City of Florence Presented With An Achievement Award By The Municipal Association of South Carolina

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The Municipal Association of South Carolina presented its Achievement Award to the city of Florence for its downtown revitalization efforts.

The Joseph P. Riley Jr. award was presented by Charlie Barrieneau, the association’s field services manager.

The city was recognized for its efforts to bring Sav-A-Lot grocery store downtown and the City Center Market, which helped to reduce food insecurity in the area. It also developed a health and wellness campus, which includes the Barnes Street Activities Center.

The award also recognized the city’s efforts to help entrepreneurs find grants to locate their businesses downtown.

The awards recognized the city’s downtown redevelopment efforts. Those efforts are continuing.

To read the full story, click here.

Keep Florence Beautiful Competitors Run, Paddle Their Way To Victory in Adventure Race

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Three types of teams competed Saturday in a two-stage race in which the participants started a 5K and paddled home along five miles of river — the Keep Florence Beautiful Adventure Race at Lynches River County Park.

Participants either ran as individuals (one runner and the same runner as one paddler in a kayak), as a relay team (one runner, a different paddler) or as a tandem team (two run together, two paddle in the same kayak).

The race started in the parking lot above the canoe launch and ended at the US 52 landing on Lynches River.

“It’s our annual fundraiser,” said Bobbie Moore. “Some of the funds go directly back into the park. We also put funds into keep the river clear and we put funds in to do various projects around Florence and Florence County.

To read the full story, click here.

Kooper Leadership Academy To Offer Free Workshop Series

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Join Kooper Leadership Academy as they host a free workshop series.  The one-hour workshops will be held on Wednesdays at the Chamber offices.  Scheduled dates are October 13, October 20 & November 3.  Topics of discussion include Goal Setting, Power of Focus & Personal Excellence.

For more information, click here.

The School Foundation Gala is Less Than Two Weeks Away

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The School Foundation’s 22nd Annual Gala will be held on Tuesday, September 27th at Florence Darlington Technical College’s SiMT. Distinguished graduate is J. Boone Aiken III, an attorney with Aiken, Bridges, Elliott, Tyler & Saleeby, P.A. At the gala, the buffet will be held from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., and the program begins at 7:00 p.m.

At this event the names of the 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year will be announced. The 2022-2023 Principal of the Year as well as the 2022-2023 Assistant Principal of the Year will also be recognized.

Reserve your tickets/table online today! Reservations and ticket option payments may be obtained by call 843-662-9996.

For more information, click here.

Are You REAL ID Ready?

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On May 3, 2023, U.S. travelers must be REAL ID compliant to board domestic flights and access certain federal facilities.  A gold star on your license or ID designates it as a REAL ID. If your license or ID does not have a gold star, it will have a message stating “Not for Federal Identification” and is not compliant to access TSA checkpoints beginning May 3, 2023.

Even though the federal law is not effective until May 3, 2023, anyone can get a REAL ID now.  To learn more, please click here.

Darlington Raceway To Once Again Host Two Race Weekends In 2023

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As part of NASCAR’s announcement of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series schedules, Darlington Raceway will host NASCAR race weekends on May 12-14 and Sept. 2-3. This will be the third consecutive year the track Too Tough To Tame will host two Cup Series race weekends.

“Darlington Raceway continues to be one of the most competitive and beloved tracks on the NASCAR schedule, so we look forward to hosting two NASCAR Cup Series race weekends again in 2023,” said Kerry Tharp, Darlington Raceway President. “As NASCAR celebrates its 75th anniversary season, the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR will showcase the history of the sport like never before over Mother’s Day weekend. The tradition continues with the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs starting as part of the crown jewel Cook Out Southern 500 over Labor Day weekend.”

To read the full story, click here.

2022 Kickin’ Chicken Wing & Chili Festival

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The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 8th annual Kickin’ Chicken Wing and Chili Festival on Friday, Oct. 21, in the 100 block of South Dargan Street in downtown Florence. The event will take place from 5 to 9 p.m.

The wings and chili will be prepared by competing chefs and local cooking teams. For those interested in sharing special sauces for wings and chili, while competing for cooking awards, contact the Florence Chamber at 843-665-0515. The chamber supplies the wings for the cooks, but the chili is the cooker’s responsibility to supply a minimum seven gallons of chili, and wing cookers will be expected to cook between 80 and 120 pounds of wings throughout the evening.

The event will feature a few other food vendors along with a selection of beverages, including wine, local beer and craft beer. The grand stage will be set for music by the Inland Band.

Free Seminar: Doing Business with Local Government

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Join the City of Florence as they host a Doing Business with Local Government Seminar on Thursday, October 20th beginning at 9:00 AM at the City Center.  The purpose of this event is to increase minority participation in the local government procurement process. Kindly RSVP by October 14th.

For more information, click here.

F1S Board Approves North Vista Elementary School Construction

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Students could be attending a new North Vista Elementary School in two years.

The Florence 1 Schools Board of Trustees unanimously approved construction of the new elementary school at its Thursday, September 8th meeting at the McClenaghan Adminstrative Building, 500 S. Dargan St.  In February, the Board of Trustees  selected Jumper Carter Sease Architects of West Columbia to design the school and Thompson-Turner Construction as the construction management firm.

Demolition of the old Wilson High School should be completed soon, Superintendent Richard O’Malley. North Vista Elementary School will be built on that site. Plans call for the current North Vista Elementary School to be converted to a middle school at some point.

Athletic facilities and an aquatic center also could be built on the site, but construction for those facilities will be a separate project, Superintendent Richard O’Malley said.

To read the full article, click here.

Benedict College Women’s Business Center To Hosts Workshops

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Benedict College Women’s Business Center has a wonderful opportunity for artists, performers, and creators who are looking to start, grow and/or scale their business in today’s competitive market.

Dedicated to serving women-owned businesses and minorities throughout the state of South Carolina, our Creative Entrepreneur Initiative entails a multi-week program consisting of interactive workshops facilitated by a business expert and supplemented by group-level consultation provided by BC WBC business advisors.

Program participants will meet virtually, beginning September 27, for 6 weekly sessions. The cost to register is $30 per person, which amounts to $5 per session. This opportunity and price are one you cannot beat.

To learn more about our Creative Entrepreneurship Initiative, click on the link here.