mar. 1, 2013 ubj

THE APARTMENT MARKETS IN GREENVILLE AND SPARTANBURG

TELL VERY DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT STORIES

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HELPING EXPAT EMPLOYEES NAVIGATE

THE UPSTATEPAGE 12

VARIGENCE GOES FROM MICROSOFT

TO STARTUPPAGE 16

A VIEW FROM THE TOP AT THE COMMERCE CLUB

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MAIN STREET CAFE STAYS IN FOR THE

LONG HAULPAGE 10

BUSINESSJ O U R N A L

MARCH 1, 2013

COMPLIMENTARY

UPSTATE

A TALE OF

TWODOWNTOWNS

2 UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL March 1, 2013

UBJ Table of Contents

Copyright @2013 BY COMMUNITY JOURNALS LLC. All rights reserved. Upstate Business Journal (Vol. 2, No. 8) is published weekly by Community Journals LLC. 148 River Street, Suite 120, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601. Upstate Business Journal is a free publication. Annual subscriptions (52 issues) can be purchased for $65. Visit www.UpstateBusinessJournal.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to Upstate Business, 148 River St., Ste 120, Greenville, SC 29601. Printed in the USA.

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Mark B. [email protected]

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Alan P. [email protected]

UBJ ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERRyan L. [email protected]

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Susan Clary [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR Jerry [email protected]

STAFF WRITERSCindy Landrum, April A. Morris, Charles Sowell

SENIOR BUSINESS WRITER Dick Hughes

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSJenny Munro, Jennifer Oladipo, Jeanne Putnam, Leigh Savage

EDITORIAL INTERNSShelby Livingston, Casey Dargan

ART & PRODUCTIONART DIRECTOR Richie SwannPHOTOGRAPHER Greg BecknerCONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR Gerry PatePRODUCTION Holly Hardin

MARKETING & ADVERTISINGMARKETING REPRESENTATIVESLori Burney, Mary Beth Culbertson, Kristi Jennings, Donna Johnston, Pam PutmanMARKETING Katherine ElrodMARKETING & EVENTS Kate BannerBILLING Shannon RochesterCLIENT SERVICES MANAGERSAnita Harley, Jane Rogers ADVERTISING DESIGNKristy Adair, Michael Allen, Whitney Fincannon, Caroline Reinhardt

IDEAS, FEEDBACK, [email protected]

HOW TO REACH US148 River Street., Suite 120Greenville, SC 29601864-679-1200

9

A view of North Main Street from the Commerce Club.

FEATURES

Entrepreneur10 Jump Start: Data Cruncher

Cover Story18 Looking for Living Room in the City

Create. Innovate. Celebrate.21 Charlie Houser’s Serial Entrepreneurship

COLUMNS

Digital Maven6 And in Tech News � is Week...

Statehouse Report7 Time for Legislature to Do Something Courageous

Nonprofi t Matters8 Aligning Your Business’s Philanthropy

DEPARTMENTS

4 Worth Repeating4 TBA14 Square Feet21 � e Takeaway23 � e Fine Print24 On the Move26 Planner28 Quarterlies29 New to the Street30 Social31 Snapshot

Photo by Greg Beckner

REMEMBER THAT

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT NO ONE HAS EVER THOUGHT OF THIS BEFORE I SHOULD REALLY WRITE THIS DOWN ONE-IN-A-MILLION BUSINESS IDEA

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DUST IT OFF. IT’S TIME.The Clemson MBA in Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Info session 3/28 · mar28info.eventbrite.comApplication deadline 4/1 · www.clemson.edu/mba

MARCH 1 - 31

A MONTHLONGCELEBRATION OF CULTURES

UpstateInternational.org

A Program of The International Center

4 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal March 1, 2013

Ubj Worth Repeating | TBA

Word is that Target Corp. is looking at a spot near downtown Greenville...

Greenville-based Selah Genomics Inc. has started a Clinical Genomics Center at the University of South Carolina’s Innovista research campus in Columbia…

Expect to hear soon about the impending merger announcement between a leading Upstate

“We pass on information when it’s positive or negative, as long as it’s emotional.

Articles that make people angry or anxious are more likely to be shared than articles that make people sad.”

Viral marketing expert Jonah Berger

“Right now, downtown is at 100 percent of capacity so far as apartments are concerned.

What we need is more businesses to draw peo-ple to the area and give them the incentives

they need to live in downtown.” Will Rothschild, spokesman for the City of Spartanburg

“Our ability to make sense out of all this data hasn’t grown as fast as our

ability to collect the data.” Scott Currie, founder of Varigence, makers of data management software

“Actually, they’ve come a long way over in Spartanburg. They have a bright

future ahead of them if they stay the course on downtown development.”

Greenville Mayor Knox White

tbaaccounting firm and a statewide accounting firm with a Greenville office. Reports are that the marriage would combine the firms’ Greenville offices into a single location and position the combined firm to more effectively serve emerging and middle-market organizations and municipalities across the Upstate…

Reports are that Greenville Zoo will soon be getting a new red panda…

UBJ News

New iPadApp Lets You ‘Solve the Outbreak’

every business seems to have its own app, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is no exception. � e public health agency recently released Solve the Outbreak for the iPad, a game which allows users to be a disease outbreak investigator.

Scenarios like “Birthday Party Gone Bad” o� er opportunities to gather clues, review data and make decisions to determine the cause of the outbreak and ultimately advance through the ranks of the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS). Facebook and Twitter options also allow players to post their results and challenge other players.

Game participants learn de� ni-tions, health tips and information about epidemiology along the way. “� is is a great learning tool for sci-ence teachers, teens, young adults, public health enthusiasts and mystery lovers,” said Carol Crawford, branch chief of the CDC’s Electronic Media Branch. “� e three introductory scenarios are based on actual events EIS o� cers have solved. We also plan to add new outbreak cases.”

� e real EIS o� cers date back to the

Inland Port Breaks Ground This Weekthe south carolina portsAuthority announced last week that the groundbreaking for the inland port in Greer will take place Friday, March 1. Images for the campus plan will also be unveiled that day.

Ports Authority spokesperson Al-lison Skipper said the timeline is still � rm for opening the $23.5 million

inland port on September 1. It will sit on 30 acres at the intersection of Highways 101 and 290 and the J. Verne Smith Parkway. About 250 more acres are available for related development, and BMW will be the port’s anchor user, shipping some 25,000 containers per year through the port.

Speaking at the event will be Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome; Mike McClellan, Norfolk Southern’s vice president of automotive and intermo-dal marketing; Governor Nikki Haley; and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. � e groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m. March 1 at 1120 E. Poinsett St., Greer.

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early 1950s and include physicians, scientists, veterinarians and health professionals who do public health research and surveillance. In addition,

when a mysterious outbreak or public health crisis happens, they � y at a mo-ment’s notice to the scene to investigate.

Solve the Outbreak is available free

through the iTunes store at itunes.apple.com/US/app/id592485067. For more information on the CDC, visit cdc.gov.


UBJ Digital Maven

if you aren’t the kind of personwho voraciously devours Wired, Gizmodo and other tech media, you are missing some really importantdevelopments. Here’s a look at recent tech news you need to know. Or not.

Apple. � ere is an entire cottage industry developed around getting to the core of what Apple is up to these days. � e least little glimmer, and a breathless post appears on Today’s iPhone, iMore, Macrumors, Cult of Mac and more. Here are a few juicy bits that the Apple press is salivating over this week.

Apparently, there is a new iPad case in design. � is has been leaked from an Apple accessory provider. Why does this matter? Because it gives us a glimpse into the dimensions and pos-sible ports that could be seen on the next-gen iPad. Says Cult of Mac: We will be looking at a narrower bezel and slimmer pro� le. And, as if that’s not exciting enough, the microphone may move to the rear shell.

On the app front, according to Mac-Rumors, Apple is hiring something called a “Maps Ground Truth Data Specialist” in Australia. � is person will collect information “on the ground” to better calibrate the Map app results in Australia. I guess that’s pretty impor-tant: One wrong turn in the Outback and you are on a long walkabout.

Yahoo. Last week, this column talked about the ability and advantages in working remotely. I guess that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer wasn’t reading. Yahoo noti� ed employees last week that anyone working remotely needed to relocate to the company facilities. “Speed and quality,” she said in an internal memo published by � e Wall Street Journal, “are o� en sacri� ced when we work from home.” She added: “We need to be one Yahoo!”

� e change, which begins in June, is not being well received. Highly

placed sources say there’s not a lot of wiggle room in the new rule: Come in from the cold, or quit. Anticipating some defections, other tech com-panies are sweetening the pot and trolling the waters with a lifeboat for former Yahoos.

Microso� . Microso� announced that it had been the subject of a cyberattack. I was shocked to read this – perhaps they missed one of last week’s extensive portfolio of security updates to � x all the newly exploited holes in their products. Welcome to the world of the rest of us!

Google. Are you familiar with the Chromebook? It’s an interesting product that the company is highly touting in certain industries like education. No so� ware required, the Chromebook is a totally browser-driven operating system. It starts

nearly instantly and, since no so� -ware is installed, users really can’t mess it up, so they can be used in environments without much IT support. Most Chromebooks are inexpensive – as low as $199.

But last week, Google launched itself into the high-end market with a $1299 touch-screen version called Pixel. It is beautiful with extensive attention to detail in its design and manufacture. � e big question is, “Why?” Google’s Chrome senior VP says they are providing the best de-vice possible for “power users living in the cloud.”

A lot of the tech press is head-scratching. A $1299 laptop that won’t run any so� ware and isn’t a

MacBook? Hmm... Well, says one Google hardware designer quoted by All � ings Digital, we are “tuning the force function of the mechanical keys to be more responsive.” Well, the geeks will love that!

Space, the � nal frontier. So much of our time is spent looking at small things – smartphones, tablets, TV (no matter how big the set). � is week, Wired looked up at the big picture: What if the big one – a giant Earth-killing asteroid – is in fact on its way here, right now? What can we do? (Read the full article here: goo.gl/QD6SQ.)

As scary as it may seem, several initiatives are underway. Something called ATLAS will start building an early-warning system for impending hits by city-destroying or potentially devastating asteroids. It’s supposed to be online in 2015 and will give us a week’s notice. Hmmm. Not sure how that helps, except it’s enough time to go to Hawaii, rent a house on a blu� overlooking the ocean and join Kapalua Country Club!

Another e� ort is the B612 Founda-tion, which is planning to launch a telescope by 2017 to put eyes in orbit near Venus.

Of course, the biggest unanswered question is: Once we see it, what do we do about it – even if we have enough time to act? B612 recommends � ring something big into the asteroid to push it o� course. I think we saw this in 1998’s “Armageddon” where Bruce Willis saves the world – again!

I say we put Apple on it. Maybe the Map app can be used to help us get to safety if the big one is coming to a town near us. Well, at least as long as we aren’t in Australia.

And in Tech News This Week...

