Author: epidevelopment

UPSTATE MEDIATION CENTER CELEBRATES TWO INFLUENTIAL GREENVILLE WOMEN: POET LAUREATE GLENIS REDMOND AND JUDGE DIANE SMOCK

Greenville, SC – The Upstate Mediation Center (“UMC”) is proud to announce Greenville’s Poet Laureate Glenis Redmond received the 2022 Peacemaker Award on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at UMC’s annual Peacemaker Celebration. She was nominated for her service to humanity as a poet, educator, and communicator of peace. Redmond has dedicated her life to coaching and uplifting youth poet’s voices.

Dr. Judith Prince nominated Redmond stating, “Glenis Redmond’s life is a harbinger of peace through her words, her work, and her gentle being. Locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally, Glenis speaks “peace” wherever she goes whether she is presenting poetry about the Black experience, teaching teachers and students how to tell their own stories or writing and speaking poetry about peace. She is the epitome of the UMC Peacemaker!”

The UMC Board of Directors feel that Redmond’s work in the Upstate and nationally exemplifies the purpose the Peacemaker Award.

The Peacemaker Award is designed to recognize a member of the community who has made a significant difference in promoting tolerance, building good will and understanding, resolving conflict, and striving for peace.

Redmond’s name will be added to a plaque recognizing past Peacemakers at the Peacemaker Bench in Cleveland Park. The Peacemaker Bench, commissioned in 2019 by UMC, was created by Greenville artisan blacksmith Ryan Calloway.

The UMC also awarded former Greenville County Probate Court Judge Diane Smock with UMC’s Extraordinary Achievement Award at the Peacemaker Celebration.

When the great recession hit, the UMC lost most of its operational funding and faced closing its doors. Former Judge Diane Smock understood the important role the UMC played in our community and its court system. On a temporary basis Judge Smock volunteered to take over the helm and attempt to right the ship. She sought out and collaborated with local grant partners who contributed not only much needed immediate operational funds but additional funds to develop programs that would generate sustainable revenue.

All UMC’s services are provided by volunteers. Judge Smock implemented programs to recruit, train, and retain volunteers and provide resources for the staff and volunteers. Her temporary leadership lasted three years during which the UMC experienced a cultural transformation and financial turnaround. Her innovative policies are still in effect today, and the UMC Board of Directors felt it was time to look back and applaud her lasting achievements.

For more information, please visit www.upstatemediation.com.

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The Upstate Mediation Center is a non-profit organization that offers a voluntary alternative to the adversarial Court process by resolving disputes through use of mediation. The Upstate Mediation Center aims to promote the use of mediation and other non-adversarial means of resolving conflicts and to nurture peace by restoring and strengthening family, business and community relationships. For more information about the center and the Peacemaker Celebration, see www.upstatemediation.com.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (October 25, 2022) – Truliant Federal Credit Union announced today that it has started its South Carolina market expansion with the opening of the Truliant Upstate Regional Office in downtown Greenville. The expansion also includes the opening of a second freestanding branch at Cherrydale Point within the next few weeks.

Truliant purchased the historic building in 2021 and renovated the three-story, 19,000-square-foot facility at 110 W. North Street in the Historic District of downtown Greenville. Truliant’s Upstate operations will be managed from this location. Built in 1920, the credit union’s new regional office supports commercial lending, financial advisors, Truliant at Work, community outreach and mortgage services.

To provide the highest levels of service, the credit union is dedicating a significant portion of the regional office to an onsite training center that can accommodate up to 18 employees. The South Carolina expansion will create more than 60 jobs over the next several years, including branch staff, ancillary services, support services and back-office roles, among others.

The 70-year-old credit union has a branch on Pelham Road in Greenville, which opened in 2016 and replaced a long-standing Airport Road location. Truliant traces its history in Greenville back almost three decades to its business relationship with the JPS Textile Group. JPS partnered with Truliant in 1994.

“Truliant has a long history in Greenville, and we plan to do here what we do best: Offer great value to our members and provide straightforward financial solutions that helps them meet their goals,” said Todd Hall, Truliant’s president and CEO. “Over the next several years, the Upstate will represent a significant percentage of our overall expansion. Our contiguous strategy south along the I-85 corridor is the next logical step for Truliant. We see a great opportunity in the Upstate market. This area aligns perfectly with our growth strategy.”
In addition to the credit union’s existing branch location, a newly constructed branch office located at 6 State Park Road in Cherrydale Point will open in November. Leading the regional branch expansion is Jason Swink, the Upstate market director, who has worked for the credit union’s branch operations since 2020. The fully staffed location includes three Spanish speaking bilingual representatives to address language barriers that present obstacles to understanding financial services, tools and technology and how best to use them.

