Encouraging dialogue while engaging business and community leaders is one of the primary goals of Hometown, SC. At the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s board retreat, several statewide business leaders joined board members for a lively and engaging exchange about the business community’s perspective on the value of cities.
“A major component of Hometown, SC is getting the business community and the leadership in our cities and towns to better understand each other’s perspectives so we can build coalitions around issues of common interest,” said Doug Echols, mayor of Rock Hill and MASC president. “This roundtable meeting at the board retreat was a very positive step in that direction.”
Otis Rawl with the SC Chamber of Commerce, Lewis Gossett with the SC Manufacturer’s Alliance and George Fletcher with the SC Competitiveness Council participated in this business roundtable facilitated by Jane Peeples from Carolina PR.
The theme echoed throughout the two-hour meeting was the important role cities play in providing the quality of life that is so important to attracting and keeping quality jobs in the state. “I’d say the city is the most important player in quality of life discussions when we are working with a business looking to locate in a particular area,” Gossett said. Rawl agreed saying, “First and foremost, cities provide quality of life - that’s one of the major things executives look at when deciding to locate a business.”
Fletcher echoed the quality of life aspect of the business climate when talking about the “brain drain” challenge the state is facing in keeping talented young people. “Clearly quality of life decisions are key to young people making a choice about where they want to live and work.”
Gossett observed one often overlooked attribute of a city is how it deals with problems. “Whether it’s homeless issues, infrastructure, transportation or generating clean power, businesses want to locate in communities where leaders know how to solve problems constructively,” he said.
All three panelists agreed building coalitions between businesses and the cities and towns where they are located is a critical component to making South Carolina more competitive.
“This meeting was more of a dialogue session than a formal meeting to explain municipal issues, so it gave our board a chance to really listen to what these business leaders were saying,” Peeples said. “I believe similar localized meetings using this same format to encourage discussion will work well as we begin this process around the state.” Hometown, SC is a long-range and sustainable initiative that will build relationships between local municipal leaders and the business leadership in their communities.