Welcome to the July edition of the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition newsletter.

This month, we’re reflecting on SC7 and the many ways Coalition members, partners, employers, and community leaders showed up across South Carolina to connect movement, place, wellbeing, and community.

SC7 offered a powerful reminder that workforce health does not exist only inside the workplace. The places where people live, work, gather, move, and connect all play an important role in supporting healthier people, stronger teams, and more resilient communities.

In this issue, we’re sharing highlights from SC7, recognizing Fellows and members across the Coalition community, and looking ahead to upcoming opportunities to learn, connect, and engage — including our Fall Seminar Series, the Healthy People, Healthy Places Exchange, and our upcoming GLP-1 employer event.

Thank you for being part of this growing statewide network. We’re grateful for your continued engagement and look forward to building on this momentum together.

Fellow Spotlight

Our Fellow Spotlight series highlights leaders from across the South Carolina Healthy Business Fellowship who are advancing workforce health and wellbeing within their organizations and communities. This month, we're featuring Laura Mazzola from Table 301.

What inspired you to join the SC Healthy Business Fellowship, and what impact do you hope to make in your organization?

A:  I love to look for ways to be inspired. I love to meet new people. I love to live a healthy life. All those combined made being part of the South Carolina Healthy Business Fellowship a goal. Learning, growing, and collaborating with others who are passionate about health and business will help me bring new ideas back to our Table 301 team. With more than 500 employees, I hope to continue elevating how we care for our family at Table 301 Hospitality.

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What’s one workplace wellness initiative or strategy you’re passionate about, and why?

A:  I’m passionate about helping people believe they can achieve anything they set their minds to. One initiative I especially love is our annual Step Challenge. This year we introduced a new app, and our team has continued the friendly competition well beyond the challenge itself. Consistency is key to building lifelong healthy habits.

What’s a fun fact about you or a personal wellness habit that keeps you energized?

A:  I was a cheerleader at the University of South Carolina all four years I attended—and anyone who knows me knows I’m still a cheerleader at heart! My personal wellness routine is filled with things that bring me joy: prayer, encouraging others, early morning workouts, and twice-daily walks with my husband and our pup along the river trail near our home.

Sponsor Spotlight

We’re grateful for Table 301’s partnership and support as our Blue Zones Challenge Sponsor. Their sponsorship helped bring this year’s Challenge to life and reflected a shared commitment to helping organizations engage employees in simple, meaningful habits that support long-term health.

We’re especially grateful for the creativity and leadership Table 301 brought to the Challenge through the Blue Zones Plate recipe series. Each week, members of their culinary team shared healthy, approachable recipes that helped participating organizations connect employees around food, wellbeing, and shared experience.



Through their focus on hospitality, community, and thoughtful food experiences, Table 301 continues to demonstrate the important role that meals, connection, and everyday choices can play in creating healthier workplace cultures.

Individual Member Spotlight

Jessica Lee Reader is a corporate wellness consultant, nutritionist, health coach, and yoga teacher based in Greenville, South Carolina.

Through her work, Jessica helps individuals and organizations reduce burnout, restore focus, and support long-term health through workplace wellness programs, coaching, workshops, yoga, and retreats.

Her approach brings together nutrition, nervous system support, movement, and practical wellness strategies to help people feel and function better at work and in life. Jessica’s work reflects the Coalition’s focus on practical, whole-person approaches to workforce wellbeing.

Join us in welcoming Jessica Lee Reader to the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition!

New Member Spotlight

We’re excited to welcome Abacus Planning Group as a member of the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition.

Based in Columbia, Abacus Planning Group is a fee-only financial planning firm that provides integrated, holistic guidance for financial and life decisions, helping clients align their planning with their values, goals, and long-term vision. Their work reflects the important connection between financial wellbeing, life planning, and overall quality of life.

Abacus also brings a strong commitment to employee growth, professional development, community involvement, and workplace culture. Their early engagement with the Coalition, including participation in this year’s Blue Zones Challenge, reflects a commitment to supporting employee wellbeing and exploring practical ways to build healthier workplace cultures.



