An Update from PGS Director, Peggy Masterson | |
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Your Partnership Grand Strand team is pleased to report that our board approved our 2023-2024 Strategic Plan at our last meeting on 4/13/23. A copy of this strategic plan can be made available to any partner interested with a simple e-mail to myself or Marianne Joy at [email protected].
A key component to our strategic business plan is the inclusion of measurable performance indicators for each initiative. It is our commitment to all investors that we will continually monitor and report the results of each initiative we undertake.
Partnership Grand Strand is planning to develop its own website in the next few months and this will be the new home for our performance dashboard, strategic plan and multiple databases of information that we are building. We also have plans to include a blog about relevant workforce and public policy/transportation information. Our goal will be to get this up and running this summer.
We are going to begin the important work of Business Retention interviews with the assistance of a summer intern. We believe these interviews will be critical to identifying the key issues and opportunities facing small business owners and entrepreneurs in our focus professions. Compiling this information will also serve to further refine the skill sets necessary to lead this pillar on a full-time basis. Our plan is to begin this interviewing process over the next two weeks.
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Since our last newsletter, we have conducted our first Job Fair 101 training for employers, executed a job fair with Horry County High Schools, conducted a focus group with graduating CCU students, hosted a group of AAST Stem students for a field trip to the HTC eMYRge HUB, secured bids for a hurricane evacuation study, facilitated a public transportation meeting with Coast RTA and initiated plans for a one-of -a -kind healthcare industry education initiative. | |
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Mark your calendar!
...For our first PGS Investor Townhall event at
the Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center on
July 12 , 9:00 – 11:30 am.
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PILLAR UPDATE - PROSPERITY | |
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As mentioned earlier, we are going to move ahead with a summer intern so we can begin collecting data on our small businesses and entrepreneurs. This intern will be focused on conducting the Business Retention interviews and providing PGS with the insights needed to identify the next best steps in this pillar.
We have been working on the business interview questions in an attempt to generate the best possible insights. More to follow on this project in the weeks ahead.
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BJ Beaver, Workforce Talent Manager | |
Workforce Trends
Horry County is starting to see improvement in our unemployment rate, dropping down to 4.2% in the month of March. While the county saw the growth of nearly 600 jobs in our community, we are still playing catch-up compared to counties like Charleston County (3.2%) and Greenville County (3%). Laura Ullrich, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond recently stated, “South Carolina lags in Labor Force Participation largely because of the aging of the state’s population and challenges in the rural parts of the state.” With summer approaching we are starting to see more residents begin to participate in our workforce. Below you will see recent efforts of PGS to engage residents into the workforce.
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Recent Hiring Opportunities | |
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4th Annual Horry County School Job Fair
On April 22, over 115 high school students attended the HCS Job Fair at Myrtle Beach High School. Eager to staff up personnel for the summer, over 25 employers greeted these students and their parents to share the wonderful employment opportunities available for the summer. Congratulations to Carolina Forest High School, with the highest participation at the event, with 43 students.
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Fresh Brew Coffee House Hiring Event
In partnership with Palmetto Goodwill and Fresh Brew Coffee House, PGS hosted an intimate hiring event between local employers and residents who frequent Fresh Brew Coffee house. This pilot program was an opportunity to drive specific job seekers to employers to engage them back into the workforce. We thank our employer partners Brittain Resorts, Building Talent Foundation, Sun Hospitality, and Walmart for making the event a success.
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Career Focused
In April we hosted a student focus group at Coastal Carolina University. We polled the students on their perception of the Grand Strand area and where they were planning on launching their careers. We are in the process of recapping all of our learning which we will share at the next board meeting.
In May, we worked with the SC Dept. of Commerce to host a visit from the Boeing Company. We facilitated a tour of our Horry County STEM school where they could hear about the great programs we offer in aerospace, engineering and other tech-related fields.
Looking ahead, we will execute our pilot Youth Education Skills workshop in early June. We are expecting up to 30 teens in this unique employment preparation program and hope to see all of them secure jobs from our local partner employers.
