LCDC Annual Meeting – Year in Review and Looking Ahead

The Laurens County Development Corporation (LCDC) held their annual meeting last week to report on the results of 2021 and the future of Laurens County.  Despite being in year two of the pandemic, 2021 was a good year for the county

Jonathan Coleman, President and CEO of the LCDC led the meeting. In his opening remarks he recognized the 2021-2022 Executive Committee which includes:

• John Young, Chairman (Laurens CPW)
• Steve West, Vice Chairman (Duke Energy)
• Randy Garrett, Past Chairman (Laurens Electric Cooperative)
• Brown Patterson, Secretary (Laurens County Council)
• Shawn Bell, Treasurer (City of Fountain Inn)

Also acknowledged was the 2021 Board of Directors comprised of:

• Justin Benfield – Prisma Health, Laurens County Memorial Hospital
• Jimmy Capps – Clinton-Newberry Natural Gas Authority
• Jeff Field – Laurens County Water & Sewer Commission
• Mayor Stellartean Jones – Town of Gray Court
• Randy Lis – Piedmont Rural Telephone Company
• Joey Meadors – City of Clinton
• Amanda Munyan – Laurens County Chamber of Commerce
• Dr. David O’Shields – Laurens County School District 56
• Dr. Hope Rivers – Piedmont Technical College
• Dr. Ameca Thomas – Laurens County School District 55
• Mayor Nathan Senn – City of Laurens
• David Tribble – Laurens County Council

In his presentation, Coleman reviewed key metrics that are used each year to assess progress.

“Laurens County is doing very well,” said Coleman.  “Even with year two of the pandemic several Laurens County industries and suppliers continued to have strong business conditions.”

Coleman reviewed many statistics used to measure success and growth.

• Requests for Information (RFIs) reached 68 in 2021, the highest since 2014
• Five capital investments in 2021 combined for a total of $307,400,000
• Total jobs created came in at 861, the highest since 2015
• Wages rose to $19.05 average per hour, up from $17.72 in 2020

Some of the challenges of the pandemic for industries included:

• Supply chain disruptions
• Covid protocols to adhere to with exposed and sick employees
• Preparing for and responding to possible government directives
• Attracting skilled workers
• Increasing costs of doing business

Challenging times call for creative solutions.  In 2021 the LCDC partnered with local industries and other organizations to focus on building a rich talent pipeline for Laurens County.

In February 2021, LCDC held the first ever drive thru job fair. The job fair included five participating industries and provided an opportunity to speak with job seekers while in their vehicles (safely distanced).

In May and June 2021, the SC Department of Commerce, LCDC, Clinton High School and Laurens District 55 High School collaborated to host a Graduating Senior Recruitment event.  Local businesses and industries were onsite at each school to provide information and showcase career opportunities to seniors and other students considering entering the workforce after graduation.

Continued success requires strategic planning.

In late 2019, the LCDC began a strategic planning process to create a unified vision for economic development in Laurens County. Guided by national economic development strategists, Ernst & Young (EY- formerly Avalanche Consulting), the plan will help create this vision by identifying top economic development opportunities and developing an action plan for increasing economic growth and prosperity over the next five years.

The initial phase of planning involved widespread community participation— through a county-wide survey, several focus groups, stakeholder interviews, as well as forming a steering committee. In the first quarter of 2020, community leaders as well as our steering committee gathered and EY presented the key themes that arose out of the Discovery Phase. Then the pandemic hit and put a brief hold on the process but not on progress.  The LCDC team used this time to work begin implementing a short-term strategy to refine and articulate high priority elements within the plan, while identifying ways to educate and engage core partners in refining their future roles.

In 2021 strategy implementation teams were created and they quickly got to work.  formation of the strategy implementation teams. Seven focus teams were created and over time a few of them were combined.  The teams formed are Infrastructure Priority Task Force, Industry/Large Business & Talent/Workforce Solutions, Marketing & Communications, Livability Solutions, and Leadership. The team kickoff meetings were held virtually in March, with in-person meetings picking back up during the summer.

Several groups have tackled suggested agenda items, identified additional goals, assigned roles and responsibilities, and helped define how the LCDC should support each team’s goals.

There have been many creative discussions, interactive planning sessions, and ideas to come out of the implementation teams over the past several months.

The first “tangible” success from the plan implementation came out of the Livability Solutions team. Laurens County was selected by the Community Planning Assistance Team (CPAT) program, the South Carolina chapter of the American Planning Association, for its annual project. In April, The Livability Team assisted in applying for help from the pro bono planners for county asset mapping. The application was a proposal requesting the CPAT to work with Laurens County stakeholders to identify community assets and determine the most appropriate ways to promote these assets to residents, visitors, and potential economic development investors. Working in collaboration with LCDC and its Livability team, the CPAT visited Laurens County twice, met with the team, and then developed a strategy to promote the many social, cultural, recreational, and economic assets that the community has to offer. A first for their team, CPAT decided to do an online asset story map as its deliverable product to Laurens County. The goal is to have the story map finalized and published online in early 2022.

LCDC is excited and motivated to keep the momentum going on the implementation of the county-wide strategic plan and look forward to what lies ahead in 2022.

2021 brought continued challenges from the pandemic and more but Laurens County came out on top with growth and planning.

The future is bright for Laurens County.