilizing the general aviation airport as a “corporate gateway to the city.” In 1997, Jackson and his son, Darrell, launched Jackson Motorsports Group. The new division was designed to sell race tires and go to racetracks to sell and mount the tires. Darrell Jackson now serves as president of the motorsports group and Larry Jackson has two other children and a son-in-law who work there. Jackson said all his children started at the bottom and “earned their way up.” Jackson kept the Jackson-Dawson branches in Detroit and others in Los Angeles and New York until he sold his portion of that partnership in 2009 as part of his estate planning. The company now operates a small office in Charlotte, but its main headquarters are in Greenville in a large office space off Woodruff Road, complete with a vision gallery that displays local artwork and an auditorium Jackson makes available for non-profit use. The Motorsports Group is housed in an additional 26,000 square feet building just down the street, and the agency is currently looking for another 20,000 square feet. Jackson said JMG has expanded into other verticals such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing and pro-bono work, but still has a strong focus on the auto industry and transportation. It’s
also one of the few marketing companies in South Carolina to handle all aspects of a project in-house, with four suites handling video production, copywriting, media and research and web design. Clients include heavyweights such as BMW, Bob Jones University, the Peace Center, Michelin and Sage Automotive. Recent projects have included an interactive mobile application for Milliken’s arboretum and 600-acre Spartanburg campus and a marketing campaign for the 2013 Big League World Series. “In my opinion, our greatest single achievement is the longevity of our client relationships,” said Darrell Jackson. “Our first client from back in 1988 is still a client today. I can count on one hand the number of clients who have gone elsewhere in the past decade.” Larry Jackson says his Christian faith and belief in service to others, coupled with business values rooted in solving clients’ problems, have kept
2009 Jackson Dawson changes name to Jackson marketing Group when larry sells his partnership in Detroit and lA 2003
2009-2012 Jackson marketing Group named a top BtoB agency by BtoB magazine 4 years running
him going and growing his business over the years. He is passionate about giving back and outreach to non-profits. The company was recently awarded the Community Foundation Spirit Award. The company reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community last week by celebrating its 25th anniversary with a birthday party and a 25-hour Serve-A-Thon partnership with Hands on Greenville and Habitat for Humanity. JMG’s 103 full-time employees worked in shifts around the clock on October 22 and 23 to help construct a house for a deserving family. As Jackson inches towards retirement, he says he hasn’t quite figured out his succession plan yet, but sees the companies staying under the same umbrella. He wants to continue to strategically grow the business. “From the beginning, my father has taught me that this business is all about our people – both our clients and our associates,” said his son, Darrell. “We have created a focus and a culture that strives to solve problems, serve people and grow careers.” Darrell Jackson said he wants to “continue helping lead a culture where we solve, serve and grow. If we are successful, we will continue to grow towards our ultimate goal of becoming the leading integrated marketing communications brand in the Southeast.”
2011 Jackson marketing Group/Jackson motorsports Group employee base reaches 100 people
2008 2012 Jackson marketing Group recognized by Community Foundation with Creative spirit Award
pro-bono/non-proFit Clients American Red Cross of Western Carolinas Metropolitan Arts Council Artisphere Big League World Series The Wilds Advance SC South Carolina Charities, Inc. Aloft Hidden Treasure Christian School
CoMMUnitY inVolVeMent & boarD positions lArry JACkson (ChAirmAn): Bob Jones University Board chairman, The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center board member, Gospel Fellowship Association board member, Past Greenville Area Development Corporation board member, Past Chamber of Commerce Headquarters Recruiting Committee member, Past Greenville Tech Foundation board member David Jones (Vice President Client services, Chief marketing officer): Hands on Greenville board chairman mike Zeller (Vice President, Brand marketing): Artisphere Board, Metropolitan Arts Council Board, American Red Cross Board, Greenville Tech Foundation Board, South Carolina Chamber Board eric Jackson (Jackson motorsports Group sales specialist): Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board
November 1, 2013 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal 21
20 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal November 1, 2013
AS SEEN IN
NOVEMBER 1, 2013
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Twenty-five years ago this month, BMW announced it had selected Spartanburg as the home for its first North American manufacturing facility. Our community has never been the same. Thank you, BMW Manufacturing Co., for your investment — and your belief — in Spartanburg. Here's to the next quarter-century.