Jasper County residents talk during the July 16 Promise Zone meeting
Here are some more recent news stories about the July 8-16 town hall meetings on the South Carolina Lowcountry Promise Zone held in a six-county region. Some excerpts:
Big crowd attends Promise Zone meeting, The (Walterboro) Press and Standard, July 23, 2015
“The Promise Zone is not a big pot of money out there waiting for us to pick it up,” Andy Brack of the Center for a Better South told the standing-room-only crowd at U.S.C. Salkehatchie last Thursday morning.
“But there is a big pot of money out there — we just have to work to get it. We have to work together to get it,” Brack added at the start of the Colleton County workshop attended by approximately 140 people.
Brack and the Center for a Better South worked with the SouthernCarolina Alliance to put together the successful application to have a portion of Colleton County and five other Lowcountry counties designated a Promise Zone by the federal government.
Varnville Market Street hosts Promise Zone meeting, Hampton County Guardian, July 23, 2015
“I think there was a good turn out and a good representation from the local community. I also think that there were lots of good ideas presented during the event; we are ready to move forward,” said Kimberly Mullinax of the Lowcountry Council of Governments. Mullinax went on to say that she will help the county and its’ residents in any way she can.
Susan Saylor of the Palmetto Project, one of the statewide partners for the Promise Zone project, said “It was a great turnout for this meeting. This is going to present the county with opportunities for the next 10 years that people need to take advantage of.”
“I see that this is going to provide opportunities to fund infrastructure that you [residents] really need here,” said Saylor who lives in Charleston. “I only see this project as being a positive for the area.”
Big ideas developed at Promise Zone meeting, Savannah Morning News, July 22, 2015
Around 112 people attended the Jasper County Promise Zone Town Hall meeting last Thursday.
Residents spoke about education, economic development, tourism, safety, and what needs to be done to help the county thrive.
Making a promise, The Colletonian, July 2015
More people attended the recent Promise Zone meeting in Walterboro than any other public meeting thus far, as state and federal officials look to offer federal funding that will help improve the local quality of life. …
“The main point that we want to enforce is that this is about reducing poverty,” said Brantley Strickland, project manager for the SouthernCarolina Alliance. The SouthernCarolina Alliance is the lead regional organization working with state and federal authorities to gain the federal funds. According to Strickland, grants will be funneled through the different federal organizations. “The needs that people expressed at both the Walterboro and the Hampton meetings are very similar,” he said, “but those in Hampton requested countywide High-Speed internet. That is something needed to help in economic development.”
