Call Center Company in Charleston, SC

The Nickel, a 50-room French-inspired property built on the site of the former Dixie Furniture store at 529 King St., opened its doors to guests on June 2.

Nightly room rates start at $460.

The Upper King hotel plans to unveil its rooftop Rosemary Rose bar and lounge later this month

It's the second downtown hospitality development for Method Co., which opened The Pinch a few blocks to the south at King and George streets in 2022.

The latest project was developed in partnership with Capital Square. They paid $11 million for the shuttered furniture store in 2019.

The project was unveiled a few years ago as an $61 million extended-stay-style accommodations to be called the Roost Apartment Hotel. The Philadelphia-based developer later shifted gears and went with a more conventional suite-style hotel concept.

The Nickel takes its name from the French expression, “C’est Nickel” which translates to “It’s Perfect,” according to the hotel.

Raze and replace

The buyer of a North Charleston engine testing site that Cummins Inc. mothballed last year is looking to reboot the Leeds Park property.

Green Start Charleston LLC has filed a proposal with the S.C. Department of Environmental Services to raze the existing 40,000-square-foot industrial structure and replace it with a pre-engineered metal building of an equal size with warehouse and office space. It was described in engineering plans as a speculative project, suggesting it will likely seek a tenant or buyer once completed.

Diesel giant Cummins established its Technical Center-Charleston decades ago within the industrial park it once owned and occupied at 4500 Leeds Ave. It closed the 72-worker engine research-and-development site last summer under a restructuring.

Green Start bought the former 6.4-acre property from Cummins earlier this year for $3.3 million, according to public property records.

The new owner is an affiliate of Enfield, Conn.-based Capital Recovery Group LLC, a private equity investor that buys and sells industrial real estate, from paper mills to commercial bakeries, as well as equipment. Next month, for example, it’ll be seeking bids for the assets of a Las Vegas circus in an online auction, according to its website.

Capital Recovery Group also helped Cummins offload the heavy machinery at the North Charleston R&D site.

On board

A Greenville-based lender has added a Lowcountry representative to its newly expanded boardroom.

Coastal Community Foundation CEO Darrin Goss Sr. is of three new directors at the publicly traded parent of Southern First Bank. He'll also serve on the audit committee.

The board appointments took effect Sunday.

Goss is a James Island native who joined the North Charleston-based Coastal Community Foundation as president and chief executive officer in 2016.

The Army veteran — a graduate of Wofford College with a master's degree from North Greenville University — "is a respected and strategic leader, a passionate advocate, and a dynamic speaker on issues impacting his community, which enhances his ability to serve as a director," Southern First Bancshares Inc. said in a June 2 filing with Securities and Exchange Commission.

The holding company and bank paid its 12 outside directors a monthly retainer of $2,500 and $1,200 for each board and committee meeting they attended. Total cash compensation last year ranged from $45,600 to $58,200.

Founded in 1999, Southern First is the second-largest bank headquartered in the Palmetto State, with more than $4 billion in loans and other income-producing assets on its books. It opened its first Charleston branch in 2012 on East Bay Street.

The Upstate-based bank now operates a dozen retail offices in the Carolinas and Atlanta.

Old college try

The College of Charleston is fanning out to fund raise.

The downtown school announced last week that it has hired four "regional" gift officers to reach out to alumni up and down much of the eastern seaboard.

The new hires will serve as boots on the ground in key markets in an effort to increase individual, corporate and foundation gifts from former students.

The so-called Coastal Southeast territory is closest to campus. It stretches from Myrtle Beach to Savannah and inland to Columbia.

The other fundraisers cover three other large geographic clusters: Florida, Georgia and North Carolina; Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.; and Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

“We believe in the importance of becoming community members across our most alumni-populated regions,” said Dan Frezza, CofC's chief advancement officer.

The college said it raised $27 million in gifts and commitments last year. The 9,548 donors included 5,020 alumni, bringing their participation rate to 7.52 percent.

According to U.S. News and World Report, the average alumni giving rate among national universities and liberal arts colleges during the 2022-2023 academic year was 7.7 percent.

