FDTC’s Ed Bethea Receives Inaugural Public Servant of the Year Award

Florence-Darlington Technical College Interim President Ed Bethea received the inaugural Public Servant of the Year Award at the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce Outlook Luncheon on Thursday, August 27th. Francis Marion University President Fred Carter presented Bethea the award in the ballroom of the Florence Center.

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Drew Chaplin Named Chamber’s Small Business Person of the Year

Drew Chaplin Jr. was nervous about speaking Thursday, August 27th after being named the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year until he reached the third step of the stage in the ballroom of the Florence Center. Chaplin is the Managing Partner and Broker In Charge of Palmetto Commercial Real Estate. As is the tradition of the award, Chaplin had no idea that he was going to be named the Small Business Person of the Year until Dedicated Community Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Ivey read some biographical information during the Chamber’s outlook luncheon.

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McLeod Health Opens New Physician Office Building

McLeod Health held a ribbon cutting with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday at the new McLeod Physician Associates office location and physician practice, McLeod Family Medicine South. The new office is at 611 Second Loop Road in Florence. Chamber staff and ambassadors were on hand for the ribbon cutting, along with the doctors, staff and members of the McLeod Real Estate and Construction teams and representatives of FBi Construction.

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Southern Shores Real Estate Celebrates Joining the Florence Chamber with a Ribbon Cutting

Southern Shores Real Estate Group celebrated joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, August 25th. Chamber staff and ambassadors joined the celebration. Linda Strauss opened the first Southern Shores in Florence in 2017. The company is based in Charleston and has been in business since 2006. Strauss said she had owned her own environmental company and decided on a new career path as a real estate agent. Strauss said she started out in a warehouse she owned on Floyd Circle for approximately two years, establishing herself and acquainting the Florence Community with Southern Shores.

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Emerging Leaders Graduation

The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce held a graduation ceremony for its 5th annual Emerging Leaders Summer Institute on Thursday, August 20th.

The program is designed to generate professional training and development, mentor-ship, community engagement, and recruitment opportunities.

The goal is to help small business owners and other professionals become leaders in the community. “Part of the point of this program was to implement a diverse group to make sure we have a diverse group that could, therefore, be leaders, more diverse leaders, in our community,” said Les Echols, Director of Community & Minority Enterprise for the chamber.

Because of the pandemic, the six-session class was completely virtual.

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Grace Outdoor Celebrates Joining Florence Chamber With A Ribbon Cutting

Grace Outdoor Advertising celebrated joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting Monday, August 17th at the Chamber. Chamber ambassadors joined in the celebration. Josh Madsen from Grace Outdoor was on hand to cut the ribbon.

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Integrative Health Solutions Celebrates Chamber Membership With A Ribbon Cutting

Integrative Health Solutions is a new chiropractic office in Florence that opened in late June. A grand opening with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce was held on Monday, August 10th. Chamber ambassadors assisted in the celebration with a ribbon cutting. Dr. Berek Oldenkamp and Dr. Kristin Hieshepper are the two doctors currently in the office. Both have been practicing chiropractic medicine for more than 15 years. Oldenkamp recently moved to Florence from Kentucky, and Hieshepper is from Michigan.

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Leadership Florence Graduation

Leadership Florence graduation took place in the James Allen Plaza in downtown Florence, SC. Graduation plaques were presented in the outdoor venue during the presentation ceremony, Monday July 21, 2020. There were 42 area business and community leaders in this year 9-month program.

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NASCAR To Return To Darlington Raceway

NASCAR will return to Darlington Raceway (Darlington) for an expanded two days of racing action on Sept. 5-6. The track Too Tough to Tame will host the famed Southern 500® NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on Sunday, Sept. 6, Sports Clips Haircuts VFW 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Sept. 5, and expands with the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series on Sunday, Sept. 6.

“NASCAR racing continues to grow at Darlington Raceway with the addition of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series as part of throwback weekend,” said Darlington President Kerry Tharp. “After successfully hosting the sports’ return to competition in May, the track Too Tough to Tame will be ready for more of NASCAR’s best race experience.”

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Soulift Celebrates Chamber Membership with a Ribbon Cutting

Soulift, a Yoga, Pilates and Barre studio, celebrated joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, August 6th with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Owners Grace Timms and Belinthia Elder cut the ribbon and were joined by chamber ambassadors, family and some of their staff for the event.

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