135 Seafood Bar and Grill Celebrates Grand Opening With A Ribbon Cutting

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The 135 Seafood Bar and Grill celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting along with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and its Ambassadors.

135 specializes in Cajun and New Orleans style food along with other various menu items such as Gator bites, Etouffee Du Jour, fish, and pasta dishes. 135 has a full complement bar as well.

They will soon be opening a rooftop bar at the location. Plans are for it to be open in April of this year.

The spokesperson for the restaurant expressed, “If you are in the downtown area and would like a good meal and refreshments, 135 Seafood Bar and Grill is the place to be.” Their tag line is, Let The Good Times Roll! We are a Southern seafood restaurant with a Cajun twist! We are located in historic downtown Florence, South Carolina and specialize in Nawlin’s inspired cuisine that will put a smile on your face and a spring in your step!

Come see us today and join the party!

The restaurant is located at 135 N. Dargan St. and is open Wednesday & Thursday 11-10, Friday & Saturday 11-11 and Sunday 11-7. The kitchen closes one hour before closing time each day.

So, for a great dinner and or drinks 135 Seafood Bar and Grill is a great place for couples, families, and friends to have a Nawlin’s style meal.

Fellows In Education Visit Royall Elementary

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The 2022-2023 Fellows in Education class enjoyed a visit to Royall Elementary March 14th. Mrs. Julie Smith, Principle, spent time sharing the students & staff accomplishments along with the numerous school awards, including Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Lighthouse School in 2022. The classroom visits were wonderful.

The Fellows in Education Program is designed to improve education for students by involving local leaders in the atmosphere and experiences that our students share each day. The program seeks to create a community of leaders that can share firsthand knowledge and help collaborate with policymakers and the community on the educational concerns of the future.

Fellows In Education is A Joint program between Florence School District One, The School Foundation and The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Pee Dee Regional Transit Authority Expanding To Job Centers

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The Pee Dee Regional Transit Authority is already the third largest of its type in the United States and will soon expand to cover more job hubs.

New routes are planned to start at staggered dates over the coming months for SC 327 Pee Dee Electric Business and Commerce Center, Dillon County, Timmonsville, and Lake City, Executive Director Don Strickland told Florence City Council members at Monday’s meeting.

“As we know from economic development, workforce development, getting people and jobs together is a huge issue,” said Mayor Pro Tem George Jebaily. “We have a lot of people who are looking for quality work where they will make a good income, and then we have a lot of jobs that are out there that are in need of people.”

Of the 355,000 trips made this year using the transit system, around 44 percent were riding for work and 81 percent did not have access to a car, according to Strickland’s presentation. The authority has seen a 12 percent growth in riders since the same time last year.

To read the full story, click here.

Raines Acquires HP Hotels

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Raines, a fully integrated hotel development, management, and investment company located in Florence, has acquired HP Hotels, a full-service, third-party hotel management company, resulting in operational expansion throughout the southeast and southwestern United States. The financial terms of the transaction are not being publicly disclosed.

“Assets alone will not get Raines to where it needs to be as a company,” said Grey Raines, managing partner of Raines. “In addition to acquiring third-party management contracts, Raines is adding experienced principals, trusted partnerships, and operations, sales and marketing, and human resources teams to its arsenal of experienced hospitality professionals. By selecting, developing, and empowering talent diligently, we are positioning ourselves to better achieve our company goals and deliver to our stakeholders.”

“This acquisition is more than just adding assets to our portfolio,” said David Tart, managing partner of Raines.

The acquisition expands Raines’ footprint geographically beyond the Southeast, adding properties in the Southwest, including Texas and Oklahoma. As a result of the partnership, Raines adds not only its first IHG properties but also its first independent assets. The addition of HP’s independent and soft-branded properties will grow Woven by Raines, a specialized division of the company providing a unique development and management approach to boutique hotels, to a portfolio of eight hotels.

To read the full story, click here.

WFG/WSB Holds Ribbon Cutting

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Daphne Lee Sabangan owner of Florence Financial Center along with her colleagues and members of the Greater Florence Chamber attend the ribbon cutting for her business on Thursday, March 15th.

Florence, SC Financial Center is a financial services business with focus on financial literacy campaign, giving access to various financial products and solutions according to one’s own needs and goals. It provides business opportunities to anyone interested. As a financial education center, we provide workshops and presentation to individuals, families and groups in homes, churches, schools and organizations or one-on-one basis.

