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Tarr Group Holds Ribbon Cutting at Florence Chamber

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by Ardie Arvidson

Kevin Pulis of the Tarr Group LLC joined ambassadors from the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday to celebrate the group’s new chamber membership. A ribbon cutting was held at the chamber.

Pulis, a civil engineer who grew up in Florence and recently moved back, said he joined the chamber because he wants to be a part of the community now that he is back.

Pulis said he is eager to get back into the community and work with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

“I want to help it (Florence) grow and prosper,” he said.

He said Florence is becoming a very impressive place, especially the downtown.

Pulis is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in civil engineering and has 14 years of experience in civil engineering. He recently joined the Tarr Group.

The Tarr Group is a national civil engineering consulting firm with offices in Portland, Oregon; Denver; Indianapolis; and Florence.

Pulis said it is a consulting firm with experience in commercial, industrial and residential services. He said the group does site work from start to finish.

To contact Pulis, call 843-633-3579.

Read the full article on SC Now here.

Allstate-Hardee Insurance Agency Holds Ribbon Cutting After Joining Florence Chamber

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by Matthew Robertson

FLORENCE, S.C. — The Hardee Agency had a ribbon cutting Thursday to mark both its joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and its change in ownership as of Jan. 1.

Formerly Ben Stevens Allstate, the agency is now owned by Brandon Hardee and has remained with Allstate.

Hardee bought the agency from his father-in-law on Jan. 1 when he retired.

“My family’s been in insurance. My dad’s been in insurance for 30-plus years,” said Hardee, who has been in insurance since 2012.

The Hardee Agency is a full-service office that offers personalized insurance, home, auto, life, counsels on retirement needs and offers some commercial coverage products, Hardee said.
“This business has been in this location for 25 years,” Hardee said. “I’m excited to continue that legacy he started so many years ago.”

The Hardee Agency is at 1600 Second Loop Road in Florence. It can be reached at 843-665-4496. It is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

Read the full article on SC Now here.

United Way of Florence holds ribbon cutting after joining chamber

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by Ardie Arvidson

FLORENCE, S.C. – The United Way of Florence held a ribbon cutting on Tuesday celebrating its new membership with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Interim United Way President Keven Russell said he felt it was important for the nonprofit organization to support the community that it serves.

“It is a great community of leaders, and we want to be a part of it,” he said.

The United Way of Florence partners with 17 agencies that receive funding through its annual campaign. Their goal is to raise $1.2 million. Russell said they are about 40 to 50 percent of their goal.
The funds go toward daily operations, and the United Way tries to get as much as possible into the hands of the agencies it partners with, said Rachel Baggett, director of marketing and initiatives. The United Way funds 24 programs, she said.

The 2018-19 United Way partnering agencies are American Red Cross, Eastern S.C. Chapter; Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area; CARE House of the Pee Dee; The Chrysalis Center of Circle Park; Civil Air Patrol; Florence Area Literacy Council; Florence County Disabilities & Special Needs; Florence Family YMCA; Girl Scouts of Eastern South Carolina; Lighthouse Ministries; Mercy Medicine Free Clinic; Pee Dee Area Council Boy Scouts of America; Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault; Pee Dee Speech & Hearing Center; The Salvation Army; Senior Citizens Association of Florence County; and Youth Mentors of the Pee Dee.

The United Way of Florence has a staff of four. They are Russell; Baggett; Wendy Bird, vice president of campaigns; and Farris Lupo, operations, finance and volunteer director.

Russell retired to South Carolina after 20 years with NASA and 20 years with GE. He joined the United Way Board of Directors as campaign leader before assuming the duties of president.

He said he works with great people and has the pleasure of helping people every day.

Read the full article here.

Sweet Frog cuts ribbon for second Florence store

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By: Matthew Christian

FLORENCE, S.C. – A Sweet Frog hopped into the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

Sweet Frog manager Raketta Johnson cut the ribbon to mark the occasion just after noon at the Sweet Frog at 2417-C David McLeod Blvd.

She said the business joined the chamber as a way of getting more business and publicity. Johnson added that the ownership group also owns the 960 Pamplico Highway Sweet Frog, which she also manages.

Johnson has served as a manager of the Florence Sweet Frogs for about a month and a half.

She said she previously served as a manager of the Hartsville Sweet Frog. She said that she had been working for Sweet Frog for three years and that she enjoyed watching children come in and pick out their favorite combination of favor and add-ons.

“I have a good staff,” Johnson added.

Sweet Frog is a frozen yogurt franchise. The first location was opened in Richmond, Va., in 2009 by a Korean immigrant who founded the company based upon Christian principles. It has been reported by other media outlets that the Frog part of the name is an abbreviation for “fully relying on God.” There are now over 300 Sweet Frog locations.

