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Ten at the Top
Upstate News

September 3, 2013 - Vol 4, Issue 9
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
September 5th
Our Upstate Vision Forum - Transportation & Infrastructure
3:00-5:00 p.m.
(reception to follow)
CU-ICAR
4 Research Way Greenville, SC
 Register Here

September 10th
Upstate Professional Planners Group
9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Spartanburg C.C.
Tyger River Campus
Register Here

September 19th
TATT Executive Committee
12:00-2:00 p.m.
Trehel Corporation
408 East North Street
Greenville, SC

October 1st

Upstate Workforce &
Skill Development Stakeholders Meeting
2:20-4:30pm
Palmetto Bank Headquarters
306 East North Street Greenville, SC

 

October 3rd 

Upstate Elected Officials Meeting
3:30-5pm (Reception to Follow)
Embassy Suites
670 Verdae Boulevard Greenville, SC 

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REGISTER TODAY FOR THE ELEVATE UPSTATE
 COMMUNITY VIBRANCY GRANT


DEADLINE SEPTEMBER 15TH

Ten at the Top (TATT), through a funding commitment from Phil Hughes and Hughes Investments Inc., has established the Hughes Investments Vibrancy Initiative: ELEVATE UPSTATE Grants (EU).

 

The purpose of the ELEVATE UPSTATE Grants is to identify and provide initial funding support for community based programs that promote community and economic vibrancy in local areas across the Upstate. The initiative will award two grants annually with each being for up to $5,000 (total of $10,000 per year) to entities including neighborhood associations, civic or community based organizations, non-profit organizations or local governments that are committed to developing and implementing programs designed to increase local vibrancy in communities within the Upstate. The TATT Community Vibrancy Task Force will provide some guidance through the project implementation process if it is needed.

 

The application for the first ELEVATE UPSTATE Grants is available on the TATT web site  or click here to download the PDF. The application deadline is September 15th and the first grants will be announced at the final TATT Forum of 2013. The judges will include: Phil Hughes, President of Hughes Investments, Inc., Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Fleming, President of Converse College,  and Terence Roberts, Mayor of the City of Anderson.

 

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR  

OUR UPSTATE VISION FORUM 

Transportation and infrastructure are major issues facing the Upstate South Carolina region as we look toward 2030 and how to maintain and grow our economic vitality and quality of life. 

The Our Upstate Vision Forum on September 5th will dive into these important issues as we discuss BIG and BOLD ideas that can help the Upstate (and all of South Carolina) overcome current challenges and ensure that we have the long-term infrastructure needed to remain globally competitive.

Presenters at the forum will be:
  • Max Metcalf, Manager of Government & Community Relations for BMW and Vice Chair of the SC Infrastructure Bank
  • Dave Edwards, President and CEO of GSP Airport
  • Brian White, SC House of Representatives Member and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman
  • Byron Miller, Vice President, Marketing and Sales Support for South Carolina Inland Port. 

 The forum will be held in the AT&T Auditorium at CU-ICAR from 3-5 pm with a reception to follow and is free and open to the public, but we ask that you register in advance. 

 

  

   

TEN AT THE TOP HIRES NEW PROGRAM MANAGER 

Ten at the Top (TATT) has announced the addition of Kirbie Crowe null as Program Manager. Kirbie will be responsible for coordinating task forces, work groups and regional initiatives around the five driver areas of the Our Upstate Vision.

 

Kirbie Crowe attended Colorado College, where she earned a Bachelor's in English. She then went on to the University of Denver, earning a Master's in Art History. Recently, Ms. Crowe graduated from SIT Graduate Institute with a Master's in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management.

 

Kirbie is no stranger to the Upstate of South Carolina. As a native of Greenville, she worked with conservation nonprofit Upstate Forever as the Director for Membership and Special Events for nearly five years. While at Upstate Forever, Kirbie managed a 2,100+ membership base, building relationships with new and existing members to strengthen the organization's base of support. Kirbie also planned and executed a wide variety of events, including annual membership meetings, field trips, and fundraising events.

 

Along with working in the Upstate, Kirbie has spent plenty of time volunteering for various programs in this region. She has worked with the Greenville Literacy Association as an ESL Tutor. She has also spent time as a Big Sister for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Upstate from 2008 to 2011.  

 

"I'm excited to be able to address the most important issues facing the Upstate today by encouraging the creation and expansion of collaborative relationships among our decision makers, private sector, community organizations, and residents," says Kirbie, "The work that Ten at the Top is doing to foster efficient and innovative problem-solving in our region is unique and so vital to the Upstate's quality of life as this area continues to grow."

 

UPSTATE INTERNATIONAL MONTH SET FOR 2014
Upstate International Month will be back in March 2014! On August 6th, Michelin North America and Clemson University announced that they again would be the presenting sponsor for International Month in the Upstate. They are looking to add many more events to this year's celebration.

Upstate International is known for bringing together various members of the community, business leaders and local organizations to recognize the international influences and diversity that exist in the Upstate. In its first year, more than 70 events were hosted at different venues around the Upstate. Each event offered different experiences; including youth art shows to a Belgian beer dinner.

Interested in participating in Upstate International 2014? More information can be found here. More details and information about upcoming events will be announced later in the year.