Topics include how to increase cash flow/income, debt management, saving for emergency funds, having proper protection, building and preserving wealth among others. We also offer broad array of personal financial strategies to include individual financial services, tax-advantage term and permanent insurance protection, retirement products, estate preservation, long term care and disability insurance. We believe these products are often a crucial part of a legacy strategy for our families. In addition, we offer dynamic business platform to help people build their own financial services business. Providing need-based financial solutions is just one part, we also invite individuals to contact us if interested to become our partners in the business. We have a flagship campaign of educating as many individuals as possible to achieve our goal of national financial literacy. As a business entity, we have goals of expanding and opening more financial centers within the state of South Carolina and beyond.

They located at 514 W. Palmetto St. business hours are from 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

For more information contact Daphne Lee Sanbangan at (214) 585-2579 (Mobile) or (843) 472-5001 (Office). She can also be reached at her website and Facebook page.

2022 Chamber Ambassador Of The Year Crowned

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Greater Florence Chamber crowned its 2022 Ambassador of the Year, Michael Hinson, on Wednesday, March 15th. Along with Michael are runner ups Jennifer Greene and Julie Jebaily. The event was attended by over 30 of the Ambassadors with a luncheon at the Florence Country Club.

Congratulations and thanks to all the Ambassadors for all they do to help the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Lucky Dog Animal Rescue Joins Chamber And Hosts Ribbon Cutting

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Lucky Dog Animal Rescue celebrated its grand opening of its one-of-a-kind Rescue Campus in Florence, South Carolina (2502 North Williston Road, Florence, SC 29506). The lifesaving campus includes The Lazin Animal Foundation Infectious Disease Infections Care Unit, the JR Peterson Ringworm Center, the Verstanding Family Foundation Community Vet Clinic, and “Stopover Station,” a kennel building to house animals preparing for transport north.
Mayor Teresa Myers Ervin along with representatives from the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and other community leaders were in attendance to celebrate the grand opening. The event was open to all members of the community as Lucky Dog celebrate this historic day for animals across the rural south.
“We are so excited that this day has finally come,” said Mirah Horowitz, Founder and Executive Director of Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. “Pet overpopulation in Florence is a real challenge. This facility will not only prepare animals for transport to areas where adoptions are possible, it will also help community members care for their pets, preventing unwanted litters and avoiding the need to surrender in the first place.”

“Since its inception in 2009, Lucky Dog has helped save over 23,500 animals, ensuring they go on to live healthy, happy lives. We have seen the process firsthand with our own LDAR rescue dog, Jill.

Leadership Florence Participates In Education Day

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Leadership Florence had its March session (Education Day) on Tuesday, March 14th. The group visited Florence-Darlington Technical College and the FMU Luther F. Carter Center for Health Sciences.

The class also got to hear from and visit many of the many educational institutions in our community. The day included presentations from: Florence Adult Education, The Kings Academy, Virtis Academy, Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate and Florence 1 Schools.

An additional thank you goes to Wilson High School, TKA, Trinity and The School Foundation for providing lunch.

Darlington Raceway To Host Open House

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You’re invited to the Spring Open House at Darlington Raceway on Tuesday, March 28th from 6:00 – 8:00 PM.  Come enjoy an evening of getting to know the track Too Tough To Tame; Take a tour of the Darlington Raceway Museum and NMPA Hall of Fame, Mingle with local businesses around the Pee Dee region all while enjoying light Hors d’oeuvres and light refreshments.  During the event, local businesses will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to the Goodyear 400. Receive $25 off when you purchase at the event.  To RSVP or to seek additional information, please email Danielle Lockemy at dlockemy@nascar.com.

Practical Purpose Solutions Joins Chamber

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Kendrea Robinson is a nurse practitioner and the business owner. She started the business Practical Purpose Solutions to help individuals RESET through coaching and consulting services. These services were initially designed to help individuals stay focused on their physical, mental, and spiritual wellness journey. Through these services individuals have been able to lose weight and feel better about themselves, mentally and emotionally.

Practical Purpose Solutions offers many services, some of them include:
Vitamin Infusions to help individuals RESET TO REFOCUS. Helping with enhancement of energy and immunity. Our vitamin infusions consist of different vitamins and minerals such as B12, vitamin C, vitamin Bs and more. These infusions are designed to help individuals with fatigue, colds, chronic sinuses, joint discomfort and more. These services are same day services even if individuals are not part of any program and or package that is offered.

Physicals (DOT, Sports, Presurgical and Preemployment) and telehealth services. They will provide contract services with companies, especially small business owners. They offer weekday and weekend services for those who may need a physical done.

The business located at 2011 Second Loop Road Suite A Florence, SC 29501.
Business Hours are Monday-Friday 9 AM –7 PM
Phone Number: 843-799-2210 www.practicalpurposesolutions.com