MUSC e.a.t.s. is an emergency food pantry program started at MUSC through the innovation of Dr. Stephanie Kwon and Dr. Annie Andrews. The physicians were awarded a Women & Children's Excellence Grant to open the first food pantry at Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital Emergency Department in October 2021. Since that time the program has expanded with the opening of a pantry at the R. Keith Summey Medical Pavilion in July 2022, followed by several smaller clinics on Charleston's campus. The pantries provide emergency food assistance to patients and their families who screen positive for food insecurity during their visit and indicate they would like to take home a shelf-stable bag of food.

MUSC partners with the Lowcountry Food Bank's Food for Health program to stock the pantries with shelf-stable, nutritious food. Our MUSC volunteers help pack the bags and stock the shelves on a monthly basis. On ground the pantries are coordinated and run through the Office of Health Promotion.

A generous donation to our program from Humana Healthy Horizons of South Carolina allowed our program to expand to additional MUSC pediatric clinics in late 2023.

If you have any questions about the program or would like to make a donation, please email Laura Nance at nancel@musc.edu.

Mission & Vision

To improve health outcomes that preserve and optimize life in South Carolina and beyond

In partnership with our communities, leading health innovation for the lives we Touch regardless of social circumstance

Strategic Imperatives

Across all imperatives, ensure internal alignment and collaboration to deliver a unified, aligned outreach plan for MUSC Health.

Build Trust: Establish trust in our communities; MUSC is seen as a valued and dependable health system.

Access: Improve access to health care in high-risk, geographically challenged areas.

Innovation: Leverage novel technologies and partnerships to address and advance care in our communities.

Prevention: Offer preventative screenings and education to promote health and wellness.

Philanthropy: Partner with philanthropic groups and donors to fund community interventions.

Resources

Meet Our Team

Quenton Tompkins, Executive Director tompkinsq@musc.edu

Dr. Cristin Adams, Medical Director

Kim Balaguer, Program Manager balaguer@musc.edu

Dr. Shawn Gathers, Program Manager gather@musc.edu

Dr. Zakevia Lewis-Kendrick, Program Manager, Violence Prevention lewisake@musc.edu

Brenda Strople, Clinical Outreach Coordinator stropleb@musc.edu

MUSC External Event Request Form

This event request form is designed to be shared with any external community agencies, events, or groups that are interested in having a representative from MUSC at their event. Once the event request form has been submitted, a member of the Office Community Engagement will promptly share the information with the relevant department or office being considered to provide the service. Fulfillment of the requests will ideally come from a local MUSC team/department within the service area of the respective event. However, in the event it cannot be fulfilled locally, the event may be fulfilled by others outside of the service area. We ask that request are submitted at least one month prior to the actual event date. Submission of a request does not guarantee MUSC's participation, all requests are subject to review and may be declined. For questions please email Kim Balaguer at balaguer@musc.edu.

Please use this link to request MUSC's participation in your next community event.

STOP (Stand Together as One to Prevent) Violence Task Force

Purpose: To reduce violence and support recovery for those that experience violence in the greater Charleston and North Charleston communities.

Guiding Principals:

Goal: Create a success collaborative model of violence reduction that is reproducible across communities.

2023, the STOP Violence Task Force launched a Working Group aimed at addressing gun violence through both prevention and intervention. This initiative brought together a diverse range of leaders and has made significant progress in its mission to reduce gun violence through both prevention and intervention. Their continued commitment to solution-focused, evidence-informed, community-engaged, and humanity-centered principles ensures that their efforts will address the immediate challenges posed by gun violence and promote healing and long-term stability.

MUSC's efforts against violence have made substantial progress through the operation of The STOP Violence Task Force in its mission to reduce gun violence through both prevention and intervention. The commitment will continue through efforts to address ongoing challenges and as we continue to change what is possible. For more information email Dr. Zakevia Lewis-Kendrick at lewisake@musc.edu.

Charleston is a peninsula surrounded by water, but it isn’t necessarily a beach town, per se. If you’re after the best Charleston beaches, you’ll need to plan ahead to drive to visit one of the sea islands that flank the city. The decision will pay dividends, however, as each beach offers wide views to the horizon, the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and plenty of space to enjoy both. Most on this list come with a “beach town,” to boot, from Edisto’s sleepy seafood shacks to live bands at the Windjammer as the sun sets on Isle of Palms.