Laura Haight is the president of Portfolio (www.portfoliosc.com), a communica-tions company based in Greenville that focuses on harnessing the power of today’s technology to reach new customers, turn customers into loyal clients and loyal cli-ents into advocates. She is a former IT executive, journalist and newspaper editor.

By LAURA HAIGHT

March 1, 2013 UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 7

UBJ Statehouse Report

legislators often don’t have the courage to do something really big for the state in one fell swoop. � ere’s always some kind of excuse: We don’t want to raise taxes. It costs too much. � ere are too many other needs.

Now, the state Board of Economic Advisors has a cup of courage: a $163 million surplus this year brought on by higher-than-projected corporate and individual income tax collections.

million there for a new road. In other words, the solution o� en is political only, not strategic. But in a state with a long list of big needs, state lawmak-ers should direct money into making a big impact.

Our suggestion: Spend it all on educa-tion to implement a statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds.

Business people roundly agree this is the best investment in our

shortfall to legally required funding for public education is $600 million.

Many people we asked suggested that the $163 million be steered to education. Historian Jack Bass, for example, suggested $100 million to restore funding cuts, with the rest to restore cuts to higher education and reduce tuition, which would boost the number of students eligible for lottery scholarships. � e Rev. Joe Darby of Charleston suggested the money should be directed to equal-ize sta� ng, equipment, curriculum o� erings and support programs at all public schools so that parents had real choices about schools.

“We should increase support for programs with proven e� ectiveness in the areas of early childhood education, teen pregnancy prevention, dropout prevention, child abuse prevention, etc.,” said Forrest Alton, CEO of the S.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. “� e success of our young people should be a political priority.”

Others, like S.C. Trucking Associa-tion CEO Rick Todd, said the money should be directed to the state’s ailing transportation infrastructure, which needs $29 billion in maintenance over the next two decades. “In this no-tax-increase political environ-ment, I can’t think of a better use of monies than a capital program like road infrastructure.”

Other ideas:Health care: Expand Medicaid

coverage to cover thousands more people without health insurance, said the AARP’s Patrick Cobb.

Helping people: “We should remove some of the perverse incen-tives that make it di� cult for those getting state assistance to get back

The state Board of Economic Advisors has a cup of courage: a $163 million

surplus this year brought on by higher-than-projected tax collections.

Now, what to do with it?

Time for Legislature to Do Something Courageous

Andy Brack, publisher of Statehouse Report, o� ers weekly commentary. Reach him directly at [email protected].

Go Figure

$163 MILLIONSURPLUS THIS YEAR

$90 MILLIONCOST OF PRE-K FOR 20,000 KIDS

$1.6 BILLIONEXTRA REVENUES OVER A DECADE

By ANDY BRACK

on their own two feet,” said George Stevens, president of the Coastal Community Foundation. “Earning a little bit of money sometimes trig-gers forfeiture of an entire assistance package. A little creative thinking and cash would correct these unintended consequences.”

Laptops for students: Spend $140 million to provide a laptop or digital learning device to every public school � rst-grader, said Phil Noble of Charleston.

� ere are other good ideas – a high-speed rail line between Charles-ton and Greenville; restoring $210 million in cuts to local governments; and addressing longtime cuts to men-tal health programs.

But the point is, regardless of what is done with the new money, the Legislature needs to do something that will make a palpable di� erence.

� e good news about the surplus is that it can be considered recurring dollars – money that will continue to � ow into state co� ers every year, barring some huge recession. Over a decade, that means the state can expect $1.6 billion in extra revenues.

So, what to do with it? Typically, such huge pots are divvied up to pay for lots of comparatively small initia-tives to assuage individual politicians and boost their pet projects – a few million here for a pilot project, a few

future because it will add taxpayers to the workforce, cut crime and cut dependency. � e cost to add around 20,000 kids to the 40,000 who already get some kind of pre-K? About $90 million a year. � e rest of the money – more than $75 million – could be used to boost huge legislative un-derfunding of per-pupil funding for public education across the board.

For the last four years during the recession, state legislators wrote a special exception to allow a huge cut

to mandated per-pupil funding levels. In the current school budget, for example, the law required $2,790 in funds spent on average per K-12 child. But the General Assembly appropriated $2,012 per child. In the budget that lawmakers are now working on for next year, the projected


My business has a long history of giving small � nancial contributions to a wide variety of local causes. Would you recommend that we implement a more strategic ap-proach for our philanthropy?

JIM

Jim, your current giving e� orts are based on what I would de� ne as “checkbook charity.” Many businesses select this easy-to-implement method

to touch as many groups as possible and to respond to a wide variety of employee interests. At some point during the year, the “checkbook” runs out and the giving stops.

I, on the other hand, prefer and rec-ommend aligning charitable e� orts with your company’s mission and values. By establishing and executing a targeted plan, your philanthropy will have a much greater impact on your appreciative recipients as well as your business.

To build a plan, start by de� ning your passions and how they overlay

with your strategic business goals. With an established focus, you can then determine the elements of your philanthropy: dollars, volunteer hours and/or in-kind supplies or services. Like any other area of your operations, you must establish an annual budget that includes the costs associated with each of these approaches.

I am a huge proponent of includ-ing volunteer hours as a part of your charitable plan. � e bene� ts can be numerous. By o� ering time and tal-ent, you can leverage your � nancial contributions to the organization. In addition, many companies � nd that

align well with the established plan.

Promote your funding priorities and proposal guidelines. And be ready to say “no.” Saying “no” is never easy, but handle it with grace and o� er feedback when possible. I o� en make a personal call, though I recognize this is not always possible.

Do your homework and keep a � nger on the pulse of the community. Align with healthy and sustainable organiza-tions that serve an established commu-nity need. And don’t be afraid to request � nancial statements and documenta-tion of how donations are spent.

Don’t be shy about sharing your com-munity involvement e� orts. Sharing your e� orts publicly will help to build awareness about the causes you sup-port as well as inspire others to get involved. And clients and customers like to associate with businesses that support worthy causes.

In closing, Jim, I encourage you to implement a strategic approach for your philanthropy. You will be re-warded with an enhanced reputation for your business, increased brand awareness, improved customer loyal-ty, and greater employee satisfaction and retention, not to mention that it o� ers you an opportunity to truly make a di� erence in our community.

Until next time,DEBBIE

[email protected]

Aligning Your Business’s Philanthropy

UBJ Nonprofi t Matters By DEBBIE NELSONDEBBIE NELSON

By establishing and executing a targeted plan, your philanthropy will have a much

greater impact on your appreciative recipients as well as your business.

this month, i have decided to tackle a topic near and dear tomy heart: philanthropy. According to Merriam Webster, philanthropy is a voluntary, organized e� ort intended for socially useful purposes. I particularly appreciate the use of the word “organized” in this de� nition.

My passion for philanthropy began the summer a� er I graduated from college. At that time, I was fortunate to secure an internship with � e Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in Menlo Park, Calif. During my tenure with the foundation, I learned about their many grantees and assisted in writing program briefs for their annual report. � is was my � rst exposure to the philosophy behind charitable giving. As you might imagine, this prestigious foundation received countless applications for funding, so the selection process was extremely competitive. As stewards of the Kaiser family’s wishes, program o� cers followed clearly de� ned goals and criteria to make their selections.

Many years later as a business owner, I integrated many of these principles into DNA’s corporate giving program, Live Here Give Here. I am o� en asked questions about the attributes of our annual program. Recently over co� ee, a business associate asked me:

Debbie Nelson is the president and founder of DNA Creative Communications, a public relations � rm that partners with nonpro� t and government organizations in the education, human services and sustainability sectors. Each year DNA o� ers its Live Here Give Here pro bono program and Shine the Light on Your Nonpro� t workshop series.

a solid volunteerism program is an important employee recruitment and retention tool. Company-sponsored volunteer activities o� er an oppor-tunity for employees to get to know each other outside of the workplace, thus fostering team spirit while sup-porting a good cause.

Here are a few other considerations:

Identify a company champion who is empowered to manage your busi-ness’ philanthropy. In addition, I like to engage other interested employees to evaluate and select recipients that

March 1, 2013 Upstate bUsiness joUrnal 9

Ubj Downtown

arnold burrell was a charter member of the Commerce Club in 1984, when he was district manager for BellSouth. A lot has changed in the past 30 years, including his retire-ment in 2001, but he still enjoys head-ing to the club, perched at the top of the One Liberty Square building in downtown Greenville, for a meal or social event.

“There are a lot of young people there now, but there is still a sprinkle of gray hairs around,” he said. “There is something for everyone.”

That’s just the environment general manager Dylan Petrick and his staff hoped to create as they set out to “rein-vent” the Commerce Club throughout 2012. Owner ClubCorp, based in Dal-las, spent about $1 million to renovate the bar area and lounge.

“We wanted to freshen the club and make it more user-friendly as a place to connect and build relation-ships,” said Petrick, who has been with ClubCorp for three years and at Commerce Club for a year and a half.

Two Touchdown Rooms – small spaces where members can work, take private phone calls or host business meetings – have been popular additions.

“That’s where the deals are done,” Petrick said. “They are constantly used. You might have a Clemson MBA student in there doing home-work or an older executive prepping to give a speech at the club.”

With 1,038 members, the club gained 22 net members in 2012, which Petrick said is excellent growth after a membership dip between 2008 and 2011. Membership peaked in 2008 with 1,300, “and we are still working our way back up there,” he said.

The club was immediately popular when it was founded, Burrell said. “Back in those years, there were wait-

ing lists at private clubs, and the time had come for there to be another club.”

ClubCorp was well known, but they were focusing on larger markets like Chicago and Atlanta, he said. “To come to a town our size, they were impressed with what was beginning to happen here, and fortunately we have continued to do well.”

Diverse groupAnother plus for many members has been the openness toward diversity. The Commerce Club was the first in the area to allow women, according to Ingrid Erwin, an attorney who joined in the early 1990s.

“Not just as a spouse, but women on their own could be members here,” she said. “It was the first busi-

ness club to recognize and promote women and to give women a place to find their voice.”

Petrick said that historically, clubs in Greenville had catered to white men 55 and up, “and we have that demographic. But we have 200 young executives, or 20 percent, which is unheard of.”

Though Petrick did not have a num-ber or percentage of female members, he said there has been a lot of interest in women-specific events at the club and that the events are well attended.

When a member joins, the club creates a profile of interests and uses analytics to see what events and out-ings would best suit his or her needs. Female members expressed an inter-est in speakers and networking, so

“The Commerce Club was the first business club to recognize and promote women and to give women

a place to find their voice.” Ingrid Erwin

Created for CommerceReinvented Commerce Club aims to meet changing needsBy Leigh Savage | contributor

the club created “Women, Wine and Wisdom,” where women can learn from a speaker and then network among peers.

“Wine is a huge thing for our mem-bership, so we have two wine tastings a month,” he said. The Brewmasters group hosts about 80 people per month for beer tastings.