A second new location in Easley will open in early 2023, and a third will open in Greer later in the year. The combined locations represent more than 28,000 square feet.

“These locations reflect our commitment to the entire Upstate region and are part of a continued effort to provide residents with excellent financial services. It will help drive more job creation and commercial lending growth, reinforcing the Upstate’s reputation as a commercial center,” Hall said.

In addition to serving as its business lending center for the Upstate, the regional office will provide operational support for Truliant’s branch expansion. During the last three years, the credit union offices in North Carolina and Virginia have added additional services for mortgages, business services, insurance services, financial advisors, indirect lending and digital services. Truliant will offer all of these services in the Upstate, and many of the adjacent South Carolina markets will benefit from the new locations, ancillary services and third-party services.

The Upstate locations will form the fourth regional concentration of Truliant branches. The other regions are in the Charlotte-Metro area, the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina and southwestern Virginia.
Truliant strives to be an integral part of the communities it serves through valuable financial services, such as free checking, great rates, and convenience – and through community involvement. At its regional office opening, the Truliant Foundation made a $10,000 donation to the Greenville Chamber Foundation to support the Chamber’s LaunchGVL program. This initiative through a partnership between the Chamber and Greenville County Schools connects high school students with work opportunities to strengthen the workforce and to help close the skills gap in Greenville’s high-demand occupations.

“We’ve been laying the foundation for this expansion over the last two years by increasing outreach with community organizations and businesses, strengthening our knowledge of the region and carefully filling positions that underscore Truliant’s total strategy,” Hall said.

“We know that to be successful, Truliant needs the support of the Upstate South Carolina community. So we intend to continue cultivating it with our partners,” he said.

About Truliant Federal Credit Union
Truliant is a mission-driven, not-for-profit financial institution that improves lives by providing financial guidance and affordable financial services. Truliant was chartered in 1952 and now serves 293,000+ members. Truliant has more than 30 Member Financial Centers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

Stomping into Greenville in its only South Carolina stop, “Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak,” an exhibition exclusively designed to showcase the famous artwork of one of the 20th century’s most recognized author/illustrators, is now open at the Upcountry History Museum-Furman University, a Smithsonian Affiliate.

Featuring more than 50 original pieces, Wild Things celebrates Sendak’s life and work by taking visitors on an immersive journey through preliminary sketches, finished artwork, and interactive experiences, all told through the illustrator’s unique ability to intimately connect his art and stories. As one reviewer of “Where the Wild Things Are,” the 1964 Caldecott Medal recipient of the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year, noted about the main character, “Max’s adventures demonstrate that children’s imaginations are a wonderful thing, taking them anywhere they want to go.”

During his career, Sendak, one of the greatest creators of children’s books in the 20th century, fashioned a visual language that has long captivated generations of children in ways that upended expectations by allowing them to step into the pages of imaginative illustrations and engage with the range of emotions children experience. Through his more than 100 books, Sendak’s inspirations continue to thrill life-long learners of all ages, as well as foster interaction and discovery.

On display through January 8, 2023, “Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak” brings the adventures of Max and his “wild things” to life and lets visitors immerse themselves into the pages of these beloved stories.

The Upcountry History Museum is located at 540 Buncombe St., in Greenville, S.C. Hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Sunday from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 864-467-3100 or visit www.upcountryhistory.org.

Greenville, S.C. — Hotel Hartness is expanding its sales and events team with the addition of Christina Cole as catering sales manager. Uniquely located within the 449-acre award-winning Hartness community, Hotel Hartness will offer a luxurious and idyllic retreat in proximity to downtown Greenville. The luxury boutique hotel will be managed by Hay Creek Hotels and is set to open winter 2023.

“We are thrilled to have Christina join our sales and events team. Her extensive hospitality experience will prove extremely valuable as we get closer to opening our doors and are already seeing an increase in event bookings,” said Albert Mertz, general manager at Hotel Hartness.