Stay tuned for more details on our upcoming Healthcare educational program. We are working with a team of professionals from the SC Hospital Association, Tidelands Health, McLeod Hospital and Conway Medical Center to pull together a program that is designed to cover the full spectrum of healthcare career options for high school juniors and seniors. We are targeting September for this event and working with Horry County schools to bus the teens to the event. This is a PGS proprietary approach to recruiting and if it proves successful, we plan to replicate it in other industries as well.
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PGS is excited to work with the MBDA’s new CEO, Jason Greene. We will be finalizing plans to assist MBDA in the Broadway Street Improvement Project that was recently approved by the city council. Jason has been invited to our next board meeting. Once the detailed plan is communicated, we will put it to a vote for final approval.
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PILLAR UPDATE - INFRASTRUCTURE | |
James Toy, Public Policy Manager | |
Introduction
There’s never a dull moment in the transportation world. Partnership Grand Strand has been working hard to craft a comprehensive advocacy strategy that includes coalition building, grassroots outreach, and policy research. What exactly does this entail? Keep reading to find out.
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Public Policy Forums
Partnership Grand Strand is on a mission to bring awareness to the policies that impact our shared community. Whether it’s a local, regional, or statewide matter, our organization is committed to facilitating conversations on today’s most pressing issues. That’s why we are excited to announce that Partnership Grand Strand will be hosting two policy forums in the coming months. The first of these, slated to be held in early June, will focus on the state of the Road Improvement and Development Effort (RIDE) program – as you may know, the RIDE IV Advisory Committee recently adjourned after finalizing their list of recommended road development projects. For the second event, which will be held sometime in August, Partnership Grand Strand will be hosting a forum with Coast RTA to discuss the challenges facing regional transit. Please monitor your inbox for an invite to these events.
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Partnership Grand Strand Goes to Columbia
Whether you call it Columbia or Cola, Partnership Grand Strand has been active in the Palmetto State’s capital city. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been at the South Carolina State House, speaking with members from the Horry County delegation and our industry partners. We look forward to not only maintaining an active presence in Columbia but working to advance our transportation and infrastructure priorities.
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New Public Policy Blog
PGS has launched a Public Policy blog. You can presently find this blog and other PGS news on the web site.
Click here to read the latest blog post, “Advisory Committee Advances Road Projects To RIDE IV Commission”.
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TIDELANDS HEALTH
Bruce Bailey, President & CEO
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With four hospitals and more than 60 outpatient care locations, Tidelands Health is our region's leading health care provider and MUSC Health affiliate. The not-for-profit organization has proudly served our region since 1950. | | |
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Today, more than 2,500 Tidelands Health employee, physician and volunteer partners work side by side with our communities – promoting wellness, preventing illness, encouraging recovery and restoring health.
To support our fast-growing region's current and future health care needs, Tidelands Health is continually evolving and expanding.
One of the health system’s top priorities is workforce development. In recent years, Tidelands Health has recruited dozens of specialists in fields ranging from endocrinology and neurosurgery to gastroenterology. In addition, through the McRoy and Jo Skipper Initiative for Teaching and Learning, Tidelands Health is actively developing future health care professionals and leaders.
Through the Tidelands Health MUSC Family Medicine Residency Program, a three-year program that provides clinical training and education to medical school graduates, Tidelands Health is cultivating the next generation of physicians to serve our area. The health system also offers a wide variety of programs for middle-school, high-school and college students, mentorship opportunities and other ways to learn alongside Tidelands Health team members behind the scenes.
Another focus for Tidelands Health is expanding the breadth of advanced care available close to home for our region’s residents. In recent years, Tidelands Health has secured leading technology such as robotic-assisted surgery and constructed state-of-the-art treatment facilities with plans to expand further in the coming months and years.
For a comprehensive list of Tidelands Health services and care locations, visit tidelandshealth.org.
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LOCAL HAPPENINGS...
NIGHTS AT NANCE
Bring your family, friends and beach chairs to enjoy live music at this FREE concert series in Myrtle Beach’s Arts & Innovation District featuring performances by local and regional bands!
Concerts take place twice monthly on Thursdays, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at Nance Plaza in Myrtle Beach’s Arts and Innovation District. Sponsored by the Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance and City of Myrtle Beach.
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