A benefit of being part of Club-Corp, which owns 150 clubs in 23 states and two foreign countries, is that members can use the other facilities as they travel. The company owns Capital City Club in Columbia; Woodside Plantation, a golf club in Aiken; and several Atlanta clubs.

“We’re pushing these reciprocal relationships,” said Petrick, who is working on a deal with Grove Park Inn for the Greenville membership.

Tech Tune-upGrowing demand led to enhanced technology, with an upgraded wire-less system to speed connections and Club Hub, a touch-screen television that showcases what’s going on in Greenville and at clubs in other cities.

A new wine app allows members to browse the available selection, and another new app will share informa-tion about speakers and events. An 84-inch television added to the bar is ideal for sports or other viewing.

After unveiling the new bar area and other updates in December, next up is a $200,000 renovation to the Paris Ballroom.

Burrell, who is the second chair-man of the Board of Governors after the late C. Dan Joyner held the post for 21 years, will hand over the reins in 2014, with Erwin taking his place. Burrell expects the Commerce Club to continue making its mark on the business community.

“Over the years it was used greatly for economic development prospects. It’s a good place to host out-of-towners and prospective employers,” he said. “The club has improved the business climate and quality of life in Greenville.”

Contact Leigh Savage at [email protected].

ClubCorp spent about $1 million to renovate the Commerce Club’s bar area and lounge.



UBJ Downtown

In It for the Long HaulCamille’s Sidewalk Cafe has weathered neighboring

construction projects and fl agging economyBy April A. Morris | staff

as the breakfast rush subsides, Scott Stephens wipes the construc-tion dust from a table in Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe, which is tucked at the back of the Piazza Bergamo and has a chain-link fence blocking the view from Main Street in Greenville.

Scott and Loretta Stephens will celebrate � ve years operating at the location in March, having moved from a spot in the Asheville Mall. In those � ve years, the two said they have had about 18 months total of unimpeded access to their location between construction projects.

� e couple sat down to talk about how their business venture has suc-ceeded despite departing tenants in nearby o� ce buildings and a � agging economy, not to mention sidewalk-blocking heavy equipment and a multi-year construction site.

In 2008, they started strong. “Right out the gate, in the � rst few

months we were doing 30 percent above what we had done at the Asheville store,” Loretta Stephens said. Her husband said the trend changed quickly, however: “It was the perfect storm of progress in the piazza and a poor economy.”

Scott Stephens credits Camille’s survival partially to a core group of customers who frequent the spot that serves sandwiches, salads, wraps, smoothies, co� ee and other fresh fare. “� e local businesses have been huge customers and helped us out a lot,” he said. Several nearby merchants also refer their customers to Camille’s, his wife said.

� ough the core has been loyal, the Stephenses admit moving forward has been a struggle. Sales “dropped o� again in the last year,” said Lo-retta Stephens. When some of the small businesses downtown closed, Camille’s would lose a customer here and a customer there. “� ose ones add up to many when they’re not coming regularly,” she said.

While at one time they both worked in the restaurant, in 2010 Scott Stephens had the chance to pursue a job with Harvest Hope Food Bank, and Loretta Stephens took over day-

Scott and Loretta Stephens

“That’s one of the things that I think is so unique about the Greenville area … we’re not in the best situation right now, but we’ve got a lot of folks behind us.”

Scott Stephens

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to-day operations. She took to the challenge, he said, and has become a shrewd business owner. He had worked in the nonpro� t sector before purchasing the restaurant, serving as executive director of Calvary Home for Children in Anderson. He’s now development director with Piedmont Women’s Center.

In addition to Scott Stephens work-ing outside the restaurant, Camille’s opted to launch a catering service, which was a success.

“We realized early that if people can’t come out to us, we need to get out to the people,” Scott Stephens said.

� e city, the Chamber of Com-merce and even the developers un-derstood the situation and helped out as much as possible, he said. “� ey’ve been there to support us. � at’s one of the things that I think is so unique about the Greenville area … we’re not in the best situation right now, but we’ve got a lot of folks behind us and supported us rather than saying we were on our own.”

� e couple also credits a higher power for pulling through the tough times.

“We have a lot of praying custom-ers,” said Loretta Stephens. Her husband gestured to the back of the space and added, “We’ve had custom-ers stand in that corner and pray for us and for our business.”

� e Stephenses are proud of the food they o� er and of their friendly sta� , which is expected to double soon. Scott Stephens said that the fare helps to keep their customers coming back. “We make it to order and it’s never sitting around. I think that is a draw.” When the piazza is open, Camille’s will probably expand its hours to accommodate those who visit, he said. “Now with this being a destination, this is going to be a great place for us to have people congregate and to be able to serve them.”

Loretta Stephens said that she had made many friends through the busi-ness. “It’s more than serving food. Some people come in and need to talk. One of my dearest friends I met working in the cafe.”

“We love being downtown and love serving the people here,” said Scott Stephens, who added that tenants of the ONE building have already been in to eat.

And when the piazza work is complete, Scott Stephens envisions his customers at outdoor seating near the planned water feature. “Yeah, it’s been a rough road, but I’m excited about what’s going to happen. � ere’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Contact April Morris at amorris@community

journals.com.

Construction work in front of Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe

Photos by Greg Beckner


Ubj International

paul wetzel started a business to provide language training 18 years ago, but quickly found that when executives from overseas arrive in the United States, their needs go far beyond bridging the language barrier.

“The main hurdles are schools and housing,” said Wetzel, president of Wetzel Services. “Schools for children is just a huge concern for a family that comes here for a couple of years. And then housing, everything from signing contracts to paying security deposits and setting up electricity. We advocate for them all the way through.”

The ability to recognize and fill a growing need – supporting interna-tional companies bringing in expats for long-term stints – has allowed Wetzel Services to expand from six employees to 10 over the past few years and helped the company achieve record growth during tough economic times.

“We were very lucky,” Wetzel said. “Right when everyone else was slow-ing down, that was when there was an expansion out at BMW, so we stayed strong.”

He also credits the diversity of having three divisions – international relocation, language and intercultural training, and realty services – with the steady growth. “Most language schools were hurt, so it helped that we are not just a language school.”

That’s what Wetzel set out to create in 1996. He had taught middle school in Greenville County for a decade and had a master’s in education from Clemson, where he researched methods of teach-ing English as a second language. He created Wetzel Services, won a BMW

contract, and business blossomed.The company still works with

BMW and many suppliers, such as Plastic Omnium and Drexel Meyer, as well as Fluor and Bosch. There are six fluent German speakers on staff, as well as French and Chinese speak-ers, and the company offers courses in Italian and Spanish.

The expansion he didn’t see com-ing was in the area of real estate. “I never expected to have a real estate brokerage, but the three divisions makes sense, providing a full range of services for a company that just wants to hand this over and we help them all the way to the end.”

Relocation was added to the mix in 2001 and the real estate brokerage in 2004. In the past two summers, his

real estate division found housing for 90 families, which he said was chal-lenging due to a limited number of homes available for rent.

There are large relocation compa-nies through the U.S., but Wetzel has found that many expats appreciate having a local company that doesn’t just speak the language but under-stands local customs and culture.

While the company employee is at work, the spouse and children are often the ones who need assistance transitioning to longer school days, English that is different from the Brit-ish English they learned in school, making sure credits transfer back to their home country, and logistics such as updating legal documents and setting up Internet connections.

“We become an extension of human resources,” Wetzel said. “Then we advocate for them all the way through. What might be a six-month process we

can help make a one-month period.”Monika Schoffel arrived with her

husband from Germany in August 2012, and said Wetzel “took us by the hand and helped us with many things that needed to be done on a relocation,” including finding a home, setting up a bank account, working with utility companies and conducting intercultur-al training to understand differences.

Wetzel said clients frequently seek answers to cultural questions, asking about the large number of churches or local attitudes toward alcohol. They often stop by the Wetzel office for coffee or meet at the Bavarian Pretzel Factory for social events.

Schoffel has already begun to feel at home in Greenville and credits Wetzel’s services for easing the transi-tion. “They were always helpful with every question, and for us, it was easier to feel like we were at home in Greenville very soon,” she said.

Culture Crash Course

Wetzel helps expat employees navigate the Upstate

By Leigh Savage | contributor

“We advocate for them all the way through. What might be a six-

month process we can help make a one-month period.” Paul Wetzel, president of Wetzel Services

Contact Leigh Savage at [email protected].

Paul Wetzel

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Contact Jennifer Oladipo at [email protected].

the greenville chamber cele-brated its 124th annual meeting last week at the TD Convention Center, opening the evening with a look back at the chamber’s one-and-a-quarter centuries in the Greenville. The most recent membership drive added 135 members to the roster, cementing a rebound after a loss of members dur-ing the recession.

Keynote speaker David Seaton, chairman and CEO of Fluor, praised the chamber’s efforts during a press briefing before the event.

“I think the chamber should really be proud of what they’ve done for this part of South Carolina,” Seaton said after reminiscing about the days before downtown Greenville became a lively attraction. Seaton joined Fluor Daniel in 1984, working with textile firms including Milliken & Co. Today, Fluor employs just over 2,100 people in Greenville.

Fluor, formerly Fluor Daniel, has been located in Greenville since 1982. The international engineer-ing, procurement and construction company now has three operations in Greenville: Fluor Enterprises, Fluor Constructors International and American Equipment Company.

Fluor’s South Carolina operations are mostly involved in military contracts in support of efforts in Afghanistan, such as the building and maintenance of Bagram Air Field. Seaton said such mission-critical contracts shielded the company from the potential effects of defense spend-

ing cuts that may come as a result of the federal budget sequester. Fluor also manages the Savannah River Site nuclear plant for the Department of Energy, one of just a handful of national labs.

Seaton said South Carolina under-stands the importance of a business-friendly environment, but still is not properly positioned to take advantage of growth in the procurement sector.

“This state is one of the few that I see that really has an economic development mindset,” he said, add-ing that a focus on math and science

Fluor Ceo Headlines Chamber CelebrationBy Jennifer Oladipo | contributor

in the U.S. has been in the Gulf Coast in development of shale gas, petro-chemicals and gas to liquids, which was a major contributor to the $27.6 billion in revenue for 2012 Fluor had reported the previous day, up 18 per-cent from the previous year. Fluor itself had reported an unexpected fourth-quarter loss of $4 million, which it attributed to an adverse rul-ing in a lawsuit over an offshore wind farm project in Britain.

Seaton presented the chamber’s Leadership Greenville Distinguished Alumni award to Russell Stall. Other awards included Minority Business of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Young Professional of the Year and others (see sidebar).

education is crucial, and while the state is making improvements, they are not fast enough.

Seaton said the U.S. is on the cusp of growth if the regulatory environ-ment changes to reduce restrictions on business. He said some $35 billion in projects were backlogged because of government regulations.

