Calendar MARCH 4: ATA Carnet Trade Seminar Series. 9-11 a.m. at the Department of Commerce in Columbia. Presented by the South Carolina World Trade Center and Roanoke Trade. Workshop will give U.S. exporters an idea about the advantages and benefits of using ATA Carnet for exporting in general, as well as how to evaluate and best use the ATA Carnet for their individual export business. Cost: $35. Information: tradeservices@scwtc.org or 843-852-9880, or visit www.scwtc.org.
Accolades & More The Charleston Horticultural Society named Jim Martin as the recipient of this year’s 1830 Award. The 1830 Award honors exemplary service and creative vision in the field of horticulture and is presented at the Horticultural Society’s Annual Founders Day meeting. Martin joined the ranks of previous 1830 Award winners: author and lecturer Jan MacDougal, Rosarian Ruth Knopf, and author and botanist Richard Porcher.
People in the News Brandon Advertising and Public Relations has hired Dan Benner as an art director and Sarah Swingle as an account coordinator. Benner will oversee the creation, development and production of advertising materials for the agency’s clients. Swingle’s will attend client meetings, prepare media requests and assist the account management team with production and creative ads.
When opportunity knocks, education must answer By Bill Settlemyer Opportunity knocks when it wants to, not when you want it to. But when that knock on the door comes, you’d better be ready to answer it.
Mental health emergency By Molly Parker Just before Christmas, a suicidal patient checked into the Trident Medical Center’s emergency department in North Charleston.
After the patient spent 17 days and two holidays in the emergency room, a bed finally opened up at the state-run G. Werber Bryan Psychiatric Hospital in Columbia.
Chinese, American group plans ‘international city’ By Dan McCue Three black vehicles were parked outside a warehouse off a factory-lined street in North Charleston. Through an unmarked door and up the stairs waited Summer Xia.
Wild Dunes gets $900,000 from county to curb erosion By Scott Miller NASCAR driver Kyle Petty owns a $3.15 million retreat at Wild Dunes, a private resort that has received $900,000 in public tax dollars to combat beach erosion.
His neighbor is former U.S. Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, who has a $2.15 million home there, according to property records on file with Charleston County.
Wild Dunes, a pri
Holiday sales up from 2006, but only slightly By Kathleen Dayton The numbers are in, and though the Palmetto State outperformed the nation, December 2007 was not the merriest holiday season for S.C. retailers.
Lingerie sales continue to heat up the register By Kathleen Dayton One of the strongest retail categories today is all but unmentionable. Women are plunking down big dollars for something most other people may never see: their underwear.
The Port Master: Groseclose takes long view on port sustainability By Dan McCue It was a late night over dinner at the Peninsula Grill in downtown Charleston and the two businessmen, representatives of a major international company, were reviewing the experiences they had on their first joint trip to the Lowcountry.
Fresh traffic study revealed for Johns Island By Kathleen Dayton As more than 100 people gathered to talk about traffic, development, environmental protection and safety in a cafeteria recently at St. John’s High School on Johns Island, the debate on solving the island’s traffic problems got heated.
“I want t
Defense technology needs stimulate new business By Shelia Watson For businesses looking to enter or expand into a high-dollar market, seeking ways to fill the needs of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the military could be the path to lucrative contracts.
Charleston earns reputation as ‘pinnacle’ for high-tech security By Shelia Watson Timothy Acker, president of Seattle-based BioSonics Inc., came a long way to present his product at the fourth annual Homeland Security Innovation Conference, but distance was no object since the event focused on the efforts of private business in developing technology for security initiatives.
Acquisition expands MeadWestvaco’s local operation By Dan McCue MeadWestvaco Corp. has announced its acquisition of the Eastman Chemical Co.’s pine chemicals product line and its intention to shift an unspecified amount of work to its Charleston plant.
Force Protection gets $123 million in new foreign orders By Dan McCue Force Protection Inc. has received separate orders for its mine-resistant armored vehicles from the ministries of defense of the United Kingdom and Italy worth a total of $123 million.
AirTran saves locals an By Staff report One year ago AirTran Airways announced its plans to serve Charleston International Airport. The airline launched flights here May 24, 2007, and the annual cost savings to the community since then is estimated to be $80 million, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce reported.
Slower spending beginning to cut into tax revenues By Scott Miller South Carolina pays for education with sales tax revenues, a funding stream that state Superintendent of Education Jim Rex has warned is too volatile and requires change.
