At Southern Palmetto, we are enjoying the early days of summer, while we gear up for some of our biggest Chamber events of the year in the months ahead. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to get out to the Barnwell Farmer’s Market this season and get some great produce! The market has transformed over the last two year, with the help of Chamber Member Axis 1 joining as the non-profit sponsor of the market with the help of City of Barnwell (also a supportive Chamber member). I have to confess that I am a bit biased, because Dawn Snead my amazing wife, has led the market to these new heights as market manager 🙂 But I think we can all agree that having a vibrant Farmer’s Market helps improve our community in so many ways, from access to more healthy organic foods to supporting the small agricultural producers that are at the heart of our region.
This is also the time of year to get out and enjoy the start of festival season! We had a great time presenting at Dig’s STEM fest in Williston at the beginning of the month, our team had some fun out at Sundial Festival last weekend (the great photo here is by Propel Business Lab graduate Darrell Queen last Saturday), and we are looking forward to being out at the Blackville Music and Arts Festival this weekend. Come out from 4-9 TODAY, and draw with us using some fun 3D drawing pens! The fest will have great music, food, and even a carnival with rides both today and Saturday!
I feel truly blessed to have incredible colleagues working with me here on the ground to make things happen with our work at the Chamber & Foundation. Last Month we had a whirlwind of day on April 13, starting with a board meeting, then the Women’s Leadership Luncheon hosted by our powerhouse Membership Coordinator Rebekah Grubbs, and rounded out the day with our first Propel Business Lab Pitch competition, the culmination of twelve weeks of classes and support organized by educator and entrepreneur Alicia Davis and Southern Palmetto Director of Programs Enterick Lee. It was an exhausting and magical day!
Since that day, we have seen many Propel Business Lab participants pushing forward! Tiffany Zieman, the Barnwell $10,000 winner provided Mother’s Day Desserts at Eat Street this past weekend, and Lauren Creech, the Allendale $10,000 winner broke ground on her Herbal shop which should be opening in the months ahead. We also hosted the first free class of Dancing Thistle last night, Propel Lab graduate Caroline Freeman’s Scottish Country Dance classes. It was fun, even for someone like me with two left feet! We are also excited to see the launch of Propel Lab graduate Shelby Broomfield’s Angel’s Halo Beauty Collection, which will have it’s grand opening tomorrow, Saturday May 20th, get more info on the event here!
And throughout this month, the staff and board at Southern Palmetto have been hard at work on our next big events for the year, including a new Homegrown Leaders Summit on June 22, State of the Region on August 31, and we have already started booking some incredible musical talent for this year’s BBQ, Blues, & Boos event later this October! If you are looking to be inspired by regional talent, hear about where the future our regional economy is going, or just want to dance and enjoy some great food- WE GOT YOU COVERED during the better half of 2023! It’s never been a better time to join the chamber! Members get discounted or free (depending on your level of support) tickets to all of our events!
We hope to see you soon at the Palmetto Innovation Center, or out at one of these great events!
best
Bob Snead
Southern Palmetto President & CEO