McLeod Occupational Health Hosts Open House

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by Ardie Arvidson

McLeod Occupational Health celebrated the opening of its new location in McLeod Medical Park East on Thursday, November 7 with an open house and ribbon-cutting. The ribbon-cutting was part of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours with Chamber ambassadors taking part.

The new location of McLeod Occupational Health is 101 S. William H. Johnson St., Suite 150.

Dr. Stuart Sandler, Medical Director of McLeod Health Occupational Health Services, greeted guests to the Business After Hours event. He said McLeod Occupational Health provides “treatment, services and health care to area businesses and industries at several locations throughout the 18 counties McLeod Health serves.”

“The locations include McLeod Occupational Health Cheraw, McLeod Occupational Health Sumter, McLeod Occupational Health Commerce Park located off I-95 and this new location at McLeod Regional Medical Center.”

Sandler said the new location allows them to offer a full range of occupational medicine services. They include DOT-certified exams, physicals, primary care services, treatment for work-related injury and illnesses, on-site X-ray and EKG services, labs, firefighter physicals, and employee health services for McLeod Health staff.

Occupational Health moved from across the McLeod campus where it had been for nearly 30 years. Occupational Health kept outgrowing its space.

Oct. 14 was the first day at the new location.

Nurse Kim McCracken, business relations manager, said occupational health is all about medical health for people who work. It is on-the-job health care and covers things like immunizations, she said.

There are two full-time physicians, Sandler and Dr. Valarian Bruce. Dr. Peter Hyman is associate vice president. Shelly Morris is the director of occupational employee health.

Sandler said he has been with McLeod Health Occupational Health for about two years but has worked in the field for 25 years.

“We take care of the working family,” he said. “Anything that happens at work.”

He said a lot of times people who come to them don’t have a primary doctor.

“This is really a step up for us,” Sandler said.

Hyman said the new site has allowed them to expand their services.

“We are very happy to have this new location,” he said.

Sandler said they have 26 employees in the new building and about 55-60 overall, and 15 on-site locations in industries throughout the McLeod coverage area.

To read the full article on SC Now, click here.

New Chamber Member, Comfort Inn & Suites, Celebrates Open House with Ribbon Cutting

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by Ardie Arvidson

New Chamber member, Comfort Inn & Suites of Florence, at 527 Woody Jones Boulevard in Florence, held its grand opening Wednesday, November 6. There were tours, food, entertainment and ribbon cutting.

The new Choice Hotels Comfort Inn and Suites is managed by Raines Hospitality, Inc.

Grey Raines, president of Raines Hospitality Inc., welcomed guests to the event.

“We are really excited to bring Comfort Inn & Suites here,” he said.

Patrick Pacious, president and chief executive officer for Choice Hotels, said he is excited for the Florence Comfort Inn to join its 2,100 other Comfort Inns. He said they have 250 new hotels under construction and will be opening 60 hotels, one a week to the end of 2020.

Raines said this Comfort Inn is Raines Hospitality’s 17th hotel.

“It is our first Comfort Inn,” he said.

Raines said they started in the business with upscale hotels before getting into the upper midscale segment of the hotel market.

The Comfort Inn, near the Florence Center, opened at the end of June.

“It has been very good for us,” Raines said. “The Florence market continues to be a good hotel market.”

He said the company is already working on more hotels but isn’t ready to talk about them yet.

Pacious said Choice Hotels represents 12 brands. He said they have 7,000 hotels overall with 6,000 of them in the United States, mostly in the Southeast. He said they have five in the Florence market with two of those Comfort Inn hotels.

He said they started in Florence five years ago with Hotel Florence in its Boutique Collection in partnership with Raines Hospitality. They have a Cambria Hotel in Mount Pleasant with Raines and two more Cambria’s in the works, he said.

Pacious said Comfort Inn & Suites has been around since the 1980s, but the hotels recently have undergone a complete renovation, which represents a $2½ billion investment. He said the hotel has been rebranded.