Dubai: A ‘different world’ By Dan McCue Clint Murphy, the new engineering principal in charge of North American operations for Jafza South Carolina LLC, said while he’d acquired a wealth of engineering and development experience over the course of his career, nothing prepared him for the scope of development he encountered upon moving to Dubai in 2006.
Jafza’s North American operations to be based in Charleston By Dan McCue Jafza International has named Clint Murphy its engineering principal in charge of North American operations and sent him to Charleston to establish the Dubai-based firm’s first formal project office in the United States.
Sanford, lawmakers spar over tax credits for sprinkler funding By Scott Miller Gov. Mark Sanford warned the state House of Representatives that it is overspending with its proposed tax credits for sprinkler installation for businesses and homeowners.
South Carolina continues to struggle with drought By Molly Parker State climatologist Hope Mizzell said people have been asking her lately if the recent string of rainy days has offset the drought that has plagued the Southeast since at least last fall.
American LaFrance seeks permission to sell assets By Dan McCue American LaFrance wants to sell off assets and property that is free and clear of liens, claims or other encumbrances as it moves to reorganize itself into a leaner and profitable company.
SCANA Corp. earnings up 3% for 2007 By Molly Parker Columbia-based utility SCANA Corp. reported $320 million in earnings for 2007, an increase of about 3% over a “disappointing” 2006, said Jimmy Addison, the company’s senior vice president and chief financial officer.
Medical industry rolls out red-carpet treatment By Molly Parker A few years ago, 11 doctors put their M.D.-certified brains together and decided to build a freestanding imaging center that would provide the type of five-star service they found lacking in most Lowcountry medical facilities.
Lowcountry Behavioral Hospital opens new women’s center By Molly Parker Many women who seek treatment at the Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Hospital have lengthy histories of abuse, whether emotional, physical or sexual. And that, say clinical managers, in turn creates what they call a “setup,” the likelihood there will be a host of other problems ranging from alcoholism to low self-esteem.
MUSC, VA bring cutting-edge cancer treatment to Charleston By Dan McCue South Carolina cancer patients now have access to the most advanced treatment available thanks to a new collaboration between the Medical University of South Carolina’s Hollings Cancer Center and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center.
More than $1 billion in uninsured cost passed on By Scott Miller South Carolina has one of the highest uninsured rates in the country, despite middle-of-the-road state funding for health care, and everyone is paying for it with higher health care and health insurance costs.
Creative ideas, planning needed for health care By Frank Knapp Jr. Consensus is building among health care stakeholders in South Carolina on how to use new revenue from an increase in the cigarette tax. These funds should be used for health care in general and specifically to help those who cannot afford health insurance due to low income or pre-existing conditions.
Curing the midwinter work doldrums By Barbara Poole Most of the time when I sit down to begin writing this column, I have at least a vague notion of what I want to say. But as I sit here this morning, looking out the window at a damp, dreary day, I have to admit that I’m fresh out of ideas.
Why salespeople fail and what managers can do about it By Keith Rosen “Why do salespeople fail?” That’s a question that managers, as well as their salespeople, have asked for decades. One reason this question is still alive and in the forefront of our minds is the fact there’s no one universally accepted answer. Whether the salesperson’s failure is being blamed on the salesperson, on the manager or on a collaborative effort, the reasons often remain subjective and even elusive and history is bound to repeat itself.
If you go green and sell green, you can make green By David Rawle In his popular book, “Stirring it Up: How to Make Money and Save the World,” Gary Hirshberg makes a compelling case for the wisdom of not only going green but also of promoting green. And he shows that green policies produce very green bottom lines.
Roaring 20 winner: Hightower Construction Celebrating 50 years in business, Hightower Construction Co. Inc. attributes its growth and success to top-level employees and a solid commitment to customer service.
Thompson E. Penney uses art of architecture to focus design By Kristen Poland It’s hard to say whether Thompson E. Penney has had more influence on the architectural firm he runs or if it has had more influence on him. It has been more than 40 years since Penney, then in high school, talked founder Frank Lucas into hiring him as a gopher at Lucas and Stubbs Associates Ltd. Today, Penney is president and CEO of the company, which has since been renamed LS3P.
No need to be a seasoned entrepreneur to launch a successful product By Kristen Poland Some people work best on a full stomach. For Leslie Haywood, the prospect of an empty stomach generated an idea that changed her life. Haywood is the owner of Grill Charms. Grill Charms are reusable metal pins used to mark pieces of meat on the grill.