“The U.S. is just one good budget deal and one good energy bill away from regaining its prominence,” Seaton said.

Despite the lagging U.S. economy, Fluor has seen growth from investors abroad, especially in South America and Australia. Ground transportation was one “bright spot” in the United States economy, Seaton said. Growth

GreeNville ChamBer 2012 award wiNNers

arts leadership award Certus Bank

max heller Neighborhood improvement award The Salvation Army

Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center

minority Business of the Year award

Flat Fee Recruiting LLC

small Business of the Year award

Rush Wilson Ltd.

ambassador of the Year award

Mark Basanda

aTheNa leadership award Jo Hackl, Xanthene Norris

and Nancy Whitworth

Buck mickel leadership award U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint

Chairman’s award S.C. Rep. Bruce Bannister

special Chairman’s award David Lominack

leadership Greenville distinguished alumni award

Russell Stall

Young Professional of the Year award Nick Graham

Mark Basanda (left), owner of Utility Audit Solutions, was recognized by

Greenville Chamber CEO Ben Haskew as Ambassador of the Year.

Fluor CEO David Seaton delivers the keynote address at the Greenville Chamber’s

124th annual meeting.

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development team and outstanding design, the property will undoubt-edly join the ranks of midtown Manhattan’s iconic landmarks.”

The 28-story, 470,000-square-foot steel and glass tower will offer views of Bryant Park as well as the

Benton Park SuBdiviSion Sold

On behalf of GaP development llC, CBre | the Furman Co. recently announced the sale of Benton Park, an 80-lot residential subdivision on 16.2 acres on Circle Road, Easley.

Benton Park is located in the Powdersville area, eight minutes from downtown Greenville and five minutes from Easley. The subdivision’s close proximity to many major retailers and employ-ers makes it an attractive location for moderately priced single-family detached housing, and helps accommodate the recruitment of businesses and their workforces in the Upstate.

CBRE | The Furman Co.’s senior associate, Justin Hirsch, repre-sented the seller. Shaun Murphy, with Southern Realtor Associates, represented the buyer.

PaColet Milliken BreakS Ground in nYC

On Feb. 25, Spartanburg-based Pacolet Milliken enterprises, along with joint venture partner Hines and equity partner J.P. Morgan As-

set Management, broke ground on their new office tower at 7 Bryant Park in New York City. Among the prominent local and state officials attending the event was New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said, “With its exceptional

Trinity Commerce Center,Simpsonville

A rendering of the planned 28-story 7 Bryant Park tower.

Officials from Pacolet Milliken and other dignitaries prepare to break ground at 7 Bryant Park in New York City.

Photo Provided

Photos Provided


Spectrum Commercial Properties announced:

Rob Brissie recently represented Riddle Properties LLC in several leases at The Historic Rialto Building at 302 Trade St., Greer, which has been renovated and transformed into executive office suites for small businesses and entrepreneurs:

A lease to a seasoned restaurant operator from the Lowcountry. The restaurant will feature a classic American Casual menu.

Two leases for executive office suites. The new tenants include Ingrid H. Rudolph PC, a bankruptcy and family law attorney, and M2I Group LLC, a full-service business advisory services and video/animation technologies firm.

A lease of two executive office suites to Crown Resources LLC.

New York Public Library and other midtown skyline landmarks. First occupancy is currently planned for the fourth quarter of 2014.

“Our company and its owner-ship families are excited to be part of this extraordinary project, which will further enhance the Bryant Park community and contribute beautifully to the New York City skyline,” said Pacolet Milliken President Richard C. Webel. “We are especially pleased to know that this development aligns with Roger Milliken’s legacy of environmental sustainability, as the building is pre-registered for LEED Gold certification.”

The site was purchased by Milliken & Company in the 1950s, shortly after which a 190,000-square-foot building was erected on the site. The building served as worldwide headquarters for the company’s marketing

division until those operations were moved to Spartanburg in the late 1990s.

SunLand PuRCHaSeS TRInITy CoMMeRCe CenTeR

Sunland distribution Inc. recently announced their purchase of the Trinity Commerce Center in Simpsonville. Located off of I-85 and I-385 on 1312 Old Stage Road, the multi-tenant industrial facility spans a total of 607,400 square feet of warehouse space on the ground floor and an additional 120,000 square feet on the second floor. The 32-acre property along with the building was purchased from Trinity Capital advisors LLC. naI earle Furman brokered the sale, the details of which were not made public.

Built in phases from 1968 to 1993, the facility was once an integral distribution center for

Pillowtex Corporation’s manufac-turing and distribution network. The facility will continue to be an operating base for Sunland’s Scotts Miracle-Gro account and is now the home for Sunland Distribution’s new corporate headquarters.

Sunland was Trinity’s largest tenant, said Gary Chesson, partner at Trinity Capital Advisors. “We have owned that building for five and a half years, and we have enjoyed being an owner in the Greenville market,” he said. “We are looking for more in the Greenville market to acquire and develop more office and industrial buildings in the Green-ville/Spartanburg area.”

neW ReaL eSTaTe GaLLeRy In eaSLey

Coldwell Banker Caine recently

Dealmakers

announced the location of its fourth Real Estate Gallery to open in downtown Easley in late April. The Easley Real Estate Gallery will be 2,000 square feet of office space located at 118 South Pendleton St. in the Plaza at Old Market Square.

Aerial map showing the location of the Benton Park Subdivision.

Courtesy of CBRE | The Furman Co.

March 1, 2013Upstate bUsiness joUrnal16

Solving what seemed to be an intractable problem for Microsoft brought Scott Currie back home to Greenville to form his own company with break-through software to deal with tons of data.

Five years after taking the software with Mi-crosoft’s blessing, Currie’s company, Varigence, is receiving international notice – and orders – from companies needing to manage and mine large amounts of data.

“Just in the last three months, we are at a place we don’t have to do hand-holding to get people to be successful with the software,” Currie said. “We now have people coming to us worldwide at a faster rate than we can handle.”

The morning Currie was interviewed by UBJ, an order came in from Reykjavik, Iceland.

“Our clients are all over the place, both geo-graphically and in terms of industry,” he said. “Basically, anybody who has a lot of numbers they need to process is interested in our software.”

What’s more, he noted, with the speed and ca-pacity of computing doubling every 18-24 months, the problem of managing data will only get worse. “Our ability to make sense out of all this data hasn’t grown as fast as our ability to collect the data. (That) fundamentally is the problem we are trying to solve.”

--Former microsoFt employee scott currie Finds success on his own with Varigence--by dick hughessenior business writer

Members of the Varigence team, from left: Jon Carl, Steven Currie, Paul Waters,

Scott Currie and Zach Halleck.



M i c r o s o f t ’s H i g H -t e c H i n c u b at o r f o r c r e at o r s

Varigence is an offspring of Microsoft’s support of “employees doing interesting things whether it is inside the company or, if necessary, outside the company,” Currie said. “Also because they have generated so much wealth, they give people the option to go and start their own business. You can be a startup without being a 20-something bachelor living in a closet.”

Currie, who joined Microsoft after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, was such a “20-something” called on by Microsoft to solve a perplexing problem in its internal business platform.

He did, and Microsoft let him take the software, refine it for commercialization and sell it to other companies and institutions struggling to make intel-ligent use of large amounts of data.

This service is a subset in the business intelligence sector of computing, which “has been the largest sector of IT spending in the past three years and the fastest-growing sector in the last four years,” said Steven Currie, Scott’s brother and operations director.

M a r k e t P o t e n t i a l i n H i g H M i l l i o n s

“In terms of our piece of the market, there is no reason why our ceiling is not in the hundreds of millions or even into the low billions,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to get to those kind of num-bers, but there is no hard limit on what we can do.”

Scott Currie was working as a senior specialist in developing tools at Microsoft when a high-level executive asked him to “figure out why customer satisfaction with developer tools at Microsoft was trending downward. For a platform company, that’s a really big problem.

“If you are selling an operating system, a big part of the value of that operating system, Windows, is

“Microsoft would much rather have a company

like mine go figure out the innovative stuff

where we can move much more quickly. We

don’t have to make a commitment on decisions

made 20 years ago.”Scott Currie, founder of Varigence

all the software that is available for it; and if you’ve got developers saying, ‘You know what, I am not so thrilled with your developer tools,’ that’s a threat.”

Millions were at risk if software developers started taking their work to “other platforms, mak-ing those other platforms more valuable.”

c o n n e c t i n g M u lt i - D ata b e c o M e s ‘n i g H t M a r e’

Microsoft had tons of multi-informational data and what was then state-of-the-art consumer-support software, but it was unable to sort through it to identify why developer satisfaction was falling.

“If I was looking at survey data, where we asked developers what they thought about us, we could do a reasonable job. But as soon as we started ask-ing questions where we had to bring multi-data sources together, it became a nightmare.”

Currie found a typical corporate silo problem: There had been no cross-pollination. Working independent of software developers, business intelligence data teams “hadn’t really solved a lot of the problems that already were well-solved in the software development space.”

Currie’s solution was to take “all the lessons we learned about how to develop software better over the past four decades and apply these lessons to doing better data intelligence projects.”

Working with Microsoft product teams, Cur-rie came up with a fix that was “wildly successful within Microsoft.” The approach “was able to take over the entire business intelligence work-load for the customer support business,” roughly a $2 billion cost center.

i n D e P e n D e n t s c a n

a D a P t M u c H fa s t e r While Microsoft was enthused, he said, it was reluctant to put it into its own product line because “some of these ideas are so revolutionary” there would be resistance from those used to doing data-based development the old way.

Also, Microsoft has to be “very, very deliber-ate about what stuff goes in, because if they put something in a product they have to support it for 20 years.” It would take seven years to have the confidence to ship it out.

“They would much rather have a company like mine go figure out the innovative stuff where we can move much more quickly,” Currie said. “We don’t have to make a commitment on decisions made 20 years ago.”

Varigence is not yet “back with Microsoft to figure out how to roll back into the core offerings, but that’s probably going to come at some point in the future,” he added. In the meantime, Microsoft is its single largest customer.

When Scott Currie started the company in 2008, he was the only employee in Greenville but was working with a network of five or six programmers elsewhere, primarily in the Northwest.

Currie “borrowed” all the good ideas developed at Microsoft but “started over on the software and built it up so it was production-ready and could handle large workloads.”

H i g H e c o n o M i c s ta k e s

r e q u i r e H i g H s ta n D a r DTo develop the software without “spending a ridiculous amount of money,” Varigence worked with partners willing to use it and “take a little risk on the product side.”

“In effect, we created a situation where we could be using and learning with our early software with what was working and what wasn’t so we could feed that into the next cycle of the software.” It took five years.

Building enterprise software requires a longer ramp than for consumer software, Currie said, because business intelligence software has to work flawlessly on day one.

“When Facebook is down for a day, nobody loses a whole lot of money, nobody dies. There are some annoyed people, but the economic damage is minimal. If Microsoft CSS (consumer service and support) goes down for a day, millions of dollars are lost. That’s why we have this much higher standard.”