The Florence hotel was one of the first in the rebranding with open and elegant lobbies, spacious breakfast areas and larger rooms with warm tones and soothing textures, local artwork and inviting designs.

“We are mostly known for three things,” Pacious said. “That is free breakfast, free Wi-Fi and free parking.”

The hotel in Florence has 89 rooms and suites.

Comfort Inn & Suites is a family-oriented hotel.

Investors and staff of Raines properties were on hand for the celebration, which included a ribbon cutting with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and its ambassadors.

Sparkle Cotton is the general manager of the Florence hotel. Taylor Gray is sales manager.

Prettier Than Matt duo entertained.

School of Dance Arts Joins Florence Chamber

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by Ardie Arvidson

School of Dance Arts celebrated joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday afternoon. Owner Devin Jennings cut the ribbon as staff and chamber ambassadors joined her.

School of Dance Arts was founded in 1972 by Barbara Howell Counts who later sold it to Cecilia Sprawls, Jennings said. Jennings purchased the studio in July.

Jennings said she taught at the school last year and has been a guest instructor. She has been teaching dance since high school. She has taught in Hartsville, Bennettsville, Florence and Camden.

Originally from Virginia, Jennings is a graduate of Coker College, where she studied dance. She now teaches dance at Coker University.

Jennings is certified through the American Ballet Theatre in their national training curriculum to teach ballet. She most recently became certified by Acrobatic Arts to teach Acro dance. In addition, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop are taught at the studio by her 25-member staff, which includes assistant teachers.

Jennings said she had added adult Yoga classes this year.

In her brochure, Jennings says School of Dance Arts provides conservative costuming, music choices and choreography for students.

She said their slogan is “Where excellence in dance begins.”

Jennings said she will be starting several new classes in January. Sign up will begin soon.

The dance studio, located at 1001 S. Cashua Drive in Florence, is open Monday through Thursday in the evenings.

For more information, visit: www.florenceschoolofdancearts.com or call 843-665-0606.

To read the full article on SC Now, click here.

Square Meal Market Joins Florence Chamber

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by Ardie Arvidson

The Square Meal Market celebrated its joining of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting. Chamber ambassadors joined in the celebration. The Square Meal Market is at 163 W. Evans St. in downtown Florence.

The establishment is owned by three women: Shaelyn Williamson, Gennine Williamson and her sister, Rosalee Williamson, who is the operations manager.

The store opened in July.

Rosalee said her co-owners started out as a catering business. They were looking for a building for to do their catering, she said.

“When they pitched the idea for me to be the operations manager two years ago, I quit my job and came on board,” Rosalee said.

They recently invited her to be a co-owner.

“Shaelyn is the cook,” Rosalee said. “Gennine has the business mind, and I do the day-to-day operations.”

Rosalee said they offer healthier fast-food choices.

She said, “Our mission is to transform our communities’ palate one eclectic dish at a time.”

She said they are a restaurant and a market in one. In the front of the store they sell everything from jams to olive oil. Plans are to continue to provide fresh produce in season.

The menu includes sandwiches, soups and salads.

The most popular sandwich is the Italiano panini with choice of bacon or tomato jam, Rosalee said.

“The shrimp corn bisque is the favorite soup,” she added. “And the detox salad is very popular.”

She said the restaurant offers vegan choices and plans to offer breakfast in addition to its coffee, tea and muffins already on the menu.

Hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Williams said they will be extending the hours to the weekend.

At the present, they have one additional employee, Lloyd Hailey.

The Square Meal Market stands where the Boxcar Market was previously located.

“We look forward to being a part of the downtown,” Rosalee said. “We can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

She said they joined the chamber for the networking opportunities and because they are part of downtown.

“We are super excited to be downtown and share our ideas with people and to show diversity in our cooking.

For more information, visit thesquaremealmarket.com.

To read the full article on SC Now, click here.

