Ten at the Top
Upstate News

June 2, 2014 - Vol 5, Issue 6
UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Upstate Regional Food System Stakeholder Meeting
June 6th - 9:30AM - 11:30AM
Powdersville Branch Library
4 Civic Court | Easley, SC
 Register Here

Economic & Entrepreneurial Vitality Task Force Meeting
June 10th - 1:00PM - 3:00PM
TATT Office
124 Verdae Blvd, Ste. 202 Greenville, SC
Register Here 

 

Upstate Air Quality Advisory Committee Meeting

June 10th - 9:00AM - 11:00AM

TATT Office 

124 Verdae Blvd, Ste. 202 Greenville, SC  

 

Ten at the Top Board Meeting 

June 12th - 12:00PM - 2:00PM

Brown Mackie College

75 Beattie Place #100

Greenville, SC

 

Upstate Professional Planners Group
June 17th - 9:00AM - 11:00PM
Pelham Medical Center
250 Westmoreland Road | Greer, SC
 Register Here

Human Potential Task Force Meeting
June 26th - 1:00PM - 3:00PM
TATT Office
124 Verdae Blvd, Ste. 202 Greenville, SC
Register Here 

 

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CONTACT US
Dean Hybl
Executive Director
Ten at the Top
Phone: 864.283.2315

Kirbie Crowe
Program Manager
Ten at the Top
Phone: 864.283.2313

Meredyth Boaz
Communications Director
Ten at the Top
Phone: 864.283.2317
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TATT IN THE NEWS
Check out the Ten at the Top article in the Upstate Business Journal.


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TEN AT THE TOP ANNOUNCES KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR UPSTATE REGIONAL SUMMIT

Ten at the Top has selected The Honorable Glenda E. Hood as the Keynote Speaker for its 2014 Upstate Regional Summit entitled "Re-Checking Our Reality." Hood will speak on September 16 during the summit luncheon at the TD Convention Center.

 

Hood has a distinguished career as a public citizen and servant. Her leadership roles include becoming the youngest and first female Mayor of the City of Orlando and serving as Florida's Secretary of State during the second term of Governor Jeb Bush. In those positions, Hood was instrumental in crafting Florida's Strategic Plan for economic development, commissioning impact studies for arts, historic preservation and libraries, and developing Florida's 10-year cultural strategic plan.

 

She is a Founding Partner of triSect,LLC, which is a strategic consulting firm that focuses on civic innovation and serves business, government, and independent sectors. Hood also currently serves as a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Board of Trustees and is an active participant with their Advisory Services Program. She has been a recognized figure in promoting civic growth and change in America's cities, and has appeared on national, state and local TV, radio, print, and online media.   

 

During her keynote speech at the Upstate Regional Summit, Hood plans to provide insight into collaborative initiatives, like Ten at the Top, that are currently active across national and global regions. She will also speak about how Upstate leaders can increase quality of life for residents while remaining competitive in the global economy.  

 

The 2014 Upstate Regional Summit, which is titled Re-Checking Our Reality to recognize the fifth anniversary of the successful Upstate Reality Check event held in 2009, will highlight what has been done to promote collaboration and enhance economic vitality and quality of life in the Upstate during the past five years.  Through morning  breakout sessions and the luncheon keynote, participants will discuss key systemic issues facing the Upstate today and into the future and discuss how to continue building collaborative efforts that increase capacity and maximize resources.  

 

Admission to the Summit's Opening Session and Breakout Sessions is free. To attend the Luncheon, general tickets will go on sale July 1 and can be purchased for $40, or $20 for non-profits and elected officials, made possible by Summit sponsor the Daniel-Mickel Foundation.

 

More information about Ten at the Top and the upcoming Summit can be found online

. For more information about how to get involved with the Summit as a sponsor, please contact Jamie Prince with Flourish at (864) 248-0255. The deadline for sponsorship is July 14.Click here to download the sponsorship information. 

 

 

APPLICATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE
 2014 ELEVATE UPSTATE GRANTS
Communities, neighborhoods or local organizations looking to enhance the vibrancy within the Upstate can now apply to receive seed money for their initiative through the 2014 ELEVATE UPSTATE Community Vibrancy Grant program. You can download the application here.

Applicants must be located in and do their work within communities in one of the ten Upstate counties: Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, or Union. Successful proposals for projects funded by EU should be able to clearly demonstrate how the implementation of the initiative that they propose will benefit and provide vibrancy in the local community. These proposals may seek to produce a physical result, such as a mural, sculpture or signage that will increase the vibrancy and sense of place within a community, or implement the first of a reoccurring or annual event or program that helps grow vibrancy within a community.

The ELEVATE UPSTATE Community Vibrancy Grant Program was started in 2013 by local developer Phil Hughes and Hughes Investments. In 2013 three grants were awarded for programs designed to increase local vibrancy and sense of place in Seneca, Anderson and Greer. For 2014 two grants, each for up to $5,000, will be awarded.

