Ten at the Top
Upstate News
August 30, 2010 - Vol 1, Issue 7 |
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UPCOMING SCHEDULE
| Aug. 31 - Vision & Values Com.
2-3:30 p.m. - University Center
Sept. 28 - Regional Summit
9 am - noon - Carolina First Center
Oct. 4 - Spartanburg County Forum
5:30-7:30 - Spartanburg Library
Oct. 5 - Pickens County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - DunBurks Premier Events
Oct. 7 - Union County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - Location TBD
Oct. 11 - Oconee County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - Gignilliat Center
Oct. 12 - TATT Executive Com.
12-2 p.m. - The Village at Pelham
Oct. 12 - Spartanburg County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - C.C. Woodson Ctr.
Oct. 21 - Abbeville County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - Location TBD
Oct. 25 - Cherokee County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - Limestone College
Oct. 26 - Anderson County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - Westside Community Center
Oct. 28 - Greenville County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - A.J. Whittenberg School
Nov. 4 - Greenwood County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - Greenwood Federal Building
Nov. 8 - Laurens County Forum
5:30-7:30 p.m. - Piedmont Tech
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CONTACT US
| Dean Hybl
Executive Director
Ten at the Top
Email: dhybl@tenatthetop.org
Phone: 864.283.2315
Jacquelyn Fehler
Program Manager
Ten at the Top
Email: jfehler@tenatthetop.org
Phone: 864.283.2313
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REGISTER TODAY FOR THE REGIONAL VISION SUMMIT
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 As part of the year-long effort to Create a Shared Upstate Growth Vision, Ten at the Top will be hosting a Regional Vision Summit on Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at the Carolina First Center. This event is free and open to the general public, but advance registration is required. Space is limited and filling up fast, so register today.
The Regional Vision Summit will serve as an opportunity to receive an update on the feedback gathered from more than 6,000 residents during the recent Shared Growth Vision Survey. But, the primary purpose of the event is not to have participants listen to a series of presentations and speakers. Instead, much of the meeting will be spent receiving feedback from participants and having dialogue between residents, business leaders and elected officials about how they envision the future of South Carolina's Upstate.
This meeting will serve as the kickoff to the second major community outreach element of the year-long regional visioning effort. Following the Summit, 12 Community Forums will be held across the region during October and November to solicit additional input and feedback from residents about "What Matters Most" as we look toward the future of the Upstate. The full Community Forum schedule is highlighted later in this newsletter.
REGIONAL VISION SUMMIT
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Carolina First Center
Register at: www.sharedupstatevision.org
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ELECTED OFFICIALS PARTICIPATE IN FIRST-EVER ELECTED OFFICIALS UPDATE
|  More than 100 leaders from across the Upstate, including over 60 elected officials (city and county mayors, council members and chairs) participated in the first-ever Upstate Elected Officials Update on August 19, 2010 at the BMW Zentrum.
The event was sponsored through a partnership of seven regional organizations: Appalachian Council of Governments, Catawba Regional Council of Governments, Ten at the Top, Upper Savannah Council of Governments, Upstate Chamber Coalition, Upstate Forever and the Upstate Alliance.
Each organization provided a brief update on their efforts and how they work toward the region's goals for quality of life and economic prosperity.
"All elected leaders in the
region have a role in shaping the future of the Upstate," said Dean Hybl,
Executive Director of Ten at the Top. "We hope that having regional updates
where these key leaders can get to know each other and learn more about what
regional organizations are doing to advance the Upstate will be helpful as they
look at the future for their local community."
Event participants have been sent an evaluation form that will be used to help determine the direction for future regional meetings.
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NEW
LAKE HARTWELL AREA RESOURCE TO HELP LOCAL TOURISM INDUSTRY
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 A new web site, LakeHartwellInsider.com, has been created to serve as a tourism resource for the popular lake destination.
Filled with information typically found in printed tourism guides, the ability to continually update the site should serve as an asset to the region.
"I have seen printed guides for Lake Hartwell that are outdated by the time they get distributed," stated Tom Miller, who has lived on Lake Hartwell for 12 years and sells real estate for Keller Williams.
"Things change so rapidly that travel books have a hard time
keeping up," according to Lara Kaufmann, Upstate South Carolina resident and
author of the Lake Hartwell Area Recreation Guide.
"Valerie Latawiec, a friend of mine since college, has a
website design firm named Laughing Cat Studios, and she said...'How about we make
your book into a website and name it LakeHartwellInsider.com'. I said... that sounds great, so she did it!"
Kaufmann exclaimed.
"The web site entitled 'Lake Hartwell Insider' is a real
asset to the entire Lake Hartwell Community," according to Michele J. Dipert,
President of the Hart County Chamber of Commerce.
"It provides a variety of regional information all in one
location. Because Lake Hartwell encompasses six counties and two states, this
website provides all the recreation and day trip information for visitors and
locals to enjoy," said Dipert.
"LakeHartwellInsider.com is the first website that has
pulled together all the information that visitors and residents need to know to
enjoy the lake more - and the people who put this together are committed to
keeping the content fresh," according to Miller.