Please join us in welcoming Abacus Planning Group to the Coalition!

Thirty Days. Seven Wonders. One Incredible Journey.

For 30 days, the SC7 Expedition traveled from the mountains to the sea, connecting people to South Carolina’s extraordinary landscapes, waterways, history, culture, and communities. Along the way, participants experienced hikes, paddles, service projects, educational programs, celebrations, and conversations that showcased the people and places making a difference across our state.

The South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition was proud to support SC7 as an opportunity for employers, partners, and community leaders to connect around movement, place, wellbeing, and shared experience. Throughout the expedition, Coalition members and partners participated in events across the state, helping demonstrate how healthy people, healthy workplaces, and healthy communities are deeply connected.

The highlights below capture memorable moments from this year’s expedition and the organizations, teams, and partners who helped bring this work to life across South Carolina.

SC7 Team Engagement Days

Throughout the expedition, organizations participated in Team Engagement Days across the state, using SC7 as an opportunity to step outside, connect with colleagues, and experience South Carolina’s trails, waterways, and public spaces in a meaningful way.

From walks along the Swamp Rabbit Trail and West Columbia Riverwalk to time on the Edisto River and the Ravenel Bridge, these experiences brought the idea of healthy people and healthy places to life.

We were grateful to see Coalition members and partners show up throughout the month, including employer teams, municipal leaders, community organizations, and statewide partners committed to workforce health and community wellbeing.

These moments reflected what the Coalition is working to build across South Carolina: practical, place-based opportunities for organizations to support healthier people, stronger teams, and more connected communities.

Nature at Work Trail Talks Series

As part of SC7, Nature at Work partnered with Founding Members and community leaders across South Carolina to host a series of Trail Talks exploring the connections between nature, health, wellbeing, resilience, placemaking, and community. Each event included opportunities to learn, connect, and experience firsthand how healthy people and healthy places go hand in hand.

Healthy Places by Design: Nature, Innovation, and the Built Environment

We kicked off the Nature at Work Trail Talks Series at Clemson University with a guided preview tour of the new Forestry and Environmental Conservation Building, followed by a panel conversation and networking reception.

The building offered an inspiring example of how thoughtful design, natural materials, forestry, innovation, and the built environment can come together to shape healthier places.

Thank you to Trip Chavis, Kyle Barrett, Ph.D., Maria Soledad Peresin, Ph.D., and Rob Baldwin, Ph.D. for sharing their expertise and perspective.

We are also grateful to the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation at Clemson University and the Clemson Wood Utilization + Design Institute for hosting, Milliken Advisors for sponsoring, and SC7 for creating space for conversations like this across South Carolina.

The Science of Nature, Health, and Wellbeing

Our second Trail Talk explored what happens when we move beyond discussing the science of nature and wellbeing and take time to experience it.

The program featured accessible lightning talks from faculty at Furman University and McAdams, followed by a choice of guided rest and reflection or a quiet nature walk around campus. Participants also completed a brief informal reflection before and after the outdoor experience, reporting improvements in focus, alertness, calmness, and mood.

Thank you to Mike Winiski, Elizabeth Holt, Ph.D., Meghan Slining, Ph.D., Matthew Kestner, PG, Susan Carter, Andrew Predmore, and Michelle McCollum for contributing to such a thoughtful and engaging afternoon.

We are grateful to The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities for hosting, McAdams for sponsoring, and SC7 and the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor for partnering with us.

Resilience in Action: Nature, Place, and Community Wellbeing

Our third Trail Talk explored how resilience is reflected not only in disaster recovery and mitigation, but also in the everyday places where people live, work, gather, and connect.

Hosted at the South Carolina Office of Resilience in the historic Mills Building at BullStreet District, participants learned how healthy workplace design, greenspace, nature-based solutions, and community planning contribute to healthier, more resilient communities. Although weather moved the outdoor portion of the program indoors, the conversation continued with a tour of the historic Mills Building and presentations highlighting Page Ellington Park, urban greenspace, and the role of public spaces in supporting resilience and wellbeing.