The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce has around 600 business members. Its mission is to “Promote and enhance a favorable business climate and improve the quality of life to make Florence the best community in which to live and operate a business.”

The David McLeod Sweet Frog is open from noon to 8 p.m. daily. The Pamplico Highway Sweet Frog is open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

For more information about Sweet Frog, visit sweetfrog.com.

For more information about the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce, visit flochamber.com or call 843-665-0515.

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Doctor opens Florence office to offer treatment of pain

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By: Staff Reports

FLORENCE, S.C. — Pee Dee residents with pain problems have another option with the opening of Atlantic Coast Pain Specialists in Florence.

Located at 491 W Cheves St., Suite B, is the Florence branch of the Conway office of Dr. Blake Kline, who is no stranger to Florence. He is the former chief of anesthesiology at Carolinas Hospital System.

The purpose of the Florence office is to evaluate patients to see if they can be helped at the main office or if their pain can be managed locally by a nurse practitioner who will be stationed at the Florence office, Kline said.

A ribbon cutting was held at the Florence office on Wednesday, attended by ambassadors from the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Kline first located to Florence in 2002 with the position at Carolinas Hospital System. After serving in that role for 10 years he practiced with Florence Neurosurgery and Spine for three years before he went out on his own with Atlantic Coast Pain Specialists.

He still has patients from his time in Florence who travel to Conway who will now be able to use the Florence location, he said.

Kline said his practice offers such pain treatments and interventional techniques as epidural steroid injections, nerve root injections, spinal cord stimulators, minimally invasive lumbar decompression, minimally invasive coracoplasty for broken backbones and radio frequency ablation to burn nerves — a treatment that can relieve pain for up to two years at a time.

Currently, surgical procedures take place in Conway, but Kline said he is working on being able to conduct them at Carolinas Hospital System in Florence.

With the nation working through an opioid crisis, Kline said, his practice offers solutions to either reduce, or eliminate, the need for the drug.

If it is required, though, Kline said, his office was qualified to manage patients’ pain with opioids.

A member of the American Society of Anesthesiology, Pain Society of the Carolinas, Kline earned his undergraduate degree from Coastal Carolina University and his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. He did his pain training at the Medical College of Georgia as well as in Augusta, Ga., he said.

 The Florence office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m. to noon Friday. The office phone number is 843-407-4532.

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CBD Store holds ribbon cutting in Florence

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By: Staff Reports

FLORENCE, S.C. — A day after celebrating its grand opening Your CBD Store on Second Loop Road in Florence had its Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.

Located at 2405-J Second Loop Road in Florence, the store specializes in CBD (cannabidiol) oils, said Eugene and Ashley Jacobs, owners of the Florence franchise.

“We did a little research on the need for CBD oil in the area and after a long discussion, visiting a few CBD stores and seeing if it was a good fit we decided to invest,” Eugene Jacobs said. “We thought it would be a good fit for the area.”

“I think it’s going to be great for the Florence community. There is a big need for it and I see it becoming a bigger need,” Ashley Jacobs said.

Eugene Jacobs is from Rockingham and Ashley Jacobs from Dillon.

He works in direct sales and is a Realtor in the Pee Dee.

“I decided I didn’t have enough to do and I needed one more thing going on in my life,” Eugene Jacobs said. “Florence has been a good fit for us.”

Ashley Jacobs said the oils have zero THC — the chemical that produces the “high” associated with marijuana.

“All the benefits without the high. A lot of people cannot handle the high,” Jacobs said.

The store is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The store’s phone number is 843-407-5614.

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Aroha Arts Collective moves into Florence incubator facilities

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By: Matthew Christian

FLORENCE, S.C. – Aroha Arts Collective danced into the Charles W. Gould Manufacturing and Business Incubator on Wednesday afternoon.

Aroha founder, director, and lead instructor Adalia Ellis-Aroha moved her dance instruction business into the incubator next to the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology on the campus of Florence-Darlington Technical College.

Ellis-Aroha said she had been renting studio space at several locations around Florence but decided her business needed a more permanent address. She said she has eventual plans of relocating her business into the downtown area of Florence.

“My business has been up and running for a while,” Ellis-Aroha said. “I was living in Raleigh but didn’t really kind of settle in to building a community until I was here in Florence.”

Ellis-Aroha also cut the ribbon to celebrate joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

She said she joined because of the chamber’s efforts in establishing businesses in the city’s downtown.

She said she grew up in Florence and left as a teenager. She also spent time in South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Raleigh, and Myrtle Beach. Ellis-Aroha said she decided to come back to Florence after she got connected with Ezra Brown, the owner of Soule Café. Brown invited her to come to Florence and teach classes a couple of times a week.

