NEWS RELEASE

Breakfast sponsored by The David Law Firm and Wall Engineering LLC. 
The Conway Chamber of Commerce will host a membership breakfast meeting on Friday, May 25 at 8 a.m. at the Santee Cooper Auditorium, located at 100 Elm Street in Conway.  Paul Thomas, Senior Area Manager for the Small Business Administration (SBA), will serve as guest speaker during the breakfast.  Mr. Thomas will discuss funding opportunities to new and existing businesses.

Mr. Thomas retired from the Air Force after 40 years of service.  He has been with the SBA for 32 years and serves over 23 counties within South Carolina.  Thomas graduated from Clayton College with a business degree and earned an accounting degree from Georgia State University.

Individuals are asked to R.S.V.P to the Conway Chamber of Commerce.  Breakfast food will be provided at no cost to attendees courtesy of Wall Engineering and The David Law Firm. 

This program should last approximately one hour.  This program is offered free of charge to attendees.  Please RSVP to the Conway Chamber at 843-248-2273 or info@conwayscchamber.com.
###

Contact: Tina Gerrald, Conway Chamber of Commerce
 (843) 248-2273 or tgerrald@conwayscchamber.com
 Visit us online: www.ConwaySCChamber.com

Horry County, SC – Friday, May 4, 2012 – HTC Digital Cable is proud to carry the CCU vs. Michigan baseball games from Ann Arbor, Michigan on Tuesday, May 8 and Wednesday, May 9.  The games will air at 6:05 p.m. on the Big Ten Network and Channel 166 for HTC Digital Cable Passport customers.   

“We are thrilled to carry the next two CCU away games at Michigan for our subscribers.  The Big Ten Network is part of the Passport package, and we are excited about the opportunity for the fans in our service area to watch the games in Michigan and cheer on the Chants,” said Mike Hagg, CEO for HTC.  “This is just one more way that HTC works to keep our community connected.”

If you have any additional questions, please contact Tom Vitt, HTC Director of Marketing, at 843-369-8559 or 843-902-3727. 

###

About HTC

HTC, Inc. is the nation’s largest telecommunications cooperative and the 18^th largest telephone company.  Founded in 1952, HTC celebrates nearly 60 years of service to the community as a local communications leader.  HTC offers local telephone service, long distance, Digital Wireless, Digital Cable, High-Speed Internet Access, and advanced business services such as Remote Recovery Services, Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN) design, firewall and Virtual Private Network (VPN) security.  HTC also provides Home Security and Fiber to the Home technology called HTC Bluewave, a state-of-the-art fiber optic network that delivers unparalleled bandwidth for extremely high-speed Internet access and data transmittal, 100 percent digital cable TV video, and traditional voice service through a single delivery point to a customer’s home.  For additional information about HTC, call (843) 365-2154.

www.htcinc.net  |  Twitter: @HorryTelephone  |  Facebook:  www.facebook.com/HTCinc

 • Mr. Marty Lawing – County Administrator for Brunswick County, North Carolina

• John McCue – Business Development Manager for Allen France and Associates in Orange City, Florida

• Chris Eldridge – City Administrator for the City of Georgetown

Horry County Council will interview the candidates again at a Special Called Council meeting on Tuesday, May 15, at 2 p.m. These interviews will be conducted during executive session.

Inside Out is a 60-minute program airing monthly and exclusively on Channel 4.  The show will give an in-depth look at characters, personalities and places in Horry and Georgetown counties with a concentration on HTC members.  The show will also include agricultural interviews, food segments, non-profit interviews, and other interesting highlights shot on location rather than in a studio.

“We are very pleased that long-time local personality Diane DeVaughn Stokes is now connecting with HTC, the local communications and media experts, and bringing exclusive local programming to our members,” said Brent Groome, Chief Executive-Customer Operations at HTC.  “We are looking forward to working with Diane and her husband, Chuck, with Stages Video to produce a program that focuses on the people and places that mean so much to HTC members in Horry and Georgetown counties.”

“I am thrilled and extremely honored to have an opportunity to host and produce a new TV program for HTC and its members and to have my husband Chuck as the Director is a real bonus,” said Diane DeVaughn Stokes, Host and Producer of Inside Out.  “As the show title says, I will be covering the community INSIDE OUT with features on agriculture, cooking, non-profit organizations, some familiar faces and more importantly, new faces.  Each hour-length program shot on location will showcase the people and places that make this diverse community the best anywhere to live, work and play.”

Adaptive Business Strategies Helped Firm to Thrive in the Recession  

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Radha Herring, owner and broker-in-charge of Myrtle Beach area firm Watermark Real Estate Group, is the SBA’s 2012 South Carolina Small Business Person of the Year. The SBA selected Herring based on her growth in sales, financial performance, response to adversity and community involvement.