Chamber and PRISM Held Economic Equity and Inclusion Roundtable

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More than 30 people were in attendance as The Florence Chamber held an Economic Equity and Inclusion Roundtable event at the MUSC Floyd Cconference Center in Florence on Tuesday, October 29.

Keynote speaker, Rhonda Midgette presented “Diversity and Inclusion in the Right Doses – Choosing the Appropriate Measures and Strategies for Your Company”. A panel of business leaders included Dwayne Brockington, Scotty Davis, Tryon Jones and Candace Shiver.

Attendees learned about progress, shared opportunities for making a difference in their organizations and networked with others who share a common interest in promoting inclusive practices across all sectors of business and community.

Thank you to MUSC and all speakers and panelists that made this program possible.

Junior Leadership Holds Arts & History Day in Lake City

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The Junior Leadership of Florence County enjoyed a beautiful day in Lake City for their annual Art & History Day! Thanks to Sharon Brown with Lake City Creative Alliance, Kelli Meeker at Moore Farms Botanical Gardens, and all of the other Lake City businesses and organizations for the experience!

Chamber’s Wings and Chili Festival Take Center Stage in Downtown Florence

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by Ardie Arvidson

The aroma of barbecue permeated the 100 block of Dargan Street in downtown Florence on Friday night as the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce celebrated its annual “Kickin’ Chicken” wing and chili festival.

As Sideswiped performed on stage, the crowd gathered at tents where wings and chili were being served to sample and judge for the People’s Choice Award. Sixteen cookers competed in the wing competition and 11 cookers competed in the chili competition.

This is the sixth year that the Florence chamber has held the cook-off festival, which draws a larger crowd every year.

“We had more this year than last,” said Jay Lavrinc. He estimated more than 3,000 people attended the event. He said he sold 1,600 pounds of wings and more than 100 gallons of chili.

This was Phillip Harrington Jr. of Nucor’s first time making wings and chili for the event.

“It is really, really good,” said Josh Herring of Florence. “This is an event everyone should come to.”

He was with Sloane Shank, who said it was their first time attending the “Kickin’ Chicken” festival.

Herring said he was not disappointed.

Everyone had a favorite chili and wings.

“I like Victors the best,” said Debra Hill.

Tawala Milling said her favorite was the chili prepared by Vulcraft.

Mike Miller, president of the Florence chamber, said this is the chamber’s major fundraiser. He said the cooks prepared 1,700 pounds of wings this year.

“We sold out last year,” he said. “We didn’t want that to happen this year.”

The winners of the wings and chili cook-off were announced at the end of the evening.

The judges top chili makers were Coastal BBQ and Hilton Garden Inn. Taking top honors in the wing category were Duke Energy, Bellamy and Victors.

This year’s event was made possible by Raines Hospitality and Carolina Bank along with support from Willcox, Buyck & Williams, Victors Restaurant and South Carolina Federal Credit Union.

To read the full article on SC Now, click here.

Young Professionals of Florence Hosted Social with Seminar Brewing and Florence Area Humane Society for their “Yappy Hour”

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The Young Professionals of Florence saw a great turnout for the Yappy Hour vvent last night at Seminar Brewing in Florence.

Thank you to Seminar Brewing for hosting the event and catering to the YP group. Wet Nose Dogs played all night while having fun with all attending.

Thank you to all who came out and brought your furry friends to support the YP group. Without our dedicated Young Professionals,this program would not be growing as fast as it is. Last night YP raised nearly $600 to help support Florence Humane Society.

Look for The Young Professionals of Florence tent at The Pecan Festival on November 2,2019.

The next event will be a Lunch And Learn on November 21st at The Hyatt Place hotel.

Doctor Makes House Calls and Cuts Ribbon with Chamber

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by Ardie Arvidson

Doctors who make house calls are a rarity in today’s world, but Dr. Charles Louis Edwards wants to change that, at least in the Pee Dee area.

