South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Twice in the past month, South Carolina has been able to celebrate significant economic development successes. Between the announcements by Continental Tire and and Bridgestone, South Carolina will have more than 2,500 new jobs in Sumter and Aiken counties. The total investment from the two projects will be about $1.7 billion. It’s all stunningly good economic news at a time when unemployment remains a nagging thorn in South Carolina’s side, and as salaries nationwide continue to decline, according to a recent report in The New York Times. … Some of the credit for these developments also goes to Gov. Nikki Haley for her face-to-face efforts to recruit new companies…Executives with Continental Tire said the governor’s involvement was critical to their decision-making process. “It just makes a difference, whether as an investor you are being referred to some staff member or whether you also get the feeling that, up to the governor, everybody is taking this as a personal task and engaging personally,” Jochen Etzel, chief executive officer of Continental Tire the Americas recently told GreenvilleOnline.com. …We’ve been able to celebrate to fantastic economic development announcements in the past several weeks. According to Haley as quoted in The News, two more big announcements are coming. But South Carolina absolutely cannot afford to let up on the gas. (Greenville News editorial, “Keep new jobs coming to our state,” 10/13/2011)

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

“South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley traveled to Orangeburg on Wednesday for a jobs announcement. The Orangeburg County Development Commission announced new manufacturing and distribution jobs Wednesday morning. Universal Trade Solutions pledged at least 50 jobs in Orangeburg County, which would increase to 100 jobs in five years. Haley, Democratic state Sen. John Matthews of Bowman, Orangeburg Mayor Paul Miller and officials with Universal Trade Solutions attended the announcement. The group says the project will strengthen the state’s presence in the metals industry and benefit the Charleston port.” (Live 5 News, “More jobs coming to Orangeburg County,” 10/5/2011)

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

“It would be an understatement to say Gov. Nikki Haley’s pro-business message found a friendly audience at the Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce Industry Appreciation luncheon Friday. The packed fellowship hall at Bethany United Methodist Church gave Haley a standing ovation when she took the stage, and applauded again when she called the National Labor Relations Board complaint against Boeing Co. ‘un-American’ and vowed to ‘fight it every step of the way.’ When she invited questions at the end of her 10-minute speech, which ranged from recent job-creation announcements to the new way state employees are to answer the phone, there was silence. ‘Was I that good?” she asked, prompting laughter, and after several more seconds of silence, another standing ovation from the business group.” (Charleston Post and Courier, “Crowd buys what Haley was selling; Governor gets ovations from pro-business group,” 10/1/2011)

Video of the governor’s visit to the Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce event is available here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N63ZjXWwNkc

 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Aiken Standard (Editorial): Happy talk
http://www.aikenstandard.com/Editorial/0929-HappyHaley-editorial-column

Call a South Carolina state agency and you’ll be greeted with, “It’s a great day in South Carolina.”

OK, it sounds a little hokey, but Gov. Nikki Haley might just be on to something.

This week the governor told state employees to use the greeting.

Her reasoning?

“It is a great day in South Carolina. I want people to feel positive. It will put the employees in a good mood” and remind them who they work for, Haley said. “I know it sounds simple, but in the challenges that we’re facing in our state, the one thing I’m trying to prove is that our state is changing for the better – it’s positive, it’s strong. This is a great way to do that.”

Some Democrats are calling it a juvenile gimmick, but what’s wrong with starting with the positive. Besides, it sure beats a droll “Department of Labor. Mary speaking.”

OK, unemployment is high, the economy is limping along and South Carolina lags behind the nation in most barometers of quality of life, but there’s plenty of good stuff too.

Attitude is everything.

And if a simple greeting sets a positive tone then we’re all for it. Things are good here. Bridgestone just announced a major expansion and hundreds of new jobs. Here in Aiken County we have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state. Football season is underway, the heat of summer is finally breaking, we had a banner peach crop this year – and that’s just a few of the good things happening in South Carolina.

So yes, let’s focus on the positive.

After all, it’s a great day in South Carolina.

Dear Friends,

It’s a great day in South Carolina!

As summer winds down and the little ones go back to school, our team is working hard to prepare for the upcoming legislative session. And, as I promised during our campaign last year, you would hear from us often because we want to make sure you know what goes on in state government.

That’s why we hope you’ll join us on another installment of “The Movement” tour — a series of town hall events we’re going to hold in every region of the state.

This is where we’ll discuss our agenda for next  year’s legislative session, your role in helping us realize it, and the new legislative report cards that will help you track whether your legislators supported pro-business, good government reforms this year. We’ll also invite your legislators to attend.

Here is our schedule:

Rock Hill, Monday, October 3, 6:30 PM

Winthrop University
DiGiorgio Campus Center’s Richardson Ballroom
2020 Alumni Drive
Rock Hill, S.C. 29733
Map
Visitor parking is available in front of the West Center and Johnson Hall.

Irmo, Tuesday, October 4, 6:00 PM
Dutch Fork High School
1400 Old Tamah Road
Irmo, S.C. 29063
Parking adjacent to the building

Aiken, Wednesday, October 5, 6:30 PM
Aiken City Hall

Aiken Municipal Auditorium
215 The Alley

Aiken, S.C. 29801
Parking on Newberry Street, Laurens Street and Park Avenue

Hilton Head Island/Bluffton, Tuesday, October 11, 6:30 PM
Bluffton High School
12 H.E. McCracken Circle

Bluffton, S.C. 29910
Parking adjacent to the building

Our Saturday town hall in Charleston will now be held at the following location:

Charleston, Saturday, October 15, 11:00 AM
College of Charleston
Physicians Memorial Auditorium
Just north of the corner of George Street and Glebe Street
Parking is available at George Street Garage on St. Philip Street between George and Liberty Streets, the College of Charleston’s St. Philip Street Garage at 81 St. Philip Street (next to Bell Building), or Wentworth Street Garage, located at the intersection of Wentworth and St. Philip Streets.

Our Monday town hall in the Upstate will now be held at the following location:

Spartanburg, Monday, October 17, 6:00 PM
Spartanburg Community College
Tracy J. Gaines Building (Auditorium)
800 Brisack Road (I-85 Business at New Cut Road)
Spartanburg, S.C. 29303
Parking available on campus adjacent to the building
Campus Map

Florence, Tuesday, October 18, 6:30 PM
Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center
201 South Dargan Street
Florence, S.C. 29501
Directions and parking information are available at:  http://www.fmupac.org/directions_parking

We hope you will join us for a town hall. We want to hear from you.

My very best,

Nikki

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

“[T]hings do appear to be looking up for the Palmetto State. Bridgestone America Inc. officials said last week the tire company is investing $1.2 billion total in three projects in Aiken County. They said it would create 850 jobs by the year 2020. It already employs several hundred there. The governor’s offices said it’s the largest investment in the state’s history. Just last week, a Denmark-based company announced it was building a plant in Pickens County, investing $10 million and creating 50 jobs. Also, the Otis Elevator Co. announced several days ago it is opening a new manufacturing center in Florence that will bring about 350 jobs to that area. There have been other new plants or expansions announced throughout this year around South Carolina. Laurens, Greenville and several counties have received good news about manufacturing jobs coming to their areas. [I]t’s clear South Carolina’s business-friendly environment is an enticement for new business and industry, as it should be. While unemployment is a major concern at the moment, there are a lot of jobs in the pipeline. It would be nice if they’d come sooner than later, but it’s good to know better times are ahead. Better yet, all those jobs will be in the private sector. That’s worth noting.” (Greenwood Index-Journal, “Good news for S.C. with creation of jobs, 9/27/2011)