“So many people came out and I saw that there was an interest for this style of dance,” Ellis-Aroha continued. “And so we decided to move here.”

Also, as a member of the Bahá’í Faith, she wanted to be closed to the activities in that community. According to Bahai.com, the Bahá’í Faith “is a world religion based on the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. He taught there is one God and one human family, and that the great religions of the world represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society.”

Aroha Arts Collective features instruction in three types of Latin dance, kizomba, bachata, and salsa, as well as instruction in hip-hop, and afro-house.

The name “Aroha” derives from a Maori word that roughly translates to love. It is pronounced like the Hawaiian “Aloha” but with an “r” instead of an “l.” The Maori are the native people of the islands of New Zealand.

Ellis-Aroha said she adopted the name for her dance instruction classes while she was teaching in Abu Dhabi and a student of hers suggested the name.

“I was already trying to figure out what I wanted to have to describe my company, my organization as a dancer and this was the word she said, ‘I think the word that would fit was aroha,’” Ellis-Aroha said. “It means love, love of community, love of what you bring to the community, love of dance, love of art. It’s just so all-encompassing.”

For more information about Aroha Arts Collective, visit arohaartscollective.com.

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Piggly Wiggly Pharmacy in Florence celebrates anniversary

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By: Andrew Boardwine

FLORENCE, S.C. — The Piggly Wiggly Pharmacy celebrated its one-year anniversary with a grand-reopening and a ribbon cutting Friday afternoon.

The Piggly Wiggly Pharmacy, located at 1945 W. Palmetto St. inside the Piggly Wiggly grocery store, accepts all insurance plans and is an independently owned local pharmacy.

Brian Long, pharmacist in charger, said the pharmacy was formerly Sup-RX, but rebranded and reopened with the new name under new leadership last year.

“We’re just celebrating the fact that we’ve been open for a year and we really want to become more involved in the community and help people out as much as possible,” Long said.

As part of that desire to be in the community, Long said, the pharmacy has supported a YMCA soccer team, provided many more immunizations over the last year and looked for opportunities to communicate with people and offer the lowest prices possible.

He said joining the chamber was the next step in the pharmacy’s growth in community outreach.

“Being involved in the community is important for us,” Long said. “We’re excited to be here and really want to be able to help out people and other businesses, as well.”

Attendees were able to stop by the pharmacy and enter to win a touchscreen Chromebook, a fire pit or a television, as well as enjoy free food and other giveaways.

“Our No. 1 advantage is our staff,” Long said. “We’ve got the friendliest staff and people really enjoy that. They’re all very knowledgeable and that’s certainly our biggest asset. It’s a family environment and our customers are on a first-name basis.”

Piggly Wiggly Pharmacy is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, call the pharmacy at 843-673-9107.

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Pee Dee Tax & Payroll joins chamber, holds ribbon cutting

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By: Andrew Boardwine

FLORENCE, S.C. — Pee Dee Tax & Payroll joined ambassadors from the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Thursday to celebrate the company’s new chamber membership.

Pee Dee Tax & Payroll, at 3344 W. Palmetto St., was established in 2015 by partners Audrey Jordan and Ryan Miller.

The company offers individual and small-business professional accounting services, tax preparation, up to $6,000 income tax refund advances and full-service payroll options.

Miller said he has known Jordan for more than 19 years and the two worked together in several professional settings before Jordan decided that she’d like to open her own agency. The two partnered to bring the business to Florence a little more than three years ago.

Miller said joining the chamber was a way for the company to take its first steps in being involved in the community.

“Being a part of the Florence community is important,” Miller said. “Joining the chamber is the first step in starting to be involved and it’s a great networking opportunity for us.”

Pee Dee Tax & Payroll is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with extended hours during tax season.

For more information or to get in contact with the business, call them at 843-407-1500 or visit PeeDeeTax.com.

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Avon consultant has ribbon cutting in Florence

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By: Andrew Boardwine

FLORENCE, S.C. — Myreah Eley, of Pass Her Avon, joined ambassadors from the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Thursday to celebrate her new chamber membership.

Eley, a beauty consultant, said joining the chamber was important for her getting out in the community.

“I heard about the chamber from a fellow representative in another state and how that one helped them,” Eley said. I want to be involved in the community and I want people to know my name. I really wanted to connect with the city and I think the chamber is a great way to do it.”

Eley said she offers a variety of Avon products including fashion, jewelry, makeup, fragrances, perfume, cologne for men and women, children’s toys, house supplies and more.

“I started off as a regular Avon representative, but now I also am a consultant,” Eley said. “I help people find what they’re looking for and what’s best for them. I also do fundraising and help organizations that way, as well.”

For more information, call her at 727-437-2866 or email at support@passheravon.club. Eley said she also has a Facebook page and has a website at passheravon.club.

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