UPSTATE ELECTED OFFICIALS MEETING SET FOR OCTOBER 3RD
null The next Upstate Elected Officials Meeting will be held on Thursday, October 3, 2013 from 3:30-5:00pm (reception to follow) at the Embassy Suites Resort & Conference Center at 670 Verdae Boulevard in Greenville.
 
Join other city, county and state elected and business leaders for an in-depth look at how Upstate communities of all sizes can utilize grants, local visioning, planning and other available tools to develop a sense of place, local vibrancy and economic growth. Our featured speaker will be Tripp Muldrow, principal of Arnett Muldrow & Associates, which has worked with communities across the Upstate and the country to develop community identities and economic & community vibrancy. 

 

After the meeting there will be an opportunity to network with other elected and business leaders across the Upstate. Register here by October 1st. 

 

SOUTH CAROLINA HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NOMINATED FOR NATIONAL AWARD
The South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has been nominated for the Small Chamber of SC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce the Year Award by the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. This award is given out each year by the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to an outstanding Hispanic chamber of commerce with less than 249 members. The nominated chamber must have a proven track record of success within the Hispanic community.

The South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is being nominated because of its successes in the past six years for being a voice and resource for the Hispanic businesses and entrepreneurs in South Carolina. While there are many areas that the SCHCC has made a great impact on, their largest success is seen in the implementation of the Entrepreneur Empowerment Series. The SCHCC's education program, the Entrepreneur Empowerment Series, has already impacted over 40 Hispanic business owners and entrepreneurs throughout Greenville and Columbia.

This program offers free workshops and technical assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs who want to start, grow or sustain their businesses. EES is now in its fourth year of existence as an SCHCC program and organizes workshops in English and Spanish throughout South Carolina.

The South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was founded in 2007 and is a 501(c)6 organization. The mission of the SCHCC is to promote the economic growth of Hispanic businesses in South Carolina. The statewide Hispanic Chamber accomplishes its mission through its networking, education and advocacy initiatives.

COMPLETE THE COMMUNITY WORKS SURVEY  

CommunityWorks is working to establish a new federal credit union which will GREATLY benefit the Upstate community. Unlike other banks and credit unions in the area, this credit union will be specifically geared towards community development and empowering low wealth families who cannot access traditional banks. We need your help to better understand what specific financial needs exist and how the credit union would best serve that community. Please take a few minutes to voluntarily complete this brief survey. You can receive $50 through our weekly drawings AND you could win an iPad mini through our big drawing at the end of October. If you have any questions regarding the survey or the new proposed federal credit union, we would love to hear from you @ 864-235-6331.

 

Complete this important survey by clicking here !  

 
UPSTATE INFORMATION HUB HIGHLIGHTS PROGRAMS, EVENTS & RESOURCES
The Upstate Information Hub continues to offer a "one-stop" internet location to find links to resources and events from across the Upstate.
 
Overall, the Information Hub has listings of hundreds of local calendar events and more than a thousand local community resources from across the 10 counties of South Carolina's Upstate. 

In addition to the events and resources available on the web site, you can also sign up for the weekly "Uniquely Upstate" e-newsletter, which highlights the "hot events" happening across the region that weekend and also includes a feature story that showcases something unique about the Upstate.

Recent feature stories include: CU-ICAR, Waterfalls Offer Escape from the Heat, Proterra: Providing the Transportation of the Future, and Plantations of the Upstate.

Mobile users can also check out the Information Hub by downloading the new mobile app.

If you have calendar events, resources or feature stories that you would like to see added to the Information Hub, please contact Meredyth Boaz ([email protected]).

TEN AT THE TOP THANKS COMMUNITY VIBRANCY AND FORUM SPONSORS 

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Over the last three years, more than 80 organizations and individuals from across the Upstate have helped support the mission of Ten at the Top to promote collaboration and planning in the Upstate by donating funds or services as either a continuing funding partner (commitment of at least three years), annual funding partner or event sponsor.

Each month we will be highlighting some of these organizations that recognize the value of regional collaboration, planning and partnerships across the 10-county Upstate region as we work together to ensure that the Upstate remains a great place to live, learn, do business and raise a family for generations to come.

 

This month we want to thank all of our Forum Sponsors from 2013:


Series Premier Sponsor: Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina

Forum 2 Event Sponsor: TD Bank

Visionary Sponsor: Greenville Health System

Forum 1 Partners: SC Works Greenville, SC Works Upper Savannah, SC Works Anderson-Oconee-Pickens, Upstate WIB

Supporting Sponsors: Brown Mackie College, GSP International Airport, Greenville Technical College, The Spartanburg County Foundation, The SC Port Authority, Rutland Institute for Ethics at Clemson University

Interested in sponsoring a Ten at the Top event? Contact Meredyth Boaz or call 864-283-2317  

 

SHARE YOUR UPSTATE NEWS  
Latest News
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.
 
The TATT newsletter is typically distributed the first Monday of each month (except for when there is a holiday) to more than 6,500 residents across the Upstate. The deadline for submitting information is the Thursday prior to the first Monday of the month.

Send information about an upcoming event, special recognition or anything else you think is of regional interest to Meredyth Boaz.