From the startup with Scott Currie and a half doz-en contributors from around the country, primarily from Microsoft’s base in the Northwest, Varigence today has two part-time programmers and eight full-time employees, including one in Seattle.

Steven, an MBA graduate in accounting, joined his brother a year ago after seven years as a forensic accounting investigator with U.S Treasury.

If they cared about such things, Scott, 32, would be considered chief executive officer and chief technical officer and Steven, 35, chief operations officer.

Contact Dick Hughes at [email protected].

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APARTMENT CONSTRUCTION TELLS THE STORY OF DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT IN GREENVILLE AND SPARTANBURGBy CHARLES SOWELL | staff

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IT IS A TALE OF TWO DOWNTOWNSand of one man’s vision that separates them economically.

Greenville had a Max Heller and Spartanburg didn’t. � e di� erence perhaps can be measured today by apart-ment construction in the two downtowns.

Greenville has more than 600 units on the books to be completed this year. Spartanburg has fewer than 50 and, with virtually 100 percent occupancy and more than 5,000 students attending college in the area, desperately needs more.

Colleges are thick in downtown Spartanburg and more are on the way. Spartanburg Community College’s new downtown campus will eventually bring 5,000 students.

COVER STORYUPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNALMarch 1, 2013

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But students are not jobs, and Greenville’s booming apartment business is a reflection of available jobs in the downtown area – plus the amenities the city offers to those who choose to live in the heart of town and pay the rents that kind of attraction can demand, said Kay Hall, a multifamily housing specialist with NIA Earle Furman.

There is plenty of room for new business in downtown Spartanburg, said Will Rothschild, spokesman for the city.

“We’ve renovated five class-A office buildings in the downtown area in the past few years,” he said. The jobs will eventually come.

More than 30 years ago, then-Greenville Mayor Heller foresaw the thriving downtown that Greenville enjoys to-day. Spartanburg went with a status quo approach that has placed the city decades behind its neighbor. Greenville is often recognized in national press as an enviable example of just how far a city can go.

Spartanburg’s downtown is a long line of empty store-fronts that stand out like missing teeth along Main Street, despite the city’s best efforts to lure business (see sidebar).

Take heart: The Hub City is rapidly catching up, albeit with a considerable growth curve ahead, said Mayor Junie White. Greenville’s Mayor Knox White agrees.

“Actually, they’ve come a long way over in Spartanburg,” White said. “They have a bright future ahead of them if they stay the course on downtown development.”

White should know. In the late 1970s and early ’80s, downtown Greenville looked like a war zone, with retail business abandoning choice spots along Main Street for the higher traffic volumes available in places like Hay-wood Road and the malls. South Main, now home to the Greenville Drive and Fluor Field, was a line of seedy bars where gunfire was a regular feature on the weekend.

Spartanburg suffered much the same fate on retail flight

and has cleaned up nicely over the years. Crime is low and parking is more than ample, with multi-story parking located strategically around the downtown area.

What has not come is the business and attractions that draw the sort of crowds Greenville’s downtown enjoys. Spartanburg has been forced to take action to patch up the garages with sagging tax revenues, affecting the city’s ability to do maintenance work.

In Greenville, parking is an issue with apartment devel-opers, Hall said. Developers are scrambling to find parcels big enough for housing and parking.

“A prime spot downtown is located on what is now two lots that once were the site of Greenville Memorial Auditorium,” Hall said. Unfortunately, there is not enough room for both apartments and parking, she said.

The old auditorium has been replaced by the BI-LO Center, with acres of parking that remains largely unused except when major events are happening, Hall said.

“There has been lots of talk about that parcel going to apartments, but unless they find a fix for parking it re-mains just talk,” she said.

Ben Graves, chief of the multifamily housing division at Johnson Development, said the company has built several projects around the edge of Spartanburg, but nothing in the city’s center.

“The major roadblock to development there is that downtown is not very walkable, and the current tax code cuts big breaks to single-family home owners and taxes commercial properties at a much higher rate,” Graves said.

There is a fine line in profitability with apartments, which always dictates whether a project is started – or not, he said.

They’ve come a long way over in SparTanburg. They have a brighT fuTure ahead of Them if They STay The courSe on downTown developmenT. Greenville Mayor Knox White

An open tract of land at North Main Street and Stone Avenue within sight of downtown Greenville, suitable for an apartment building or complex.

cover storyUpstate bUsiness joUrnal

March 1, 2013

(continued on page 20)

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Then there’s the old chicken and egg question of what comes first in downtown development: attractions or busi-ness opportunities? Greenville went with central anchors, which were virtually guaranteed to draw people to the area, and coupled it with sidewalk restaurants that are full on a daily basis now. Weekends in downtown Greenville draw the equivalent of a small city to enjoy the nightlife.

Spartanburg has definitely had successes. The city landed the new George Dean School of Business and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – both major developments – but they don’t support that many jobs or provide much in the way of taxes. Those bonuses only come with business development.

“Spartanburg can’t support the kinds of rents that Greenville or Charlotte get,” Graves said, mostly because downtown walking traffic is simply not there.

Greenville’s rents are on par with Charlotte, said White. The city built its downtown a block at the time, starting with the agreement that brought the Hyatt Regency to the north end of Main Street and expanding south at a steady rate, pulled along by new major public and private proj-ects – the Peace Center and Fluor Field being the prime examples, he said.

Financials drive the current apartment boom, White said. “There is financing available for apartment building; on the retail and commercial side, not so much so.”

The boom is a nationwide trend in places like Charlotte and Atlanta, he said. “Spartanburg will eventually catch up on that side of things, too.”

Contact Charles Sowell at [email protected].

One majOr rOadblOck tO develOpment in dOwntOwn Spartanburg iS “the current tax cOde which cutS big breakS tO Single-family hOme OwnerS and taxeS cOmmercial prOpertieS at a much higher rate, according to Ben Graves of Johnson Development.

> Spartanburg city officials plan to name three winners in the Main Street Challenge by May of this year as part of a program to fill empty storefronts downtown.

City spokesman Will Rothschild said the impact of the challenge will be far greater than just three businesses, which for the next year will each receive $1,000 a month from the city to put toward rent, plus such in-kind services as accounting, architectural services, payroll, signage, telephone/internet, website design, office supplies and advertising.

The city’s goal is to put at least three viable businesses into storefronts, Rothschild said, “but the contest will do more than that. We have gained 58 potential recruits for our downtown area through entries.”

The hope is that some of the entrants will go ahead and locate downtown, filling in gaps between

existing businesses and helping the area develop.

“Right now downtown is at 100 percent of capacity so far as apartments are concerned,” he said. “What we need is more business to draw people to the area and give them the incentives they need to live in downtown.”

Currently, the only new apartments planned for this year downtown are 27 new units planned at the Magnolia Street Lofts, located near the old city train station.

“That will be a help,” Rothschild said. “But it doesn’t begin to cover the need now and in the future.”

The city currently has five buildings of Class A office space ready for occupancy in the downtown area, Rothschild said.

City officials are confident those spaces will be filled eventually. There is a substantial business

presence downtown now by larger companies like Denny’s and Advance America, Rothschild said. “In the next five to 10 years we hope to have the available office space downtown occupied.”

A large population of schools and institutions downtown lend prestige to the area, but do little to help the city’s tax base, he said. “What we need downtown is more commercial development; things that will encourage people to live downtown.”

Regional and area development plans don’t really help the city all that much, Rothschild said.

“We’ve seen major industrial development all along the border with Greenville County,” he said. “Invariably, the upper echelons and workers tend to move to Greenville or the new suburbs near Greer. That does nothing for us or our tax base.”

SpartanBurG’S ChallenGe to Fill empty StoreFrontSBy CharleS Sowell staff

Cover StoryUpstate bUsiness joUrnalMarch 1, 2013

(continued from page 19)

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SouthernNet Inc. for $100 million. With some of his newfound wealth,

Charlie and two Tel/Man buddies started a small venture capital fund, Consilium Group. � ey dabbled in a few small investments outside telecom-munications that didn’t turn out so hot,

telling Charlie that he ought to stick with the business model he knew worked well.With a Tel/Man teammate, Leighton Cubbage, Charlie started and became

CEO of a new company, Corporate Telemanagement Group, in 1989. CTG wasn’t a brand-new startup as much as it was a reincorporation of many of the Tel/Man team members executing the same business model. Charlie made another pop in 1995 when CTG was acquired by LCI International Inc. for $160 million.

� en it just got crazy in the go-go years of the late 1990s technology boom. Charlie, Leighton and others formed a bigger venture capital fund, Serrus Ven-tures, and this time stuck to their knitting by specializing in telecommunications

companies. A supernova explosion of companies occurred in Greenville with Serrus’s backing, including State Communications, TriVergent, New South and Nuvox. Over time, most of these companies got cobbled together into what is now Windstream.

Charlie’s son, Shay, was involved in this string of telecommunications companies and is carrying on the leg-acy. Shay started and is CEO of Green Cloud Technologies in Greenville, and Charlie is the sage chairman.

Green Cloud says they help small and medium-sized businesses increase productivity, improve per-formance and manage technology costs by delivering managed IT and telecom services through the Internet cloud. Said more simply, Green Cloud buys something in bulk, breaks it into smaller quantities, combines it with great service, and sells it to small companies. And they do it with a team of industry veterans who have worked together now in a series of companies.

Charlie is executing the same success-ful business model with some of the same people he has worked with over 30 years. � at’s what serial entrepreneurs do.


UBJCREATE. INNOVATE. CELEBRATE.

CHARLIE HOUSER’S SERIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

John Warner is CEO of InnoVenture, whose global Web platform helps people with big ideas attract needed customers, capital, talent and technology. InnoVenture.com partners include major corporations, universities and entrepreneurial companies regionally and around the world.

In the early 1980s, Charlie was an executive with Builder Marts of America, a company which bought stu� in bulk, broke it into smaller quantities, pack-aged it with great customer service, and sold it to a base of small-business customers all across the United States.

In 1982, an earthquake occurred. It’s hard to imagine now, but once AT&T owned the U.S. long-distance telephone market as a regulated monopoly. Fed-eral Judge Harold Greene rattled the world by approving a consent decree that spun o� AT&T’s seven Regional Bell Operating Companies and freed AT&T to enter the computer industry. AT&T agreed to break up its golden monopoly in part for the opportunity to get into the computer industry? Yep.

Richard Ingram, another Builder Marts manager, saw an opportunity in the breakup of AT&T. A guy that sells stu� to lumber yards sees opportunity in the break-up of the phone company? Yep. Richard’s nose for opportunity turned out to be a lot better than AT&T’s.

AT&T’s consent decree required AT&T to sell long-distance phone service at or above a certain price. � e point was to entice guys like Richard to enter the long-distance business to take customers away from AT&T so they would no longer be a monopoly.