Thank you to Ben Duncan, Kevin O'Dell, Eric Fosmire, Hope Warren, AICP, Phleisha Lewis, Karen Swank Kustafik, and Warren Hankinson for sharing their expertise. We are grateful to the South Carolina Office of Resilience for hosting, the City of Columbia for helping tell the story of Page Ellington Park, and SC7, the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor for their partnership.

Healthy Places, Healthy People: Nature, Community, and Workplace Wellbeing

Our final Trail Talk explored what it takes to create places where the healthy choice becomes the easy choice.

Hosted at the Harbor Entrepreneur Center, the conversation examined how greenspace, thoughtful planning, resilient infrastructure, clean energy, sustainable construction, entrepreneurship, workplace culture, and community leadership can shape health, connection, and quality of life.

Thank you to Mayor Will Haynie, Morgan Hughey, Ph.D., Jarrett Branham, Hannah Hunter, and Grady Johnson for sharing their perspectives. We are grateful to Grady Johnson, Kim McManus, and the Harbor Entrepreneur Center for hosting, Branham Group, Inc. for sponsoring, and Davey Resource Group, College of Charleston School of Health Sciences, and the Town of Mount Pleasant for their engagement as Founding Members.



Thank you also to SC7 and the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor for partnering with us throughout the statewide series.

Blue Mind Yoga at the South Carolina Aquarium

One of the most memorable experiences of SC7 was our Blue Mind Yoga session overlooking the Great Ocean Tank at the South Carolina Aquarium. The morning invited participants to experience firsthand the calming effects of water while connecting movement, mindfulness, and nature.

A special thank you to Gail Corvette for leading the session, to Brian Thill for his vision, leadership, and partnership in bringing the Blue Mind experience to Nature at Work, and to the South Carolina Aquarium for hosting this unique event. We were also delighted by a special appearance from Caretta the Sea Turtle, whose visit during shavasana made the morning even more memorable.

We're grateful to everyone who joined us to celebrate the connection between water, wellbeing, and community through the Blue Mind experience.

Looking Ahead

Save the Date: Fall Seminar Series

This fall, the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition will host its regional Fall Seminar Series focused on Building a Culture of Prevention: Lifestyle Medicine and the Future of Workforce Wellbeing.

The series will explore how employers can move beyond isolated wellness programs and create workplace cultures, benefits strategies, and partnerships that support healthier employees, chronic disease prevention, and long-term workforce wellbeing.

More details and registration information coming soon.

GLP-1 medications continue to reshape conversations around employee health, chronic disease prevention, healthcare spending, pharmacy benefits, and workforce wellbeing strategy.

On Thursday, September 3, the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition will host an executive educational roundtable at The Palmetto Club in Columbia to help employers better understand the evolving landscape and the key questions around coverage, cost, access, benefits strategy, pharmacy considerations, and long-term support.

This event is designed for a curated audience of employers, benefits leaders, healthcare stakeholders, pharmacy experts, and workforce wellbeing partners. Attendance is limited, and Coalition members and sponsors receive priority access to registration before any remaining seats are opened more broadly.

Coalition members and sponsors: please check your inbox for your priority access code and registration instructions.

Not a Coalition member but interested in attending? Complete our interest form, and we will follow up if seats become available.

Thank you to our sponsors, Novo Nordisk and FIRST Rx, for supporting this important employer education opportunity.

We’re excited to introduce the Healthy People, Healthy Places Exchange, a new monthly virtual series presented by Nature at Work and the South Carolina Healthy Business Coalition.

These free, 30-minute lunchtime conversations will feature leaders from across our member and sponsor networks sharing practical strategies, real-world examples, research, and emerging ideas that support healthier workplaces and communities.

Watch for details about our first conversations and registration opportunities coming soon.

In Closing

As we look ahead, we’re excited to continue building opportunities for employers, members, and partners to learn, connect, and take action around workforce wellbeing.

From the upcoming Fall Seminar Series to new conversations through the Healthy People, Healthy Places Exchange and special employer-focused events, the Coalition will continue bringing people together around practical ideas, shared learning, and stronger workplace cultures.

Thank you for being part of this growing statewide network. Your engagement helps move this work forward across South Carolina.