By Dan McCue
Staff Writer

Thomas Hood doesn’t hide his enthusiasm for Charleston. In fact, over the course of a recent 90-minute conversation, the longtime president and CEO of First Financial Holdings Inc. and newly elected chairman of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce even embraced the region’s challenges.

“Things are changing, certainly, and that requires facing challenges, but the amazing thing is everybody seems to be on board,” Hood said as he prepared for a long-planned trip to New York to meet with other financial professionals.

“The thing about the clusters described in the AngelouEconomics report—clusters I believe to be very appropriate to our region—is that they really could go anywhere,” he said.

“San Diego, San Antonio … every community would love to have a piece of what we’re creating here,” he added. “That’s why it’s vitally important we champion the region’s future in the right way and make sure Charleston is in every way a place that’s attractive to the businesses we want to grow here.”

For Hood, a 1972 graduate of The Citadel, the right way to foster the AngelouEconomics report’s clusters is to foster a stronger connection between the region’s business and educational communities and to exercise vigilance when it comes to ensuring Charleston retains its character.

Educational reform

“Without question, education is the No. 1 issue,” Hood said. “I truly believe that if we can fix education, we won’t have to do very much else. But if we don’t fix it, nothing else we do will matter.”

“It all comes down to the larger mission of any chamber of commerce,” he added. “While our obvious goal is to foster conditions conducive to business success, we also want to take the lead on initiatives whose benefits accrue to the entire region.”

Already, Hood said, the chamber’s education foundation has been actively working to integrate the cluster goals of the AngelouEconomics report into local curricula.

The goal of the effort is to get young people excited about bioengineering, port security, the creative industries and other cluster-related topics as early as possible in their educational careers, Hood said.

The Education Foundation is in the second year of a $2.23 million U.S. Department of Education grant to create a Smaller Learning Communities program at five of the region’s largest high schools: Stall, Stratford, Summerville, Wando and West Ashley.

The chamber also convened a half-day planning retreat earlier this year for district teachers, counselors, principals and administrators to develop strategies for relating classroom curricula to various employment sectors, including hospitality and tourism, health care, manufacturing, law and governance and technology.

“If we’re successful in this effort, our hope is that students will get a grounding in these industry sectors, go on to Trident Technical or another college, and then come right back to Charleston and start working in one of these cluster-related industries,” Hood said.

“We need to give our people the skills they need to be successful at work. Business, and business organizations like ours, have a critical role to play in that effort. Concern for our educational system isn’t just a matter of budget and money. We have to get behind public education and support it and help it adapt to a changing world.”

Managing change

Of course, change and Charleston are not particularly synonymous, and that’s an important consideration as cluster development continues.

“Thanks to its long history and tradition of preservation and tourism, Charleston is a brand that’s known throughout the country,” Hood said. “In a lot of ways, that’s an even bigger calling card to businesses who might relocate here than concerns about available resources and the local work force.

“Charleston, with its restored historic homes and horse-drawn carriages, and a rich history people know, influences how people view a company that’s located here; enhances its image, if you will. As we talk about things like critical infrastructure needs and future development, we need to constantly remind ourselves not to do anything that detracts from the brand.”

That protective effort, both of the natural and man-made environment, has been made easier by the buy-in of developers and the developers council, Hood said.

“As someone in the business of finance, I sit in on those meetings and can tell you there’s an overwhelming concern for the environment,” he explained. “The talk around the table is about creating places where people want to be and where they will want to be for years to come.

“Of course, that’s the challenge for every community and chamber of commerce, and it’s a constant effort to achieve balance in everything you do,” he added.

For Hood, preservation also means standing by the historic economic pillars of the community, like the Port of Charleston. He’s a staunch supporter of the creation of a new port terminal at the former Charleston Navy base, and believes securing funding for the new terminal access road is critical to the region’s continued viability.

“The port is a cornerstone of our community, and I believe we have a custodial-type of responsibility for it,” he said. “Throughout all the changes that have occurred relative to trade in recent years, our port has continued to grow. It’s a huge piece of the economic engine in South Carolina and we have to raise our voices to support it.”

Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.

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