In mid-summer, Edwards opened My House Call Doctor. His office is at 650 Pamplico Highway, Suite C (in front of Food Lion).

“We bring primary care to you,” he told those gathered Thursday morning for the grand opening of his office. A ribbon cutting was hosted by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce to announce his membership in the chamber. Chamber ambassadors, his staff, friends and family joined in the ribbon cutting.

Edwards said he makes house calls as far away as Conway, Johnsonville, Darlington and Hartsville.

“The number of patients we are seeing is increasing every day,” he said. “This is a better way to primary care.”

Edwards said patients receive the best of care in the comfort of their own homes. He said his practice has up-to-date technology available so patients can access their medical records online.

For about six years prior, Edwards said, he worked in the hospital emergency room setting and saw firsthand a need for doctors who make house calls.

Board certified, Edwards specializes in internal medicine.

Home services include flu shots, vaccines, diagnostic testing — ultrasounds, X-rays and lab work.

In-office appointments are also available.

Edwards said his way of doing medicine is embraced by the homebound, mobility insecure, those who shouldn’t be around sick people and people who don’t want to spend a half a day in the doctor’s office.

Charlotte Hanna, PA, and Tammy Huckabee, nurse practitioner, work with Edwards. There five people on the staff, but Edwards said more doctors will be joining him soon.

Born and raised in Dillon, he earned his undergraduate degree from Francis Marion University and his medical degree from West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

His wife, Christena, and children, Madison, Paisley and Chase, joined him for the cutting of the ribbon.

Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Other times are available by appointment.

To make an appointment or for more information, call 843-619-2280 or visit www.myhousecalldoctor.com.

To view the full story on SC Now, click here.

Wholly Smokin’ Downtown Holds Ribbon Cutting

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by Ardie Arvidson

A ribbon cutting to celebrate Wholly Smokin’ Downtown’s membership in the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce was held Tuesday afternoon at the restaurant. Chamber ambassadors, family, friends and staff joined Jackie Travis, the owner, for the celebration.

The restaurant of “barbecue, ribs and a whole lot more” is located downtown in the 100 block of South Dargan Street.

Travis said she has been open since December 2014 and hers was one of the first restaurants to open in the revitalized downtown.

“I used to be a member of the chamber when we had Travis Jewelers,” she said. “I’ve seen a transition in the chamber. I can see they are deeply committed and involved with businesses and the community.”

Travis said, “It got me excited about being a member.”

Travis said she and her husband opened a little take-out business on Celebration on Boulevard after retiring as jewelers.

She said Andy Jeffords approached them by the invitation of Dr. John Keith, who owned the downtown building, about moving their business downtown.

“It was scary being one of the early comers to downtown,” she said. “But it has been an unbelievable experience. We look forward to the future.”

Travis said she loves being downtown.

“I love the vibe,” she said. “It has been an exciting ride.”

She said the name says everything about who they are. She said everything is smoked. The menu includes barbecue, pulled chicken, wings, ribs, brisket, sides that complement barbecue, and other items.

She said the restaurant is on the South Carolina BBQ Trail map and gets a lot of tourists. She said the events downtown also bring in business.

“We are one of the few barbecue restaurants where barbecue is full-service, order from the menu,” she said.

Wholly Smokin’ Downtown also has a bar with an extensive wine list, craft beers and cocktails.

“We have four flat-screen TVs for watching the game with friends,” she said.

Travis said they have a saying at the restaurant that Wholly Smokin’ is “a place where customers become friends and friends become family.”

The restaurant has a seating capacity of 99 and opens at 11 a.m. seven days a week. It closes at 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8 p.m. Sunday.

Travis said she has lived in the Florence area for more than 40 years. She has a daughter, Sarah; who assisted with the ribbon cutting; and a son, Andrew, who lives in New York. Her husband, Bill Travis, passed away in 2017.

To read the full article on SC Now, click here.