A Myrtle Beach native, Herring started Watermark Real Estate Group in 2007 after a ten-year corporate telecommunications career in Raleigh, N.C. Watermark was the first totally web-based real estate firm in the Myrtle Beach area. Its virtual structure gave the firm the flexibility to help clients buy and sell residential and vacation properties along the 60-mile Grand Strand.

The year that Watermark opened for business was also the year that the housing market imploded and the recession began, deflating the real estate industry. Undeterred, Herring decided to approach the industry’s struggles as business opportunities. For example, while many realtors at the time avoided distress properties, Herring realized a chance for clients to find coastal properties at reduced prices. Watermark quickly began offering potential buyers free access to lists of bank-owned properties.

Herring also realized that the tightening financial markets offered another niche for Watermark to fill. Because cash transactions were now accounting for 50 percent of all real estate sales, Watermark started focusing on the major Myrtle Beach area real estate product that required cash: condominium units within luxury hotels, known as “condotels.” At the same time, Watermark’s agents worked on strengthening relationships with area lenders in order to match clients with the banks best equipped to handle their mortgages.

Herring’s optimistic approach to the recession’s obstacles paid off. In 2009, Watermark’s sales were 15 times higher than the previous year, and sales continued to through 2010 and 2011. Watermark also grew from two agents in 2008 to nine agents today.

Watermark is a member of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, where Herring serves on the Legislative Policy Council. A Clemson University engineering graduate, she also serves on the Clemson Extension advisory board and is a member of the university’s Alumni National Council. In addition, Herring is active in her local Association of Realtors, where she serves on the board of directors and as vice-chair of the Real Estate Leadership Program.

Runner-up South Carolina Small Business Person of the Year winners are Ramona Fantini, owner of Pino Gelato in Hilton Head Island, and Louis Lynn, president of ENVIRO AgScience in Columbia. The SBA will honor all South Carolina award winners on Wednesday, May 16, during the ninth annual Salute to Small Business at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

# # #

Watermark Real Estate Group Contact: Jay Herring; 843-314-4284 jherring@watermarkagents.com

The siren is programmed to produce an alternating siren alert sound lasting three minutes during an actual emergency. The siren is also designed to produce an audible alert sound approximately 1.5 miles outward from the Detention Center. The unit will primarily be heard outdoors; however, many individuals may be able to hear the siren even when indoors. Weather conditions can also affect the distance that the siren noise travels. 

For those residents living within the surrounding area, the Detention Center will conduct four 15-second tests starting Friday, May 11, at 11:00 a.m. and at 6:00 p.m., and again on Saturday, May 12, at 11:00 a.m. and at 6:00 p.m.  After theses initial tests, the Detention Center will conduct a monthly, 15-second test of the emergency warning siren system the first Saturday morning of every month beginning at 11:00 a.m.

For more information, please contact Joey Johnson at 843-915-5140.

Saturday, May 12, 2012
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Meet at the Conway Recreation Complex Shelter, 1515 Mill Pond Road.

Individuals and groups are welcome to participate.
*Lunch is provided for those who participate.*
Help keep Conway clean.
Donate just a few hours of your time on this day and help make a difference!

For information, please call 248-1740 or visit CityofConway.com.

Keratin Treatment starting at $100.00
Free area highlights with color service
Free conditioning treatment with color service
$4.00 off men’s haircut
$2.00 off kid’s haircut
$20.00 women’s haircut, shampoo, and blow dry style

Offer valid for first time clients with Angela Cook at the Grand Salon. Service must be used by June 30, 2012. Please mention the discount when booking appointment.

Walk Ins Welcome.

Contact Angela at:
843-488-1010
843-855-6774
1903 Main Street
Conway, SC 29526
angieck4@gmail.com

It’s simple to support our cause and vote – visit the State Farm Facebook page by clicking here (voting from mobile devices will not work)  then click on the “Vote” button to show support for “Smart Snacks”

Link – http://www.facebook.com/statefarm/app_376288832400015?app_data=CMC-Smart-Snacks

The CMC Foundation’s “Smart Snacks” program was developed to combat inadequate nutrition for Horry County’s elementary school children.  Currently the program has partnered with 4 Horry County elementary schools, Conway, Waccamaw, Midlands and Homewood Elementary, to provide nutritious food during the weekend to kindergarten through fifth grade students and their siblings who qualify for free or reduced school lunch. During the week these children receive breakfast and lunch through their schools, but often go hungry over the weekends. Winning the $25,000 will assist the Foundation in meeting the growing needs of this program.

The voting phase is open from APRIL 27 – MAY 17 and any Facebook user is eligible to vote up to 10 TIMES PER DAY for our “Cause”. The 40 “Causes” with the most votes will be announced on May 22 and will be awarded $25,000 each.

With your help, we can seize this opportunity to create a safer, better educated and more engaged community. Please encourage your colleagues, friends and family to vote and help spread the word on Facebook.

Together, you and State Farm can help be a catalyst for change in our community!