As manager of catering for Hotel Hartness, Cole will be responsible for all events taking place at the hotel and its amenities to include the fine-dining restaurant Patterson, the intimate Captain’s Bar, and the full-service Spa H. The property will feature two levels of dedicated meeting and event space, totaling over 16,000 square feet and including a variety of indoor and outdoor venues. Each will offer an unparalleled setting and can be customized to suit any occasion of any size, with the White Oak Ballroom hosting up to 300 guests. From elegant weddings and memorable social gatherings to large-scale conferences and intimate corporate meetings, Cole will ensure that every event and meeting experience at Hotel Hartness is exquisite and exceeds expectations. In her role she will also contribute to the development of effective sales strategies to attract new business opportunities.

Cole brings over ten years of experience in catering and event management to Hotel Hartness. She specializes in setting goals with her clients and working closely with each of them to realize their vision for an unforgettable event creating memories that will last a lifetime. Cole’s prior hospitality experience includes serving as the sales and catering manager at the Spartanburg Marriott. Prior to moving to the upstate, Cole held the position of wedding coordinator and event consultant at Hill Farm Inn in Sunderland, Vermont, where she was later promoted to assistant general manager and event coordinator.

“I feel privileged to begin my new role as catering sales manager at Hotel Hartness and for the chance to work with the exceptional team in place,” said Christina. “The opportunity to provide truly special experiences through the property’s renowned dining options and commitment to providing exquisite hospitality for all who visit is truly exciting,” adds Christina.

Cole is a graduate of Castleton University where she earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, Marketing and Management.

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About Hotel Hartness
Hotel Hartness, situated within the award-winning Hartness community and projected to open this winter, will offer 73 guest rooms, an executive conference center, waterside dining, and a luxury spa. It is located on South Highway 14 between Pelham and Woodruff roads – conveniently located on Greenville’s urban edge adjacent to the I-85 corridor, ten miles from downtown and five miles from GSP Airport. For more information on Hotel Hartness, visit www.hotelhartness.com.

About Hay Creek Hotels
Founded in 2005 and based in Exeter, New Hampshire, Hay Creek Hotels is a leader in upscale independent full-service lodging and dining. Guided by international hospitality industry veterans, the company prides itself on a unique combination of award-winning dining experiences, exceptional guest service, and contemporary accommodations. The company offers a full spectrum of technical and third-party management services to boutique hotel owners and developers. Hay Creek Hotels combines decades of industry expertise with fully integrated management systems specifically designed for full-service upscale and luxury-oriented hotels, inns, and resorts. For more information, please visit www.haycreekhotels.com.

For Release: October 17, 2022
Contact: Christine DeMint 864-232-0344 x.122

THE GREENVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS
HAYDN SYMPHONY 98 featuring Principal Clarinet, Anthony Marotta

GREENVILLE, SC – Greenville Symphony Orchestra, led by Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel, will perform its first Chamber Series Concert of the 75th Anniversary Season on Friday, October 21, 2022, at 7:30 pm, Saturday, October 22, 2022, at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 23, 2022, at 3 pm in Gunter Theatre at the Peace Center.

The concert opens with Gioachino Rossini’s Overture to “Il Signor Bruschino.” The opera, one of Rossini’s earliest works, premiered in Venice in 1813 when the composer was 21 years old.
The concert continues with Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No.2. Weber’s friendship with a great clarinetist led to the creation of an excellent series of orchestral and chamber works showcasing the expressive and virtuosic capabilities of the clarinet. Greenville Symphony Principal Clarinetist Anthony Marotta will be the featured soloist on the Clarinet Concerto. Anthony is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, MI, and received a Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. He also holds a Master’s degree from the University of South Carolina. He has held musical posts as principal clarinet of the Augusta Symphony Orchestra, associate principal clarinet of the Filarmonica de Queretaro (Mexico), principal clarinetist of the Long Bay Symphony Orchestra, and clarinetist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
The concert concludes with Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 98. Haydn’s Symphony No. 98 is one of 12 works commissioned by the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon that are the grandest of Haydn’s symphonies in both proportion and orchestration.
Tickets to the Greenville Symphony Orchestra’s “HAYDN SYMPHONY 98” concert are $50 and $60, with special day of performance rates of $5 for students and $10 for teachers with ID. To purchase tickets, visit the Peace Center box office at the corner of Broad and Main Streets in downtown Greenville, or call (864) 467-3000 between 9:30 am – 5:30 pm Monday through Friday.