Ten at the Top requests that those who are planning on submitting applications confirm their commitment of interest by August 1, 2014. The final deadline for proposal submissions will be September 15, 2014. The recipients of the 2014 ELEVATE UPSTATE Grants will be announced at the 2014 final forum for Ten at the Top in November.
AIR QUALITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECEIVES "SPARE THE AIR AWARD"
At the Our Upstate Vision Forum on May 20th, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control awarded the Upstate Air Quality Advisory Committee with the Spare the Air Award for the their work in helping to keep the Upstate air clean and in the EPA standards.

For more information about the award, the Upstate Air Quality Advisory Committee and the Clean Air Upstate Program, click here.

 

UPSTATE ELECTED OFFICIALS MEETING SET FOR JULY
Mark your calendars for the next Upstate Elected Officials meeting set for July 22nd at BMW Zentrum. The Elected Officials Partners Logos meeting will be from 3:30pm-5:00pm with a reception to follow. These regular meetings of Upstate leaders are open to all elected officials in the region as well as community and business leaders.

The Upstate Elected Officials Meetings series began in 2010 and is a partnership of seven partner organizations: Appalachian Council of Governments, Catawba Regional Council of Governments, Ten at the Top, Upper Savannah Council of Governments, Upstate Alliance, Upstate Chamber Coalition and Upstate Forever.

This Elected Officials meeting will focus on the topic of "Alternative Funding Sources for Cities and Counties" and feature speakers and panelists discussing funding options and potential sources of revenue at the city and county levels.

Click here to register. 

 

UPSTATE CAROLINA ANGEL NETWORK ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF THE  

PALMETTO ANGEL FUND

The Upstate Carolina Angel Network (UCAN) announced that it is launching the Palmetto Angel Fund to invest in high-growth early-stage companies around South Carolina and the Southeast. The Palmetto Angel Fund is a collaboration between UCAN and the other angel groups affiliated under the newly formed South Carolina Angel Network.

 

The Palmetto Angel Fund is a committed capital investment fund open to accredited investors (who meet minimum annual income or net worth thresholds) that will co-invest in the early-stage investments made by the affiliated angel groups. The fund's investment thesis is simple: there are many promising startup companies around South Carolina and the Southeast that face a daunting scarcity of early-stage capital in the region, but potential investors have historically faced difficulty in sourcing the best opportunities, conducting diligence, and efficiently administering a portfolio of startup investments.

 

For a commitment of $25,000 or more (invested over 3-4 years), fund investors receive proprietary access to early-stage companies with the potential to scale up and generate substantial returns through an acquisition or public offering. Investors will own an automatically diversified portfolio of the best opportunities the angel groups source, screen and structure - a portfolio strategy that research shows to be prudent given the risk of loss of an individual early-stage investment. Investors benefit from the collective due diligence expertise, industry insights, and board-level mentoring of the angels (who are some of the most successful business leaders from around the state), and they get all this through a professionally-managed, cost-efficient fund.

 

Angel investments through groups across the US have been shown to generate returns exceeding 20% per year. The Palmetto Angel Fund is not guaranteed to achieve this level of success, but the recent successes achieved by local startups and UCAN portfolio companies (such as Selah Genomics and Verdeeco) suggest the target is achievable. The fund is a unique way for individuals and organizations to access a diverse group of early-stage companies vetted by business leaders, while at the same time supporting early-stage entrepreneurs and making a sustainable contribution to our state's and the Southeast's future prosperity.

 

To learn more about the Palmetto Angel Fund, to support this innovative approach to funding companies, or to learn more about becoming an angel investor, please contact:

 

Matt Dunbar - Upstate Carolina Angel Network

(864) 751-4805 |  matt@upstateangels.org 

 

Paul Clark - Palmetto Angel Fund

(864) 908-0086 | paul@scangelnetwork.com 

 

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: Professional Golfers Swing into Greenwood for Women's Health, BMW-Pro Am Brings Celebrities to the Upstate, Veterans Take Flight Thank to Upstate Organization, and Peacocks, Goats and Trains Rule the Roost at Emerald Farm in Greenwood.

If you have calendar events, resources or feature stories that you would like to see added to the Information Hub, please contact Meredyth Boaz

TEN AT THE TOP THANKS CONTINUING FUNDING PARTNERS  

Over the last five years, more than 120 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 some of our Continuing Funding Partners (2014):

  

Regional Advocates:Barnet Development Corporation, Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, Inc., Craig Brown, City of Greer, The Furman Company, The Palmetto Bank, ScanSource, SYNNEX Corporation, Irv Welling, World Acceptance Corporation 

 

Regional Patrons: Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce, Broad River Electric Cooperative, Inc., Canal Insurance, Carol Burdette, Coldwell Banker Caine, Commnity Foundation of Greenville, Easley Chamber of Commerce, Gallivan, White & Boyd, Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce, Greenville Technical College, Johnson Development Associates, KPMG, LLP, Laurens Electric Cooperative, Laurens County Chamber of Commerce, Marchant Company Inc., Nate Lipscomb, McMillan Pazdan Smith, Rick Quinn, Minor Shaw, South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Spartanburg Chamber of Commerce,Tri-Country Technical College, Union County Chamber of Commerce, USC Upstate 

 

Interested in becoming a Ten at the Top funding partner? Contact Meredyth Boaz or call 864-283-2317 

 

Click here to view 2014 Sponsor Opportunities 

 

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.