Whatever you’re after, pack some sunscreen and keep these tips in your back pocket for assured fun in the sun: The later in the day you arrive, the more crowded it will be. If you are picky about your place on the sand, then go to Charleston beaches early. The combo of tourists who generally have later starts to the day plus locals who like to knock off work early to get a few hours of beach time equals an increase in traffic and a decrease in towel real estate nearest peak sunshine. Note that each beach has its own rules for parking, from Folly’s “wheels off the road” rule to Isle of Palms’ city operated lots. It’s a delicate dance between livable beach communities and visitor pressure, so respect and patience keep public access palatable for all.

Heads-up: drinking and smoking on most Charleston beaches is a big no no, and can cost you big time. It’s a rule that is consistently enforced, and most locals know someone (or have been someone) who came with beer or other alcoholic beverages in a beach tote and left with a tan and a fine of up to $1000. Also, note that vibes vary from beach to beach. Each one of Charleston’s beach towns has its own culture. While Folly Beach is a free-stylin’ hippie, Edisto is a genteel country cousin, and Isle of Palms a fun-loving student on spring break. This is, of course, a simplification, but can help with deciding which to-the-water trek most fits your interests.

Read on for our complete Charleston city guide, which includes:

Truist’s commitment to inspiring and building better lives and communities is in alignment with the OneMUSC Workforce Development Initiative, leveraging and perfecting the model deployed at MUSC Health Florence, Marion and Black River medical centers, which provides access to career information, addresses learner concerns and positively affects health inequity and disparities in every community it serves.

“South Carolina continues to face a critical shortage of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals. These shortages are most severe in rural areas, and they directly impact the quality of care provided and community health outcomes,” said Jay Hinesley, CEO of MUSC Health Florence/Marion/Black River Medical Centers. “As the state’s only comprehensive academic medical system, MUSC Health is uniquely positioned to respond to this challenge, and this grant will enhance our ability to do just that.”

Forty-one of South Carolina’s 46 counties are considered Health Professional Shortage Areas. The Federal Health Resources and Services Administration projects that South Carolina will face a shortage of more than 13,000 nurses. The OneMUSC Workforce Development Initiative seeks to help fill this shortage by supporting career entry and growth in underserved communities across MUSC Health’s extensive footprint across the state.

“Truist Foundation is proud to support the OneMUSC Workforce Development Initiative and help address health care workforce challenges,” said Truist Market President John Rutenberg. “Our purpose at Truist is to inspire and build better lives and communities, and this donation will support career development in the health care industry.”

In collaboration with a myriad of community, cross-sector and interagency partners, the OneMUSC Health Workforce Development Initiative has identified resources to train and retain more physicians, nurses and technicians in South Carolina. This program aims to expand critical priority occupations through the existing MUSC Health registered apprenticeship by adding 360 patient care technicians each year, starting in 2027.

"Thank you to every MUSC leader, care team member, preceptor and mentor for creating the welcoming, supportive environments where apprentices don’t just gain skills, they find belonging, purpose and a future,” said MUSC Workforce Development manager LeeAnn Weaver Hayes. “I'm incredibly proud of what we've built together – and even more excited for the future we’re creating across South Carolina.”

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About MUSC

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system, with a mission to preserve and optimize human life in South Carolina through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates over 3,100 students in six colleges and trains 950+ residents and fellows across its health system. MUSC leads the state in federal and National Institutes of Health and research funding. For information on our academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the health care system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest-quality and safest patient care while educating and training generations of outstanding health care providers and leaders to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. In 2024, for the 10th consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health University Medical Center in Charleston the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC has a total enterprise annual operating budget of $7.1 billion. The 31,000 MUSC members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers, scientists, contract employees, affiliates and care team members who deliver groundbreaking education, research, and patient care.

About Truist Foundation

Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. The Foundation, an endowed private foundation established in 2020 whose operating budget is independent of Truist Financial Corporation, makes strategic investments in a wide variety of nonprofit organizations centered around two focus areas: building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses to ensure all communities have an opportunity to thrive. Embodying these focus areas are the Foundation’s leading initiatives – the Inspire Awards and Where It Starts. Learn more at Truist.com/Foundation.