State Library Announces Economic Development Conference

How is your community faring in these challenging times? How can the public library help to get the local economy back on track? It’s Not Just Business as Usual at the Library!: Connecting Partners to Boost Economic Development in South Carolina will be held on Wednesday, May 6, from 10am-3pm at the South Carolina State Library. Business assistance agencies, community representatives and library staff and directors, this is for you!

The Library addresses this topic with a timely and informative day-long conference centered on strategic information and economic development. The morning will feature Christine Hamilton-Pennell, an accomplished speaker and trainer who has a background in both economic development and library research services for those in urban and rural communities. Following lunch, Ms. Hamilton-Pennell will continue the discussion with a panel of experts, including representatives of the SBDC, Office of Small & Minority Business Assistance, Women’s Business Center and USC Springs Business Library.

This conference will bring together library staff, businesses, and state government to explore roles in economic development. Librarians will learn how to put information-seeking skills to work to foster entrepreneurship and encourage business growth. Nonprofits and government agencies will learn how to work with libraries to gather information to support local business clients and foster economic development through partnerships and collaboration. Bring your agency brochures and handouts for a swap of agency materials. Space is limited so register today through the State Library’s event calendar at located at www.statelibrary.sc.gov. Your $15 registration fee includes morning refreshments and lunch. For detailed information on our experts, please visit: http://business.statelibrary.sc.gov/index.php/Special_Event.

North Eastern Strategic Alliance Examines 2009 Plans and Prospects at Annual Board Meeting

The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA), an economic development organization encompassing South Carolina’s northeast region, held its quarterly board meeting on Friday – looking ahead at the challenges and opportunities the regional organization will likely see in 2009.

The group discussed a range of issues including:
• The release of the First Quarter Regional Economic Outlook developed and presented by Drs. Don Schunk, Coastal Carolina University and Johnathan Munn, Francis Marion University.
• The recent South Carolina Department of Commerce trip to China – led by NESA board member, Rep. Douglas Jennings (D-Chesterfield and Marlboro).
• Plans for NESA’s upcoming consultant events occurring in Atlanta and Charleston as well as the organization’s 2009 business development missions set to occur in cities across North America as well as in Europe and Asia.
• The organization’s ongoing marketing, communications and business development efforts.
• The creation of a call center, regional overview and targeted marketing literature including the development of additional targeted marketing materials for plastics, manufacturing, and data centers.
• The development of a Logistics Call Model which is set to be released via the NESA website at the end of the month, and will allow companies to calculate transportation costs from NESA region cities in comparison to other cities.
• Recent successful efforts to drive traffic to NESA’s website. Last year, the average visitor to NESA’s website remained there for 22 minutes and in November alone, the site received over 65,000 hits.

“During such a challenging economic environment, it is vital for our region and this organization to remain focused on the tasks at hand, and maintain our commitment to regional growth and cooperation,” said Jeff McKay NESA’s Executive Director. “It is this type of difficult economic environment that highlights the importance of strong and proactive regional development efforts.”

The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) is a regional economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in the northeast corner of South Carolina.
NESA’s primary objective is to significantly enhance the quality of life for residents of the region by creating additional jobs and capital investment within the existing industry base as well as through recruitment of new companies and expansion of tourism related development. NESA’s nine member counties are Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg.

NESA Holds Three Day Regional Economic Development Assessment Event

The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA), an economic development organization encompassing South Carolina’s northeast region, wrapped up its regional assessment event on Wednesday November 5th. The three day event featured a consultant from Silverlode Consulting who offered analysis and advice to counties within the NESA region on becoming more competitive in their responses to Requests for Information for economic development projects.

The event is part of an ongoing NESA initiative aimed at introducing economic development consultants to the region, improving the northeast region’s efforts to bring development to the area and ensuring that those who advise companies regarding location decisions are aware of the incredible opportunities presented by the Pee Dee and Waccamaw regions.

“Through events like this we ensure that the counties in our region consistently receive top-quality advice on the best way to attract new investment,” said Jeff McKay, NESA’s Executive Director.

Overall, Silverlode’s assessment of the NESA region concluded that in terms of site selection the area is very hospitable and boasts a strong infrastructure. The consultants also noted several arenas in which the region could improve and discussed ways to achieve success on those fronts.

“We’ve come a long way in a short while, but there is always room for improvement,” McKay said. “I look forward to working with the counties as they begin to implement the steps we discussed over the past three days.”

Cherry McCoy, Chesterfield County’s Economic Development Director, expressed her intention to incorporate the lessons learned at the event into her county’s operations. “I am confident that by taking what we’ve learned at this event and applying it in Chesterfield County we will continue to improve our economic development efforts,” she said.

“I’ve wanted to participate in a program of this nature for some time and am very grateful to NESA for putting this event together,” McCoy said.

The Silverlode Consulting Corporation provides economic development solutions for public and private sectors throughout North America. The firm offers over five decades of combined experience and has worked extensively with organizations of all sizes and from a variety of industries.

The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) is a regional economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in the northeast corner of South Carolina. NESA’s primary objective is to significantly enhance the quality of life for residents of the region by creating additional jobs and capital investment within the existing industry base as well as through recruitment of new companies and expansion of tourism related development. NESA’s nine member counties are Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg.