2026 Fall Community Breakfast – Last Friday

The City of Florence presented their – Telling Our Story: Why Choose Florence program at the Greater Florence Chambers of Commerce 2026 Fall Community/Legislative Breakfast on Friday, November 6th. The event was held at Florence Center.

The breakfast program was moderated by Florence City Mayor Lethonia Barnes with panelists, Charlie Barrineau, Senior Field Services Manager, Municipal Association of SC; Gilleon J. Frieson, Rural Dev. Program Manager, SC Department of Commerce and Tim Norwood, Retired EVP of Sales, Synergi Partners Investor and Entrepreneur.

Hundreds of local business leaders gathered to hear how special Florence has become and is now recognized around the state as an outstanding place to build a business while offering envious livability standards. There are many reasons Florence was recently ranked #3 on the “Best Places to Live in South Carolina” by US News.

Later in the program the city presented Tim Norwood with the inaugural Dr. Cecil Edward Floyd Memorial Award for Community Involvement & Engagement.

The program was made possible through the support of First Reliance Bank and Signature Wealth Strategies.

To see more photos, click here.

(Photography by David Yeazell)