Archive for month: June, 2025

The Post & Courier Pee Dee reported last week that Florence will see more than 700 new homes built in different subdivisions on the east and west side of town.

This month The Florence County Planning Commission approved a developers’ plan for a subdivision with 49 new homes in West Florence.

In December 2024 the Commission approved what was to be a subdivision of 935 homes and now will be a subdivision of 665 homes.

To read the full story, click here.

The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics Foundation (GSSMF) has received a $50,000 grant from Power:Ed, the philanthropy of the SC Student Loan Corporation. Funding will provide greater accessibility to students with financial need through scholarships, as well as expand the reach of two signature GSSM programs: GoSciTech Summer Camps and STEM Days.

This is the second grant awarded to the GSSM Foundation by Power:Ed, providing $25,000 to support GoSciTech Summer Camps and $25,000 for GSSM’s academic year STEM Days. The funding will increase access to high-quality STEM experiences for students across the Palmetto State by offering scholarships to those with financial need and supporting the expansion of both programs statewide.

To read the full press release, click here.

HopeHealth welcomes Eugene Jones Jr, PharmD, to the Medical Plaza in Florence, where he provides clinical pharmacy services.

Jones completed his undergraduate pre-pharmacy studies from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, and a Doctor of Pharmacy from Wingate University School of Pharmacy in Wingate, North Carolina, where he graduated valedictorian.

His clinical interests are infectious disease, heart failure, and diabetes. He is a member of the American Pharmacists Association and the Rho Chi Pharmacy Honor Society. From Marion, South Carolina, Jones serves as a deacon at Reedy Creek Baptist Church.

The Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation announced that J. Barron Ervin, Jr. has been appointed Executive Director, effective June 1, 2025. He succeeds L. Bradley Callicott, who “has served with distinction as the Foundation’s inaugural Executive Director since its establishment in 1995, ” said Dr. C. Edward Floyd, Chairman of the Foundation.

Under Mr. Callicott’s leadership, the Foundation’s assets grew from $92 million to approximately $270 million. During his tenure, the Foundation awarded more than $170 million in grants, supporting a wide range of initiatives and organizations that have significantly benefited the Florence, South Carolina area.

Mr. Ervin is a lifelong resident of Florence County and brings more than 30 years of professional experience in engineering, commercial development, and strategic consulting. He most recently served as the President and Managing Partner of Ervin Engineering Co., Inc., a Florence-based firm providing engineering and surveying services to prominent industrial, governmental, and institutional clients across the region.

A new report released last week by the American Council of Engineering Companies of South Carolina (ACEC-SC) in partnership with the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business projects that from 2021-2027, infrastructure investment and the construction industry will have a total impact of $56 billion on the state’s economy, creating over 45,000 jobs, underscoring just how much infrastructure investment powers South Carolina’s economy.

The report also shows that in-state infrastructure maintenance, modernization, and expansion could lead to the creation of 157,000 new jobs over the next decade, to the tune of more than $16 billion in annual labor income for South Carolinians. The report found that these jobs, spanning construction, engineering, logistics, and professional services, pay 9.8% higher annual income than other jobs across the state.

With continued investments in infrastructure, the state’s employment will grow by 1.5% compared to a rate of just .9% without, as improved infrastructure unlocks greater productivity across multiple sectors, from logistics and manufacturing to healthcare, tourism, and agriculture.

To read the full story, click here.