Richard realized that he could buy long-distance service wholesale from AT&T, sell it retail to small-business customers below AT&T’s price, and still make a lot of money. � at’s the same basic business that Builder Marts was in. Buy something in bulk, break it into smaller quantities, combine it with great service, and sell it to small companies.

In 1983, Richard started a new company to get into the long-distance business, Tel/Man Inc., and Charlie became the CEO. Charlie made a pop when Tel/Man was sold in 1986 to

A WHOLE STRING OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPANIESin Greenville over 30 years have somebody in common: Charlie Houser. ¶ After living in Greenville for many years, Charlie moved to Magnolia Springs, Ala. When the town was incorporated in 2006, he became its fi rst mayor. Startups are just what he does. Though he still lives in Alabama, one of the hottest startups in Greenville today, Green Cloud Technologies, has Charlie’s fi ngerprints all over it.

Charlie Houser’s formula: Buy something in bulk, break

it into smaller quantities, combine it with great service, and sell it to small companies.

CHARLIE HOUSER’S

STARTUPS1983-1986Tel/Man Inc.

IPO and sold for $100 million

1989-1995Corporate

Telemanagement GroupSold for $160 million

1997-2010NuVox (Trivergent)

Sold for $650 million

2003-2008UCI Communications

Sold for undisclosed price

BY JOHN WARNER

Photo Provided


UBJ The Takeaway

When we care, we share –

we pass on information

when it’s positive or negative,

as long as it’s emotional.

Based in Greenville, Brains on Fire helps organizations build movements. Born out of the bond between word-of-mouth marketing and identity development, Brains on Fire is devoted to helping organizations discover and sustain excitement about who they are and why they exist. Best known for their success like the Fiskars Fiskateers movement, or helping the National Center for Family Literacy bring Wonderopolis to life, the company holds fast to the beliefs that great organizations are rooted in purpose, not just pro� t, relationships trump transactions, and organizations thrive through movements, not campaigns.

We need to engineer content to make it more viral or talkable – we want to cra� “contagious content” that will catch on. Above all, focus on the message, not the messenger.

� ere are six reasons that people are likely to share information:

1. SOCIAL CURRENCY: People like to talk about things that make them look good, funny, in the know. Make people feel like insiders through scarcity and exclusivity (think members-only sites like Rue La La and Gilt). Or � nd the inner remarkability – surprising, novel or exciting.

2. TRIGGERED: Top of mind, tip of tongue – the more people think about something, the more likely they are to talk about it. When we use a product, we’re much more likely to talk about it because it’s top-of-mind. Consider the context: Are people going to remember to think about it later on?

3. EMOTION: When we care, we share – we pass

on information when it’s positive or negative, as long as it’s emotional. Articles that make people angry and anxious are more likely to be shared than articles that make people sad.

4. PUBLIC: Seeing lots of other people doing some-thing encourages us to do something similar – but we must see it. If people can’t see it, they can’t imitate it. Design products that advertise themselves; make public symbols for otherwise pri-vate products. Examples like Christian Loubouton shoes with the red sole, the Microso� startup sound.

5. PRACTICAL VALUE: Useful or helpful information – news you can use; good deals (Groupon); save time, e� ort – highlight incred-ible value. Know the rule of 100: If it costs less than $100, the percentage seems more than the dollar value; if it’s more than $100, a dollar amount seems like a bigger discount. Package your knowledge and expertise – “10 Ways,” “5 Tips,” “6 Secrets,” etc.

6. STORIES: Stories are vessels that carry informa-tion hidden inside. People share re-ally good stories that are interesting. Make sure the virality is valuable. Certain details are integral to stories and certain details are not. Make your brand an integral detail to that story.

BOTTOM LINE: Word of mouth increases sales. But to make it work for you, you need to understand what makes things viral and talkable.

Taryn Scher is founder and president of TK PR.

ON JAN. 29, 100 KINDRED SPIRITS GATHERED FOR the 2013 Fire Sessions at Genevieve’s at The Peace Center in Greenville. What started as a way to simply say “thank you” to their biggest fans, the sessions have become a highly anticipated event for Greenville-based identity company Brains on Fire. With a full day of speakers, the program is designed to invigorate and leave attendees feeling excited and passionate about marketing movements.

EVENT: Brains on Fire Fire Sessions 2013

WHO WAS THERE:Marketers, executive directors, communication professionals

SPEAKER: Jonah Berger, professor of viral marketing at the Wharton School at UPenn; author of “Contagious: How to Make Products, Ideas and Behaviors Catch On”

TOPIC: How to use word of mouth to catch on

Making Ideas‘Contagious’

Author and professor Jonah Berger studies social epidemics, or how prod-ucts, ideas and behaviors catch on and become popular. Most recently, Berger has examined why certain products get more word of mouth than others and why certain online content goes viral. Berger discussed word of mouth at the Fire Sessions:

Word of mouth is the primary factor behind purchase decisions, but only 7 percent of word of mouth hap-pens online in places like Facebook and Twitter.

ON JAN. 29, 100 KINDRED SPIRITS GATHERED FOR the 2013 Fire Sessions at Genevieve’s at The Peace Center in Greenville. What started as a way to simply say “thank you” to their biggest fans, the sessions have Center in Greenville. What started as a way to simply say “thank you” to their biggest fans, the sessions have Center in Greenville. What started as a way to simply

become a highly anticipated event for Greenville-say “thank you” to their biggest fans, the sessions have become a highly anticipated event for Greenville-say “thank you” to their biggest fans, the sessions have

based identity company Brains on Fire. With a full become a highly anticipated event for Greenville-based identity company Brains on Fire. With a full become a highly anticipated event for Greenville-

day of speakers, the program is designed to invigorate based identity company Brains on Fire. With a full day of speakers, the program is designed to invigorate based identity company Brains on Fire. With a full

and leave attendees feeling excited and passionate day of speakers, the program is designed to invigorate and leave attendees feeling excited and passionate day of speakers, the program is designed to invigorate

Jonah Berger

UBJ The Fine Print

A subsidiary of Blue Ridge Electric Co-op 1-888-407-7233 • blueridgesecuritysystems.com

Serious Security

Our Clients Say It Best…

“Blue Ridge Security has provided top quality service for over ten years to our company and corporate executives. We have five manufacturing plants, fifty distribution centers, and our corporate headquarters located in the Southeast.

The partnership and relationships built over the years with Blue Ridge Security have played a significant role in helping us to accomplish many of our company-wide goals. Their entire staff, from monitoring to sales and service, are committed to excellence and are diligent in ensuring that all of our employees are secure and safe in a variety of work environments.”

Tom HazeltonDirector, Corporate Security / Services

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated

STAFFING UP FOR HOT DAYSCross Country Home Services, a provider of home warranty and maintenance plans, intends to hire 90 more people for its customer service facility in Anderson, the company announced.

“Most of the new positions will be dedicated to customer service and authorizations in anticipation of the heavy call volume experienced in the summer months,” the company said.

President Sandra Finn said the company staffs up in the spring to be “well equipped to handle” emergencies such as a broken air conditioner that can be a disaster in hot weather.

The company said record temperatures over a protracted

period in much of the country last summer produced record emergency calls. In one one-week period in June, the company said, call volume increased 54 percent.

“Despite the heavy volume, the average call was answered in less than one minute and customers received same-day or next-day service through the company’s network of over 40,000” independent service providers, the company said.

CCHS said in addition to the 90 jobs added in Anderson, it would add 40 in its Sunrise, Fla., headquarters.

LOBBYING FOR ROAD MONEYThe Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce and 10 other civic and business organizations have endorsed a plan to encourage Gov. Nikki Haley and the S.C. Legislature to spend more money on fi xing roads and bridges.

The chamber’s board unanimously approved The Road Map to the Future that calls for addressing “critically important” widening interstates, fi xing load-restricted and defi cient bridges and resurfacing existing roadways.

The S.C. Business Roundtable has urged the Legislature to dedicate 20 percent of new general-fund revenue, additional capital reserve funds and money from re-directing vehicle-related revenue to fi xing the transportation infrastructure.

“The volume of traffi c on our state’s roads continues to increase while maintenance and new construction declines,” said Donna O. Smith, vice-chair of the Greer chamber’s legislative affairs committee. “This isn’t sustainable and will hinder economic development.”

According to the business roundtable, South Carolina

spends an average of $15,000 per mile on roads, while Georgia spends $35,000 per mile and North Carolina spends more than $150,000.

HVAC FIRM ACQUIREDRedblue, a heating and air conditioning company in Charlotte, said it has acquired Willingham Heating and Air Conditioning in Spartanburg.

Redblue said it brings new management and additional capabilities, including lighting,

LANDING CONTRACT WITH CATGreenville-based GreenWood has been awarded a contract with Caterpillar to create safety-focused effi ciencies in its operations.

“Caterpillar is strengthening their manufacturing opera-tions in North America, and GreenWood can provide a management team specifi cally aligned with their operations,” said Brad Wood, GreenWood president.

GreenWood provides “inte-grated maintenance, operations and construction solutions designed to extend the life of critical assets, infl uence opera-tional effi ciencies and deliver improvements for manufactur-ing and process clients.”

solar and building automation, to what had been Willingham.

Redblue specializes in commercial, medical and industrial markets. It is a family-owned business that has been in business more than 20 years.


UBJ On the Move

HIREDHIRED HIRED PROMOTED

UBJ On the Move

MICHAEL J. GARANamed director of technology devel-opment for the Clemson University Biomedical Engineering Innovation Campus (CUBEInC). Located in Greenville, CUBEInC strives to develop high-impact medical technology and devices for disease management, then oversee the transfer of this technology from bench to bedside. Employed in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries for more than 30 years, Gara has worked for numerous pharmaceuti-cal companies in the areas of research and development, manufacturing, product development and business development. In addition, he has man-aged translational research programs in biomedical engineering at major universities across the United States.

DR. MATTEEL JONES

Joined Greenville Technical College as vice president for student services, having served for nearly six years as vice president for student affairs at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Beaufort, S.C. Jones previously worked in the Upstate area for 10 years at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood and has an extensive background in student affairs, includ-ing enrollment services, fi nancial aid, student records, student counseling, support services, student conduct, grant programs, diversity education, campus life and more.

BREANA LIPSCOMBJoined The March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter as director of pro-gram services and government affairs. Lipscomb was formerly a program coordinator for the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control; prior to that, she held the position of assistant project coordinator at the UAB School of Public Health. She is currently a fellow in the Maternal Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute, a board member of the South Carolina Perinatal Association and of the Columbia Urban League Young Professionals, and president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Upsilon Omega Omega Chapter.

DANA MORGAN

Promoted as DNA Creative Commu-nications’ director of client services. Morgan will be responsible for expand-ing new business opportunities for DNA as well as increasing the depth of public relations and marketing services provided to current clientele. She is a double grad of Clemson University and has been a part of the DNA team for more than 10 years. Her portfolio includes a number of accomplishments and milestones reached for her clients, which include FAVOR Greenville, Clem-son University’s College of HEHD, and SC Camps and Retreat Ministries.