"Since the introduction of "Staycations" a couple
of years ago, people are continually looking for events, historic sites,
camping and museums for day and overnight
trips," according to Brenda J. Carlan, Executive Director of the Currahee
Military Museum, which is located in downtown Toccoa, Georgia.
"Sadly most people do not realize what they have so close by
or even in their own community," Carlan stated.
"Lake Hartwell is a destination for locals and tourists
alike. The Lake Hartwell Area Recreation guide and the new LakeHartwellInsider.com
web site are a wealth of information for those who enjoy outdoors and tourist
& historic sites and locations," Carlan added.
Lake Hartwell is one of the most visited Corps lakes in the
nation according to the Corp of Engineers web site, http://www.sas.usace.army.mil/lakes/hartwell/intro.htm.
The Savannah, Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers all join to make
Lake Hartwell, which provides opportunities for boating, water skiing, swimming
and fishing. This man-made lake on the border of Georgia and South Carolina has
55,900 acres of water and about 962 miles of shoreline.
"This new website will give us the ability to market Lake
Hartwell and all of its surrounding resources to potential visitors as well as
give those that will be visiting valuable information that will add to their
experience," according to Chris Hardy, President & CEO of the Clemson Area
Chamber of Commerce.
"This only increases the economic impact that Lake Hartwell
already has on the counties in GA and SC that surround this valuable resource,"
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REGISTRATION FOR TATT COMMUNITY FORUMS BEGINS SEPTEMBER 2ND
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 Beginning on September 2nd, residents from across the region can begin registering for a series of 12 Community Forums that will be held in the counties of the Upstate during the months of October and November.
These Community Forums are designed to provide additional opportunities for residents to participate in the process of Creating a Shared Upstate Growth Vision.
"We are very pleased that more than 7,000 people have had a hand in crafting the vision so far," said Dean Hybl, Executive Director of Ten at the Top. "However, we know there are many more people who have an opinion about the future of the Upstate, but have not yet had a chance for their voice to be heard.
"Plus, even if you completed the Regional Vision Survey, these face-to-face meetings will give you a chance to provide more targeted input about what matters most to you as we look toward the future of the Upstate."
Hybl emphasizes that unlike some public meetings or workshops where residents receive little opportunity to provide input, these meetings are specifically focused on getting input from residents that will help make the Shared Upstate Growth Vision a robust effort that reflects the values, concerns and preferences of residents of the region.
"We are not going out into the region and holding these meetings just to be able to check off a box that says we had community input," Hybl said. "We genuinely want to hear your opinion and are making every effort to hold these meetings in locations that will help us engage as wide an audience as possible."
The meeting schedule is listed at the top of this e-newsletter and also available on the Vision web site at www.sharedupstatevision.org. To register for one of the meetings, you can either call 864.283.2313 or beginning on September 2nd register electronically at www.sharedupstatevision.org.
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TATT WEB SITE ADDS "VOICES OF THE UPSTATE" TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY INPUT
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 Ten at the Top has added another opportunity for Upstate residents to voice their thoughts about the region by adding the "Voices of the Upstate" feature to the Shared Upstate Vision web site.
"Community input is the backbone of this visioning process and we want to provide as many ways for residents to give input and feedback as possible, said Dean Hybl, Executive Director of Ten at the Top. "The Upstate Reality Check, Regional Survey, Presentation Questionnaires and upcoming Regional Vision Summit and Community Forums all are giving residents a chance to participate, but we also wanted a way that folks could simply share their thoughts on-line."
To participate you can click the link on the web site that will allow you to e-mail comments to the TATT staff, who will then post comments directly to the web site. Editing will be done only to ensure there is no profanity or inappropriate comments, but not to alter the message of the person posting the comment.
"We looked at creating a traditional message board," Hybl said, "but were counseled that for a message board to be successful you must monitor it regularly and we simply don't have the manpower to handle that. Instead, my hope is that people will start providing comments and once we get a few on the site it will start to build. Eventually we may start posting specific questions that give folks a chance to chime in regarding certain areas of the vision where we want additional input."
If you want to share "What Matters Most" to you about living in the Upstate or have other comments you would like to share about creating a regional vision, please share your thoughts as one of the "Voices of the Upstate."
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UPSTATE COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS RECEIVE NATIONAL RANKINGS
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 Community Foundation Insights, a national data resource for community foundations, has recognized both the Spartanburg County Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greenville on its list of the top 100 community foundations for 2009.
The Spartanburg County Foundation ranked 67th and the Community Foundation of Greenville 92nd in the most activity volume category, which is a positive sign that indicates a community foundation is making an impact through the number of people making gifts and the number of grants being awarded. This shows that more people are coming to community foundations to use it for their charitable giving.
In comparison with some larger community foundations across the country, more gifts and grants have been given in the Upstate. This demonstrates that there are many people involved in contributing to their local foundations. |
SHARE YOUR NEWS
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 If your city, county or organization has news you want to share or an event you want to promote with people across the 10-county Upstate Region, send it to us and we will include it in the next Ten at the Top e-newsletter.
Send information about an upcoming event, special recognition or anything else you think is of regional interest to Dean Hybl. |
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