THE GREENVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA is celebrating its 75th Anniversary during the 2022-2023 season. Recognized as one of the finest professional orchestras in the southeastern U.S., it began as a small group of volunteer musicians performing in the Women’s Auditorium on the old Furman College campus. Since 1990 the GSO’s home has been The Peace Center in Greenville SC. The orchestra performs the classical repertoire in Masterworks and Chamber Series concerts and an Artists Up Close Series featuring smaller ensembles. In addition, they perform three Pops concerts annually. The GSO has been led by Music Director and Conductor Edvard Tchivzhel since 1999. The Russian-born Tchivzhel is the Symphony’s 5th Music Director. Through its Education and Community Outreach concerts and programs, the Greenville Symphony annually reaches more than 50,000 children and adults in the Upstate. greenvillesymphony.org

GREENVILLE, SC (October 19, 2022) – Endeavor, the coworking and office space community in downtown Greenville’s ONE tower, announces that Sarah Kay, author, former head of global brand innovation for Nike, and founder of global brand strategy consultancy, Create A Bold Future, will speak at its next Collaborators & Cocktails speaker series on November 10th from 5:00 – 7:15 p.m.

Kay has more than twenty-five years of experience in global brand management, innovation and leadership across brands including Nike, Reebok, The Earthshot Prize, and Mattel. Kay has worked in multiple geographies, categories, and functions, and helped shape global historical moments including the Olympics and the Football World Cup. An ICF-certified professional coach (CPCC) since 2011, Kay empowers creators, innovators, and leaders to break paradigms about what’s possible in the future.

Kay’s book, Brand New World: Define the Role of Your Brand to Create a Bold Future, equips next-generation CEOs and CMOs to embrace creative thinking, feel confident in making impactful billion-dollar choices, and harness the power of their brand and leadership teams to create a bold future. For companies large and small, Kay’s focus is on developing a brand vision and strategy that articulates your brand’s role in creating a bold future, aligns resources to create measurable value for all stakeholders beyond financial growth, and encourages the next generation of leaders to make choices about how they lead their brand.

“We’re thrilled to welcome such a creative thinker, innovator and brand leader like Sarah to Endeavor,” says Joe Erwin, president of Endeavor. “Whether you lead a brand, represent a brand (on the business side of the creative side of the equation), or ARE a brand, this is an excellent opportunity to listen and learn about accelerating your progress towards creating your own bold future.”

Co-hosting this event are:
• AFL, an international manufacturer providing end-to-end fiber optics and telecommunications solutions to the energy, service provider, enterprise, hyperscale, and industrial markets as well as several emerging markets, with products in use in over 130 countries.
• Crawford, an award-winning full-service marketing and branding agency providing advertising, brand management, public relations, event management and digital media services for clients in industries including healthcare, finance, education, and destination marketing.
• Clemson’s Erwin Center for Brand Communications, a practitioner-based undergraduate program for future brand communications professionals with a “teaching hospital” curriculum model that combines traditional academic coursework with hands-on instruction from current industry professionals.

Important event details:
• Networking 5:00 – 5:45 p.m., followed by presentation and Q&A beginning at 5:45. The event will conclude with networking until 7:15 p.m.
• Seating is limited. To RSVP, request an invitation at Endeavor@EndeavorGreenville.com (no walk-ins).
• Event is free to Endeavor members. Non-member tickets are $30, cocktails included.

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About Endeavor
Endeavor is a membership-based coworking community for creative and entrepreneurial professionals, as well as corporate teams and business travelers. Endeavor’s premium location in the ONE Development in Greenville, SC provides members with state-of-the-art work and meeting space, and uniquely, surrounds them with a diverse array of peers who offer a broad range of services and experience. Training opportunities, networking events and business consulting are available for the professionals who call Endeavor home every day, as well as business team members across the region. Endeavor has been recognized as the winner of the Coworker Member’s Choice Award for Greenville, SC. For more information, visit endeavorgreenville.com.

FUEL – a Greenville, S.C.-based strategic marketing and branding agency – announced today that it has selected Aqua Angels as the FUEL for Good Grant recipient for the fourth quarter. Aqua Angels provides affordable and accessible swim lessons, water safety training, and lifesaving certifications for adult communities throughout the Upstate. Founded in 2021, the nonprofit has more than 500 adults registered through the program and partners with other organizations to provide instructors and pool facilities.

“We saw a great need for water safety and swim lessons among adults throughout our community, and there are many people expressing interest in the program since we launched just last year,” said Rebekah Craig, Aqua Angels founder and executive director. “We are so excited that FUEL selected us as their grant recipient and know they will deliver a logo to help us stand out and communicate our purpose.”

FUEL is committed to making a difference in the community and created the FUEL for Good Grant program in 2020 as a tangible way to give back and help local nonprofits. To date, FUEL has donated nearly 700 hours of service with work ranging from video production and logo development to social media campaigns and marketing collateral.

