Join Saint Anthony Catholic School as they host their Run For The Heroes on Monday, May 27, for a race in honor of America’s fallen heroes. The race will begin at 8:00 AM.
For more information, click here.
Gregg Robinson, CEO of Florence County Economic Development Partnership, was the Chamber’s radio guest on ChamberLink Radio this past weekend, talking about economic development plans and opportunities throughout Florence County. You can catch the conversation each Sunday from 12:00 – 12:30 pm on LIVE 95.3FM in Florence, SC.
This radio program is brought to you by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.
Chad and Silvia Weisbeck, owners of 4 Florence Jiffy Lube locations, made history by being the only Franchise in the 44 years to win the Franchise of the Year award 3 times, all in the last 10 years. They just opened their 15th location in March of 2024. They now have locations in Florence, Lake City, Greenville, Taylors, Mauldin, Greer, Moore, Easley, Clemson and Anderson. There are 176 franchises who are measured in every aspect including growth, customer and sales growth, customer satisfaction, training and other important measurables. They are grateful to be able to serve the Pee Dee and thank all of our customers for their patronage.
The Honda Talon is winner of The 2024 Coolest Thing Made in South Carolina. Also, hats off to our other Florence County business, GE HealthCare, which made the final four in the statewide contest.
The Honda Talon, a side-by-side power sports vehicle, has earned the title of the Coolest Thing Made in SC after a two-month contest that yielded more than 218,000 votes from the public.
The Honda Talon 1000R-4 Fox Live Value, which is manufactured by American Honda Motor Co., Inc. South Carolina Manufacturing in Timmonsville, received the most votes in the final round of voting in the 3rd annual Manufacturing Madness contest hosted by the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance and presented by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.
For more information, click here.
HopeHealth welcomes Casey Wilkes, LPC, a mental health counselor serving patients at the HopeHealth Medical Plaza.
Wilkes graduated from Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina, with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree, minoring in sociology, and a Master of Science in Clinical/Counseling Psychology degree.
From Lake City, she has worked with children, adolescents, and adults. Her clinical expertise includes the use of cognitive behavioral therapies to assist with trauma, problematic behaviors, addiction, grief, mood disorders, and anxiety.
AESC is seeking a third round of state funding to expand its already historic investment in Florence County.
The Japanese manufacturer is building a $1.6 billion electric vehicle battery cell production plant that will employ more than 1,600 people.
The factory was referred to as Project Agave in a March 20 meeting of the state’s Joint Bond Review Committee, which approved the additional funds, and a March 21 meeting of Florence County Council, which gave first reading to an ordinance to facilitate the funding.
Most of the $110 million would go to creating a “second facility for the production of EV batteries,” according to documents attached to the Joint Bond Review Committee’s agenda, while infrastructure costs and training center improvements would also be funded.
The initial investment of $810 million in 2022 would have created 1,170 jobs. The Dec. 12 announcement upped that total to 1,620.
The factory is being built across the street from Wilson High School and will create cells that serve as the individual power storage units inside an electric vehicle battery. A single electric vehicle could require thousands of cells.
These cells will be used to make electric vehicles at the 8-million-square-foot BMW plant in Spartanburg, which employs 11,000 people.
To read the full story, click here.
After hours of debate and rejection of amendments, the House voted 69 – 32 Wednesday to give second reading to a bill revising the new, and yet to be fully implemented, publicly-funded voucher program(H.5164).
Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, the bill would allow all students, no matter their family income or whether they are already enrolled in a public or private school or homeschooled, to qualify for an online publicly funded scholarship through the Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) program and create what is commonly referred to as a universal voucher program.
To read the full story, click here.
The Terrence F. Carraway Foundation will be holding a Taste of Blue event on Friday June 7th from 5:30pm – 8:00 pm at the Florence City Farmer’s Market. Tickets are $20 each and kids 5 and under are free.
All proceeds from the Taste of Blue will go directly to the TFC Foundation’s main project – The South Carolina Fallen Officers’ Memorial in honor of the late Sgt. Terrence F. Carraway, located at 611 S. Main Street, Darlington, SC.
For more information, click here.
Chanse Beinke along with his staff, Chamber Ambassadors, local law enforcement and city dignitaries cut their ribbon joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.
Florence flats is an apartment community located in west Florence at 307 Harrell Street. Their newly renovated units all feature two bedrooms and one bathroom. They began renovations in June of 2023 and are about one month from completion.
Florence Flats can serve a wide tenant base from affordable housing to market rate tenants. They have been partnered with ECHO on four of their units and are hoping to partner with the Florence Housing authority soon. Upon completion of the Florence Flats, they will have invested 4.5 million dollars into this project to renovate forty-eight (48) units.
To contact Florence Flats, call 843-702-0069 or stop at their office 307 Harrell Street Florence South Carolina 29501. Their Office Hours are Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. They can also be reached at via their website: www.florenceflats.com
Andrew Marsh from Northwestern Mutual, was the Chamber’s radio guest on ChamberLink Radio this past weekend, talking about talking about Northwestern Mutual serving clients through all kinds of economic ups and downs, including recessions and even the recent pandemic. You can catch the conversation each Sunday from 12:00 – 12:30 pm on LIVE 95.3FM in Florence, SC.
This radio program is brought to you by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.
