VIP Bridal Expands to Include Event Planning and Celebrates with Chamber

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VIP Bridal Showroom in Florence celebrated joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, February 15. Owner Ellen Visel and Store Manager Cara Dowling and staff were joined by Chamber staff and ambassadors for the ribbon cutting.

Visel said they were also celebrating a new phase and expansion for the business, VIP planning services. The business will now help brides not only find the perfect wedding dress but help them in the planning of their very special event.

Visel said she has been at the 1826 Sally Hill Farms Boulevard location for a year. Prior to opening VIP Bridal Showroom she owned Juliet’s Bridal and Formal Wear for about three years.

VIP Bridal Showroom has an extensive collection of wedding gowns, bridesmaids, mother-of-the-bride and flower girl dresses, as well as prom and pageant evening gowns and tuxedo rentals.

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Consistently HR LLC Holds Ribbon Cutting with Florence Chamber

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Consistently HR LLC celebrated joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, January 20th  in the James Allen Plaza. Chamber staff and ambassadors joined owner DaShonda Foxworth in cutting the ribbon.

Consistently HR LLC provides human resource services for organizations and small businesses that can’t afford a full time HR department, Foxworth said.

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New Beginning Health and Wellness Center Celebrates New Location

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A New Beginning Health and Wellness Center celebrated its relocation with a Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on Monday, January 10th.

The center offers a variety of services for its customers.

“I study a lot of blood cells to determine what might indicate nutritional insufficiencies, make nutritional suggestions,” said Dr. Diane Chapman, a microscopist.

The center also offers ionize detoxes that pull toxins from the body through the feet, body sculpting, medical massages and nutritional products.

The center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached at 843-621-0194. It is at 1354 Celebration Blvd., Florence.

Barefoot Cuts the Ribbon, Joins Florence Chamber

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William Barefoot, surrounded by his family and ambassadors from the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce, cut the ribbon on Tuesday, January 10th for his new business, William R. Barefoot CPA LLC, as he joined the Chamber.

The event took place in the FMU’s University Place Gallery, located in the same building as Barefoot’s practice.

“I worked for a regional firm in the Florence area for over 23 years and last year decided to go out on my own and help small-business owners and individuals with their accounting and tax services,” Barefoot said.

“I offer business advisory services, accounting services, QuickBooks consulting and tax planning and consulting,” Barefoot said.

Barefoot is at 142 North in FMU Place and Kelly Center Incubator and Business Development Center on the second floor. His phone number is 843-823-3602 and his office hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday.

Chamber Ribbon Cutting Marks Talus’ Arrival in Florence

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With the quick snip of a pair of scissors the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce celebrated the addition of Talus Pay to the pantheon of Florence-area businesses on Wednesday, January 5th.

Wade Crawford and Raymond Davis, both solution consultants for the company, will work out of Florence to help businesses reduce the cost of doing business and to streamline their operations.

So far, the company has signed up two businesses and is working on others, said Crawford, who previously worked in alcohol sales.

“It was time to find something else to do and these guys took a chance on me and flew me down to Dallas and it was a first-class organization,” Crawford said of his career change. “I’m working for some great people. It’s a new field, a lot to learn, which is daunting but it’s interesting.”

Talus has been around for about 15 years and was purchased by venture capitalists more than three years ago, said Robert M Faias, Regional Sales Leader for the company.

Talus assists businesses through card service solutions, data collection and organization and offers a program to eliminate card fees for merchants, said Faias.

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Systel Business Equipment Celebrates Chamber Membership with Ribbon Cutting

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A ribbon cutting was held Wednesday, December 8th at Systel Business Equipment, 1512 Second Loop Road in Florence. The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and its ambassadors participated in celebrating Systel’s joining the Chamber.

Systel is a family owned independent dealer of office automation equipment in the Southeast that is headquartered in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

“We focus our efforts on working with manufacturers who are developing industry leading technologies that are designed to help effectively and efficiently manage businesses,” said Jacqueline Smith, vice president of marketing and business development at Systel. “In addition to being a copier and lease service provider, we have found great success in managed printing services, managed network and IT, as well as document workflow software and solutions. We also have various production devices such as wide format/plotters, digital production print systems, and other office equipment for handling all of your business needs.”

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LFB Plasma Opens in Florence on Second Loop Road

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FB Plasma center in Florence held its grand opening at 1933 Second Loop Road on Tuesday, December 7th and also celebrated joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting. Chamber staff and ambassadors joined in the celebration.

LFB is a global bio-pharmaceutical group that “develops, manufactures and markets plasma derived products and recombinant proteins for the treatment of patients with serious and often rare diseases,” according to its website, https://lfbplasma.com/

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Ladies on a Mission Joins Chamber

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Ladies on a Mission joined the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Wednesday, November 17th. The ribbon cutting was held in the James Allen Plaza behind the Chamber office. Robin Sanders, Executive Director of Ladies on a Mission, and her group of volunteers were joined by Chamber staff and ambassadors. Sanders started the organization a year ago this week. Her mission is to feed the homeless from her hometown of Mullins to Florence, where she now lives. “By next year this time I hope to have a shelter open in Florence for the homeless,” Sanders said. “I have to thank my ladies. I could not do this without them,” she said. “I see a lot of homeless people,” She said a lot of them need food. Sanders said she started with a Big Wheel. People could spin the wheel and receive groceries such as canned goods, she said. Sanders said she is trying to get funding for her project but it has been slow going. A lot of the money to purchase food for the homeless comes out of their own pockets, Sanders said. She has 13 volunteers helping her.

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Winning America Joins Florence Chamber

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Winning America held a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, November 16th in the James Allen Plaza on Dargan Street, hosted by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce, to celebrate its membership in the Chamber. Chamber staff and ambassadors joined Bob Skelton in the celebration. Skelton cut the ribbon with his wife, Sue, by his side. The mission statement of the Winning America project is “to create a pathway for change as to how we see, treat and value others.” Skelton said this is accomplished by encouragement, building up and uniting. Skelton is based out of his home in Florence. For this project, Skelton sets up video screens with positive messages of encouragement and encouraging others to be encouragers. He said the screens are placed in gyms and other places where people will see them. Skelton said he would like to see them placed in city buildings and has spoken with the mayor.  There were 10,000 more people dying on purpose than by accident in 2020,” Skelton said.  Skelton said he decided to be an encourager, because at one time he was on the brink of suicide. He said he had checked into a hotel in Columbia for the purpose of committing suicide. Skelton said it was his wife’s encouragement that kept him from doing it. That is when he learned the power of encouragement, he said.

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The Studio & Co. Salon and Boutique Celebrates Expansion with Ribbon Cutting

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The Studio, A Salon, located at 1381 Celebration Blvd. in Florence, has rebranded and expanded to a new location. To celebrate the move to 2515 S. Cashua Drive in the Shoppes at Celebration shopping center and the change to The Studio & Co. Salon and Boutique, a ribbon cutting was held with the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce on Monday, November 15th. Owners Doug and Tara Smith were joined by Chamber staff and ambassadors for the celebration. “This is something that makes sense to our business model,” Doug Smith said. “One of our core values is ‘own the guest experience,’ and providing a full women’s boutique complements what we do on a daily basis – making our guests feel great.” He added, “We outgrew the space we were in.” The Studio and Co. Salon and Boutique has five full-time stylists, four associates in a training program and four front-desk employees. Tara Smith said the associates are receiving training that would go along with a master’s course.

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