The Greenville Chamber's Weekly Update

WEEKLY UPDATE Thursday, March 24, 2011

Happy first week of Spring from your friends at the Greenville Chamber! A few items of note this week:

It's been a great week here as we've been winding down from and getting great feedback about last week's TEDxGreenville conference - many thanks to all who attended and participated!
Talent/Company Recruiting Update: Click here to view our new Greenville Video!
Our friends at Southwest sent us their Community Affairs and Grassroots Publication Mosaic - guess who's featured on the front page: Check it out here (pdf)!

We hope you have time to check out more of what we've been up to and what's to come below.

Leadership Greenville Class 37 Julie Valentine Center Project Complete!

Julie Valentine Center

The Greenville Rape Crisis and Child Abuse Center officially changed its name to the Julie Valentine Center in honor of Julie Valentine: a name, a child, a symbol of hope and healing. One of the Chamber's Leadership Greenville Class 37 teams decided to renovate the entrance to the building as their class project. The goal of the project was to create a more inviting entrance that better reflected the hopeful, healing and empowering feeling of the center. The renovations include a new picket fence, planting, sidewalks, a paved patio, play sculptures, new entrance awning, signage, and a new Julie Valentine Sculpture. The lobby has been updated with an expanded entrance way, carpet, lighting, doors and a fresh coat of paint. The center officially unveiled the renovations and their new name on Julie Valentine Day February 14th, 2011.

Leadership Greenville Class 38 Applications are due June 1st. Click here for more info!

Spotlight on Quality: Marsha Bunnell, 2nd Grade, Brushy Creek Elementary!

Marsha Bunnell's 2nd Grade students at the Chamber's Center for Excellence partner school Brushy Creek Elementary have found a new use for Quality Tools!
These students have started using process design tools (Plan Do Study Act) to create solutions for their cafeteria behavior issues. Marsha notes, "This is the first time I have taken my class through the PDSA cycle. I see the benefit of allowing children to have input and ownership when working on different classroom situations."
Click here to learn more about Marsha's Class and the Chamber's CFCE education outreach program!

Have You Reserved Your Booth for GROW EXPO on May 17th?

GROW Expo is the Greenville Chamber's salute to regional businesses and celebration of National Small Business Week! It's the region's largest business-to-business trade show with hundreds of members exhibiting and more than a thousand attendees.

Special pricing for past exhibitors ends next week!

Click here for exhibitor and sponsorship information!

Congratulations to Our Ambassador of the Month: Chris Manley!

Chris Manley was recognized this week as our January 2011 Ambassador of the Month. A native of Upstate SC, Chris is co-founder and Managing Partner of Engenius, a Greenville-based firm specializing in web design, mobile application development, and online marketing. Chris is an active member of NEXT, GSATC, and the Greenville Chamber. In addition to his work with Engenius, Chris co-founded and continues to serve with ReWiGo Ministries, a nonprofit serving the Upstate through home repairs and improvements for elderly and disabled residents. In his spare time, Chris is active in his church, volunteering, and spending time with family. He lives in the Upstate with his wife, Ashley, their beautiful new daughter, Lydia, and high-jumping dog, Molly.

Nominate an Upstate Diversity Champion Today!

Do you know a diversity champion? An Upstate person, organization or business who demonstrates leadership in promoting diversity and inclusion as an important individual or organizational mission? Help celebrate their accomplishments and promote them as role models by nominating them for the Upstate Diversity Leadership Awards.

Winners will be announced at the 7th Annual Upstate Diversity Leadership Awards Dinner on Tuesday, May 3rd at the Carolina First Center.
Click here for nomination/ticket/sponsorship information.

Sponsorships Available for the 19th Annual International Luncheon on May 24th!

GE Energy will receive the 2011 International Economic Development Award at the Chamber's 19th Annual International Luncheon on Tuesday, May, 24 at the Marriott Greenville.

Click here for information about sponsoring and/or attending this important event to recognize the investment and employment by international companies in the Upstate!

Are You Saving Your Company Money with the Chamber's SmartBuys Programs?

The bottom line is this: Your company wants to save money. And to help our members do this, the Greenville Chamber has selected the best discount offerings for health insurance, office supplies, and telecommunications that we could find. Our SmartBuys partners are BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Office Depot, and Windstream Communications.

Click here to start saving money with SmartBuys today!

Strategic Planning is Paying Off for PULSE Young Professionals!

PULSE released its 2010 Annual Report and a first quarter report for 2011. Click the report links below to see what they've accomplished so far and what they're planning!