“Our FUEL for Good Grant program is an important community service initiative and an integral part of the FUEL culture,” said Warren Griffith, FUEL founder and CEO. “Our team is looking forward to working with Aqua Angels and bringing needed brand awareness to this nonprofit organization that is serving a great need in our community.”

For more information about Aqua Angels, please visit www.aquaangels.org. More information about the FUEL for Good Grant program is available at www.fuelforbrands.com/grant.

GREENVILLE, SC – Greenville Symphony Orchestra is pleased to bring music to the Upstate community this weekend in three free events for families. On Saturday, October 15, 2022, members of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra will perform three programs for families, at no charge.

The first two events are the Greenville Symphony Lollipops concerts. Lollipops concerts have been a Greenville staple for more than 40 years and combine a storybook narration with live classical music. On October 15, 2022, the Lollipops Concerts will celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month with the bilingual book “Tito Puente, Mambo King” featuring the Wind Quintet from the Greenville Symphony! SC Children’s Theatre Teaching Artist Traysie Amick will be joined by Leesa Brotherton, who will narrate in Spanish. There are two performance times for the Lollipops Concerts- 10 AM at the Hughes Main Library (25 Heritage Green Place, Greenville, SC 29601) and 11:30 AM at the Greer Library (505 Pennsylvania Avenue, Greer, SC 29650).

The third event is a Pop-Up Concert, Music in the Woods, which will take place on Saturday, October 15, 2022, at 2:00 PM in Paris Mountain State Park (2401 State Park Rd, Greenville, SC 29609). The community is invited to listen to a piano in the woods at the amphitheater with Lisa Kiser, Principal Keyboardist of the Greenville Symphony, and David Kiser, Education and Community Engagement Manager. They will perform Beethoven’s complete Symphony No. 6 in F major, “Pastoral” arranged for Piano Four Hands. The concert is free; however, Paris Mountain charges a park admission fee.

THE GREENVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA is celebrating its 75th Anniversary during the 2022-2023 season. Recognized as one of the finest professional orchestras in the southeastern U.S., it began as a small group of volunteer musicians performing in the Women’s Auditorium on the old Furman College campus. Since 1990 the GSO’s home has been The Peace Center in Greenville SC. The orchestra performs the classical repertoire in Masterworks and Chamber Series concerts and an Artists Up Close Series featuring smaller ensembles. In addition, they perform three Pops concerts annually. The GSO has been led by Music Director and Conductor Edvard Tchivzhel since 1999. The Russian-born Tchivzhel is the Symphony’s 5th Music Director. Through its Education and Community Outreach concerts and programs, the Greenville Symphony annually reaches more than 50,000 children and adults in the Upstate. greenvillesymphony.org

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — Sully’s Steamers, a favorite in downtown Greenville for over 9 years, has opened a new location in Mauldin. Located at Maverick Station at the intersection of Butler Road and Main Street, Sully’s serves up delicious and perfectly messy steamed bagel sandwiches. Founded by Robert Sullivan (aka “Sully”) out of his personal passion for perfecting the steamed sandwich, Sully’s also has restaurants in Clemson and Simpsonville, SC, and Brevard, NC, with a location opening in Spartanburg, SC later this Fall.

“From the start, we have been committed to delivering a great product in an inviting, neighborhood place where everyone feels welcome,” said Robert Sullivan. “As we begin to open franchise-operated restaurants, we are strategically choosing locations where we can really be a part of each community’s culture, and contribute to its growth.”

Bringing a lifetime of restaurant experience to Sully’s Steamers in Mauldin, Jim Canavos, Operator, said, “I grew up in a restaurant where we fed generations of families. It felt like a family reunion every day. It’s my plan to bring that same feeling to Mauldin.” Supporting Jim is a dynamic and energetic team, including General Manager, John Martinson, who has “a desire to make everyone’s day a bit brighter with the best sandwiches on the planet and a genuine care for every hungry stomach that comes through our doors.”

Sully’s menu boasts indulgent meat and cheese combinations alongside healthier options, like gluten-free and vegetarian, and includes kids’ favorites as well. Open 7 days a week, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Sully’s truly offers something for everyone. Catering will also be offered from the Mauldin location, as it is in all locations, so be sure to consider “not your basic ham on rye” for your next office luncheon or family gathering. This location will also have a pick-up window for online and DoorDash orders, so you can get your Sully’s sandwiches as quickly as possible!