ACCOUNTING:Scott and Company CPAs recently an-nounced that Ryan LaBrooy has joined the staff as an associate accountant in the fi rm’s Tax and Advisory Services group. LaBrooy joins Scott and Com-pany LLC from Lowrance Cooper and Company, a Columbia-based tax and accounting fi rm that combined with Scott and Company in late 2012. He has more than three years of experi-ence dealing with the corporate and partnership taxation issues of auto dealerships, law fi rms, insurance agen-cies and nonprofi t entities, as well as serving individual clients.

EDUCATION:The University of South Carolina Upstate recently announced that Dr. Warren Carson has assumed the du-ties of interim vice chancellor of the University of South Carolina Upstate’s Greenville campus. Carson will have day-to-day operational and strategic planning responsibility for the entire USC Upstate Greenville campus, which is located at the University Cen-ter of Greenville and enrolls approxi-mately 1,000 commuting junior- and

senior-level students. He also currently serves as associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief diversity offi cer, and will continue his new as-signment through the remainder of the 2012-2013 academic year. Carson’s new duties are a result of the retire-ment of Dr. Judith S. Prince, who served as the vice chancellor of the Greenville campus from July 2004 to January 2013. Prince has been ap-pointed director of academic engage-ment for the USC Upstate Greenville campus. She will work with business, industry, community leaders and Uni-versity academic leadership to plan, develop and implement certifi cate and degree programs for employees either onsite or at the USC Upstate Green-ville campus.

ENGINEERING/CONSTRUCTION:O’Neal Inc., a Greenville-based inte-grated design and construction fi rm, is launching an Advanced Facilities division that will focus on automated manufacturing, logistics and distribu-tion facilities in the food, retail, and industrial markets. The fi rm is adding Doug Karmel as Advanced Facili-

ties division leader and Richard Gee as business development manager. Karmel has more than 27 years of professional experience in global supply-chain consulting, specializing in physical distribution and con-trol, material-handling systems and facilities planning. He comes to O’Neal from Prime Engineering Inc. in Atlanta, where he served as vice president of the facilities market segment. Gee has previous experience with Prime Engineering Inc., PKF Consulting and Facility Group. He has more than 30 years of experience in developing new business systems and targeting and establishing new clients.

INSURANCE:Rosenfeld Einstein, a South Carolina-based insurance agency, brokerage and consulting fi rm that is part of the Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC family of companies, recently announced that Upstate human resources professional Zeke Lollis has joined the company as a shared services specialist in the fi rm’s employee benefi ts division. Lollis joins Rosenfeld Einstein after several years in the human resources

divisions of both Greenville Technical College and Clemson University, and holds a B.S. degree in management from Clemson University.

LEGAL:Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd P.A. recently announced that Michael A. “Mike” Tongour was selected as this year’s recipient of the University of South Carolina’s College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for his outstanding service to the university. Tongour will receive the award at the college’s an-nual Recognition of Excellence Dinner on March 22 in Columbia. He serves on the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Council, serves on the Depart-ment of Political Science National Advisory Board and has been actively involved in building the Arts and Sci-ences Washington alumni group. In addition, H. Sam Mabry III was recently recognized for his exemplary service to the South Carolina Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advo-cates (ABOTA) with the Joel W. Collins Jr. Chapter Service Award. The award is given periodically to chapter mem-bers for outstanding representation to


STEVE A. MOORE

Appointed police chief of Simpsonville by Mayor Perry Eichor and the Simpsonville City Council. Moore began his police career in the Air

Force from 1983-1989, where he received two Air Force

Achievement Medals, the Good Conduct Medal and an Overseas Long Tour Ribbon. He went on to work at the Mauldin Police

Department from 1989-2006 as a patrol offi cer, but was also a crime prevention offi cer, public information offi cer, and worked with the D.A.R.E. program. In addition, he served as interim police chief twice in Mauldin.

In 2009, he came to the Simpsonville police department

as a patrol offi cer and rose through the ranks.

PROMOTED

APPOINTED

BEVERLY HAINES

Offi cially named president of Green-ville Hospital System’s Patewood Medical Campus, after serving as interim president. Haines, a member of the GHS leadership team for more than six years, had served in a dual capacity as Patewood’s interim presi-dent and director of its patient care services since March 2012. Before coming to GHS in October 2006, she held numerous leadership positions in hospital administration, including as the senior vice president of patient care services at the University of Pitts-burgh Medical Center Health System (UPMC) Southside.

the chapter and continued dedication to the profession of law. Mabry is the third recipient. He is a member of the organization’s national board of directors and a former president of the South Carolina chapter.

MEDIA:Community Journals, publishers of the Upstate Business Journal, Greenville Journal, Spartanburg Journal and TOWN, has added Austin Hafer to its team. Originally from Greenville, Austin Hafer joins Community Journals after a copywriting/brand strategy role at RedHype Ad Agency. Returning to Greenville after a four-year stint in Columbia, Hafer, a graduate of the University of South Carolina, comes to Community Journals to facilitate the brand growth and conversion to digital and social media platforms. Aside from RedHype, Hafer has previously worked with Greenville’s Ferebee Lane advertising agency and WFBC-B93.7, an Entercom affi liate.

PUBLIC RELATIONS/MARKETING:Erwin Penland, one of the nation’s leading advertising and marketing

fi rms, has promoted Kristin Adams to account executive, Giselle Bravo to assistant account executive, Wade Burrell to account executive, Ally Cal-lahan to media planner, TJ Deluccia to account executive, Meighan Fraga to senior account executive, Matt Gaymon to senior account supervisor and Tony Lowe to associate creative director. Previously working as an assistant account executive, Adams will continue to serve on the Verizon Retail account team. Bravo had been a project management coordinator for the agency, but now moves to the Veri-zon Communications team in her new role. Continuing to serve the Verizon Wireless team, where he previously worked as a junior account executive, Burrell originally joined Erwin Penland from Ignite Social Media in Cary, N.C. A native of Memphis, Tenn., who previ-ously served as a junior media planner,

Callahan will continue to research and recommend media strategies for a vari-ety of Erwin Penland clients in her new role. Deluccia will continue to serve the Verizon team, where he had been a junior account executive. Fraga, who had previously worked as an account executive in the agency’s technology innovation group, will continue to over-see interactive projects for a variety of clients, including Michelin, Uniroyal and General Motors. Having joined Erwin Penland in 2003 as a junior account executive, Gaymon has since been promoted to account executive, senior account executive and account supervisor. Lowe joined Erwin Penland as a senior art director in 2005, then was promoted to creative supervisor before his most recent appointment.

REAL ESTATE:CBRE | The Furman Co. recently announced that Brian Scurlock has joined the retail group as an associate in brokerage services. Prior to joining CBRE | The Furman Co., Scurlock worked six years with Coldwell Banker Commercial as a commercial broker focusing on sales and leasing of of-fi ce and retail space. In addition, he served as an assistant golf professional for six years at Long Cove Golf Club in Hilton Head and Greenville Country Club’s Chanticleer course.

NAI Earle Furman’s Property Manage-ment division recently announced that Brendan Gower and Nick Smith have received the Certifi ed Property Manag-er designation. The CPM designation demonstrates expertise and integrity in real estate management. Certifi cation is gained through the Institute of Real Estate Management. Gower graduated from Virginia Tech and has been a property manager at NAI Earle Furman since 2010. Smith, also a property manager at the fi rm, has been with the company since 2010. He is a graduate of Francis Marion University.

Prudential C. Dan Joyner Co. Realtors recently announced that Susanna Mo-ran Erickson has joined the company and serves as a sales associate at the Greer offi ce. Erickson received her degree in history from University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartan-burg. She worked in the Prudential C. Dan Joyner call center for six years.

Allen Tate Realtors recently announced the top agents for Jan. 2013. In the Greenville offi ce, Kathy Rogoff was top listing agent and Robby Brady was top

producer. In the Easley offi ce, Missy Rick was top listing agent and top pro-ducer. Celia and Gary Murphy were the top listing and producing team for the Easley offi ce. In the Greer offi ce, Jerry Vassey was top listing agent and Anne Fuller was top producer. Paul and Marcia Hersey were the top listing and producing team for the Spartanburg offi ce.

The Marchant Company recently recognized several agents for their outstanding performance during the month of January. Valerie Miller was recognized as volume listing agent of the month; Kathy Slayter was recognized as unit listing and the sales unit listing agent of the month; Joey Beeson was recognized as sales vol-ume agent of the month; and “March to SOLD” team, Anne Marchant, Jolene Wimberly and Brian Marchant were recognized as sales team of the month.

TECHNOLOGYSYNNEX Corporation recently an-nounced that Eddie Franklin, vice president, and Bob Stegner, senior vice president of marketing for North America, were recognized as two of UBM Tech Channel’s CRN 2013 Channel Chiefs. This prestigious list of the most infl uential and powerful leaders in the IT channel recognizes those executives directly responsible for driving channel sales and growth within their organization, while evan-gelizing and defending the importance of the channel throughout the entire IT Industry. This marks the second year Franklin has been honored as a CRN Channel Chief. For 2013, he was selected because of SYNNEX’s successful growth in health and public sector IT, and for augmenting public-sector marketing programs with vendor-focused public-sector services. Stegner has been honored as a Chan-nel Chief for the fi fth consecutive year. For 2013, he was selected because of the successful marketing launches of SYNNEX’s technology solutions initia-tives DEMANDSolv and OneIT. He also enhanced the membership benefi ts of Varnex, SYNNEX’s peer-to-peer community of SMB resellers, based on input from the community to create deeper value and return. For over ten years, Channel Chiefs were selected by the CRN editorial team based on channel experience, program innova-tions, channel-driven revenue and public support for the importance of IT channel sales.

UBJ PlannerMarchant Real Estate

www.MarchantCo.com864.467.0085

is proud to celebrate 20 years of

Signature Service in the Upstate.

Our team of Real Estate Professionals thank you for your continued trust and promise to continue providing the local, personal expertise you deserve.

The name you know. The people you trust.

26 Upstate BUsiness JoUrnal March 1, 2013

friday, March 1

The 52nd annual Spring Southern home & Garden ShowTD Convention Center, 1 Exposition Drive, Greenville

Features hundreds of exhibits with merchandise for sale, product demonstrations, and workshops for adults and children. Special appearance: Southern Living contributing editor Rebecca Gordon.For more information, visit HBAofGreenville.com or call 864-254-0133.

first friday LuncheonGreer City Hall, 301 E Poinsett St., Greer; 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Speaker: Erich Schneider, business owner and “Big Picture Guy.”Topic: “The Hubris of Success and the Success of Failure.” Open to the community with registrations at greerchamber.com required.cost: $10 for Chamber members and $15 for non-members.contact: The Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce at 864-877-3131.

friends of ccS annual LuncheonFountain Inn Activities Center, 610 Fairview St., Fountain Inn; noon to 1:15 p.m.

cost: $25 for an individual or $200 for a table of eight.Speaker: W. Burke Royster, the superintendent of Greenville County Schools.contact: Wilma Whitlatch 864-688-2211 or [email protected].

first friday Leadership Series presents Greg SmithClemson at the Falls, 55 E. Camperdown Way, Greenville; 5-7 p.m.

Speaker: Greg Smith, president, Blue Vista Ventures, LLCTopic: “Basement startup to Fortune 150 exit: What I learned along the way”registration: Free, but space is limited. Reserve your spot at firstfridaygsmith.eventbrite.comcontact: Amy Burka at [email protected].

SaTurday, March 2



Sunday, March 3



Monday, March 4

upstate healthcare Summit-Expanding Medicaid in ScCommunity Center at Village @ Pelham, 250 Westmoreland Road, Greer; 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Summit on Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act in South Carolina.Speakers: Dr. Tony Keck, Director of SC Department of Health and Human Services, and Thornton Kirby, president and CEO of the SC Hospital Association.contact: 864-239-3748.

TuESday, March 5

Spartanburg healthcare networkSpartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, 105 North Pine St., Spartanburg; 10:30 a.m.-noon

The mission of the Spartanburg Healthcare Network is to improve the health of Spartanburg County through support, outreach, networking, advocacy and education.cost: Free, but please RSVPcontact: Meric Gambel at 864-


594-5030 or [email protected].

iPhone 5 WorkshopVerizon Wireless Store, 469 Congaree Road, Greenville; 6-7 p.m.

Free workshops to help individuals learn how to use their cell phones. Registration is required at: verizonwireless.com/workshops.

iPhone 5 WorkshopVerizon Wireless Store, 4 Market Point Drive, Greenville; 6-7 p.m.

Free workshops to help individuals learn how to use their cell phones. Registration is required at: verizonwireless.com/workshops.

Metro Toastmasters ClubCity Hall / third floor conference room, 206 S Main St., Greenville; 7-8 p.m.

Open to allContact: 864-350-0044.

Wednesday, MaRCh 6

Lunch and LearnMauldin Chamber of Commerce, 101 E. Butler Road, Mauldin; 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Elder Care II will feature a discussion on the basics of Medicare and Medicaid to help you to better understand these programs. Lunch will be served, and Mauldin Chamber members, guests and community residents are welcome.Cost: FreeRsVP: 864-297-1323 or [email protected] by March 4.

FemCity Greenville March Connection LuncheonThornblade Country Club, 1275 Thornblade Blvd., Greenville; 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m.

speaker: Becky McCrary Topic: “Priorities! Piles! Purpose!”Cost: $30 for members and $45 for non-members. Register at: femfessionals.com/FemCities/Greenville/Calendar/Events/FEMCITY-GREENVILLE-%7C-MARCH-CONNECTION-EVENT-1193.htm.

Mauldin Chamber Leads GroupMauldin Chamber of Commerce, 101 East Butler Road, Mauldin; noon-1 p.m.

Contact: Don Johnson, email [email protected].

Manufacturers Roundtable - hartness TourHartness International, 1200 Garlington Road, Greenville; 12:15-1:30 p.m.

event description: Tour of Hartness International, one the region’s premier manufacturing facilities and lunch. Space is limited to 30 and attendees must be members of the Manufacturers Roundtable to attend. Guests of members will be allowed to attend if space is available. Hartness will provide safety glasses. Safety shoes not required; closed-toed shoes are preferred.Contact: Hank Hyatt at 864-239-3714.

an evening with Philip ackerman-LeistStrom Thurmond Institute, Self Auditorium, 230 Kappa St., Clemson; 6:30 p.m.

speaker: Philip Ackerman-Leist, Author of “Rebuilding the Foodshed” and “Up Tunket Road,” and professor at Green Mountain College, Poultney, Vt.Topic: Rebuilding the Foodshed: Remapping Our Expectations for the Food We ShareCost: Free to attend.Contact: Kelly Gilkerson at 864-656-5057 or [email protected].

ThuRsday, MaRCh 7

Lunch and LearnCommerce Park, 102 Depot St., Fountain Inn; 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

speaker: Dr. Matt Cohen, Life Source Spine & WellnessTopic: Key strategies to increase performance and decrease stress at home and workLunch will be servedContact: Yancey Epps at 864-770-5407 or [email protected].

syP First ThursdayZarza, 149 S. Daniel Morgan Ave. Suite 1, Spartanburg; 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

Come socialize and network with your fellow young professionals.Cost: $3 house liquor, $5 flavored martinis, $5 house wineContact: Meric Gambel at 864-594-5030 or [email protected].

200 East Broad Street • Greenville, SC 29601 • 864.242.3370 • www.elliottdavis.com

We’ve helped businesses succeed through the Great Depression, the recent recession and every

market in between.

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For 88 years, Elliott Davis has advised businesses on

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Rick Davis, CPAFirm Managing Shareholder


Ubj Quarterlies

‘AmericA’s Diner’ reports Lower incomeDenny’s reported a sharp drop in revenue and earnings in the fourth quarter and year 2012.

The Spartanburg-based restaurant chain said fourth quarter net income of $6.5 million, or 7 cents per share, was down from $92 million, or 92 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

The difference was in large part caused by an impairment charge of $700,000 in the fourth quarter of last year while net in the quarter of 2011 benefited from an $89-million deferred tax benefit.

Revenue for the quarter was $116 million compared to $130 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

For the year, net income was $22 million, or 23 cents per share, compared to $112 million, or $1.15 per share, in 2011. Denny’s had revenue of $432 million last year, $488 million in 2011.

The company said same-store sales grew 1.5 percent in 2012 for franchised stores and 0.2 percent for store-owned ones. The company said it had reached its goal of having 90 percent of its restaurants franchise-owned.

John Miller, president and CEO, said the improvement in same-store sales “is a testament to our positioning as America’s Diner, emphasizing everyday affordability” and limited-time special pricing.

Mark Wolfinger, executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the company generated $49 million in free cash flow in 2012 and used $28 million to reduce its debt and $22 million to repurchase stock to reward shareholders.

europe Hurts cApAcitor sALesAVX, the Greenville County-based maker of capacitors, reported fiscal third quarter net income of $20 mil-

lion, or 12 cents a share, down from $37 million, or 22 cents per share, in the comparable 2011 period.

Net revenue was down $1 million at $341 “as a result of decreased volumes across most of the markets we serve,” the company said.

For the nine months ended Dec. 31, AVX had a loss of $89 million compared to net income of $166 million in the prior period. The company incurred a charge of $266 million related to environmental issues at an old New Bedford Harbor, Mass., superfund site.

“Geographically, compared to the same period last year, sales decreased in Europe and the Americas while increasing in Asia, tracking the overall macroeconomic conditions in these regions,” the company said.

mAnufActurer cuts expensesKEMET Corp., the Simpsonville-based manufacturer of capacitors, reported a loss of $14 million on revenue of $206 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31.

The loss was an improvement over the $28 million in red ink in the same quarter of 2011. Revenue in that period was $237 million.

“Despite declining sales over the past three fiscal quarters, our efforts to reduce our fixed costs across the entire company have been successful,” the company said, citing an improvement in gross margin to 17.1 percent from 14.4 percent.

KEMET said it expected its fiscal fourth quarter revenue to be consistent with third quarter results and that it expects expenses to decline between $300,000 and $500,000.


Dairy Queen recently opened at 112 North Main St., Mauldin.

Upstate Nutrition/Plate 108 allows patrons to attend cooking classes and visit a registered dietitian for nutrition information and advice. Plate 108 offers four types of classes: demonstration, eating demonstration, participation and combination. They are

located at 108 E. Poinsett St. in Greer. For more information, call 864-915-2640, email [email protected], or visit upstatenutrition.net or facebook.com/plate108.

Last week, Rick’s Deli and Market opened on the Riverwalk at 101 W. Camperdown Way in downtown Greenville. The upscale deli is a new

concept for Rick Erwin Dining Groups, which has two other restaurants downtown: Rick Erwin’s West End Grill and Rick Erwin’s Nantucket Seafood. The new deli and market targets downtown’s growing residential population with sandwiches, cheeses, pastries, wine and specialty beers as well as meals to go and off-site catering.

Ubj New to the Street

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Dairy Queen ribbon-cutting in Mauldin; fresh baked goods available for dessert at Rick’s Deli and Market; Upstate Nutrition/Plate 108 in Greer; a selection of fine wines available at Rick’s Deli and Market.


UBJ Social

First Row: OYSTER ROASTFirst Federal presented the 9th Annual Cypress Internal Medicine Oyster Roast last week at The Warehouse in downtown Greer. A shrimp boil and pig pickin’ were added to this year’s festivities. Photos Provided

Second Row: GREENVILLE CHAMBER ANNUAL MEETINGFROM LEFT: Angela Webb (right), president of CertusBank, presented the ATHENA Leadership Award to (from left) Xanthene Norris, Jo Hackl and Nancy Whitworth at the Greenville Chamber’s 124th annual meeting; Luanne Runge, chairwoman of the Greenville Chamber board of directors; Jim Evers, left, presented the Greenville Chamber’s Buck Mickel Leadership Award to U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint; Luanne Runge, with Ava Smith of Flat Fee Recruiting, winner of the Minority Business of the Year Award. Photos by Rose Photography & Design

Third Row: GREENVILLE CHAMBER ANNUAL MEETINGRolling Green Village in Greenville hosted the Greer Chamber of Commerce’s February networking event, “Handshakes and Hashbrowns.” Photo Provided

UBJ Snapshot

You don’t have all day to look at your financial statements.

We do.

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From “Remembering Greenville: Photographs from the Coxe Collection”

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Historic photos available from the Greenville Historic Association

Today, the Wharton Apartments are the 801 East North Condos. The third-fl oor patios now have awnings, as do the buildings entrances.

The Davenport Apartments at the intersection of East Washington and Church streets are today the Davenport Condos. The exterior still looks

very much as it did when they were built in the early 20th century.

The Wharton Apartments at Lavinia Avenue and East North Street; a for-rent sign of the front of the building list the contact as a E.M. Wharton. The city

directory from 1933 lists the property as the Maryland Apartments.

Greenville’s fi rst large-scale apartment complex, the Davenport Apartments, was built in the early 20th century on the corner of East Washington and Church

streets. The three-story complex was built in 1915-1916 for G. D. Davenport by real estate developer Eugene A. Gilfi llin. Designed by local architect J.L. Lawrence, the U-shaped structure has a central court with a Jacobean-style

gable at the end. Refrigerators line the sidewalk waiting for installation.

03.22.13

8:30AM-4:30PM

KROC CENTER, GREENVILLE, SC

TICKETS: $55

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