94.9 The Surf counts down the weekly Top 40 songs this Saturday morning at 9 with Ted Bell. Tune in Sunday afternoon at 5:30 for the Clemson v Maryland basketball game (pre-game show at 5).

Be sure to check out the Surf’s suggested books for February on our website www.949thesurf.com under BEACH NEWS. Let us help you get the word out about your upcoming event (non-profit) by completing the simple form under TALK TO US/ PSA REQUEST!

Join Agape Senior Conway the second Sunday of each month for lunch at the Villas. The first lunch will be on Sunday, February 14th from 12 noon to 1:30 pm . Cost is $8 per person and$25 for the entire family, children 12 and under are $4. Tours of the campus will be offered to anyone interested! Agape Senior Conway is located at 2320 Highway 378 in Conway. For more information, please call 843-397-2273.

Everyone Counts

In March the US Census will take place to count the people of the US.

 Census Day is on April 1^st

Why the Census Count is important to Conway

     – The City receives $30.00 per person counted over the ten year Census period. 

    – Horry County receives $50.00 per person counted over the same ten years. 

     – Yearly $300 billion in funds are given out and $3 trillion given out in ten years. 

     – Prospective and existing businesses use this vital information to make decisions. 

    – Census data affects school budgets, including grants and scholarships. 

    – Census data guides local decision-makers in locating community facilities. 

   - South Carolina may possibly add another US Congressman.

Why I should fill out the Census Form

Its only ten simple questions about each member of your household.

Filling out the form out only takes ten minutes.

The information is not released or shared on individuals for 72 years.

Every Census Bureau worker takes an oath for life to protect the confidentiality of census responses. Violation would result in a jail term of up to five years and/or a fine of up to $250,000.00.

The Conway Chamber of Commerce has partnered with BusinessTrainingTeam.com to offer its members added value at a discounted rate. BusinessTrainingTeam.com is an eLearning website, which provides training and perspective for developing and growing business from a team of experts. Conway Chamber of Commerce members will now receive a 15% discount when signing up for the online training program.

“The goal of BusinessTrainingTeam.com is to answer the questions a business owner, sales professional, realtor, or home-based business is asking,” said Sue White, partner with BusinessTrainingTeam.com. “It is the diversity of this web-based training center that brings a richness and depth of training experiences, never before available under one umbrella. The featured experts address questions such as how to set up QuickBooks Pro to streamline your accounting processes… Is Social Media Marketing right for me?…Am I losing or keeping customers by something as simple as how the phone is answered?…Is my email communication sending the right message?  How can I improve my sales process?  How do I deal with difficult people? The scope of topics will increase each month, with new experts on board for continual business growth.”

Other topics of interest include time management, leadership, marketing strategies to reach today’s consumer, and Microsoft Office training.

All training through BusinessTrainingTeam.com is available for a monthly fee of $47. The training is designed in small incremental steps that will easily fit into any busy schedule. Members of the Conway Chamber of Commerce will receive a 15% discount off the monthly subscription fee.  This discount applies as long Conway Chamber members remain active.

Conway Professional Lunch

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

11:45 El Cerro’s on 501 next to Walmart

Come join us for lunch!

We had an awesome turnout at our last meeting in January – let’s keep up the
good work! The first meeting of each month we will spotlight a different
member of the group. February’s spotlight will be John Trudeau from
Heatland Payment Systems.

I have had the privilege of getting to know John through the ambassador
program with the Conway Chamber of Commerce. You will enjoy finding out
more about John and his business at our meeting.

Professional Lunch is a great opportunity to network and spread the word
about your business. Come and join us and bring a business friend and lot s
of business cards. There are no fees to belong to this group.

Contact: Sue White 843-246-0136

Join us as we celebrate 40 years as your Hometown Jeweler!

Anniversary Drop-In

Saturday, February 20, 2010

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 11 a.m.

Refreshments, Fellowship, Specials & Door Prizes

317 Laurel Street, Downtown Conway

843-248-2624

First United Methodist Church, 1001 Fifth Avenue in Conway, will present Two Pianos/Eight Hands, a rousing concert of secular and sacred piano music for two pianos on Sunday, February 21 at 5 pm. Pianists performing will be Margaret Jordan, Lib Wellons, Jean Timbes and Billy Fallaw. This is a free concert.

FUMC will also offer Lenten Organ Meditations each Wednesday in Lent at noon begining February 24th and continue through March 24th as a time to set ourselves apart from the world to meditate on what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Billy Fallaw, organist at FUMC Conway, will perform on the church’s 33 rank Schantz Pipe Organ. The 30-minute concerts are offered to the public free of charge.

For more information log on to www.Fumcconway.org.

For as little as $15 you can have your instruments’ strings replaced
and professionally installed at Chestnut Mandolins, located at 304
Main Street. With warmer weather just around the corner, you need
your instruments ready to play. You can drop your instruments off
between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For
more information, call 248-5399.

Brought to you through your partnership with the Conway Chamber of Commerce…

Jan. 22, 2010

Thumbs Up: To Sens. Phil Leventis (Sumter) and Jake Knotts (Lexington) for removing their objections to S.391, paving the way for much needed reforms to the Employment Security Commission.

Senator Delays ESC Reform While Unemployment Rate
Reaches Highest Levels
On Thursday, the Senate was poised to move forward on S.391, legislation to reform the Employment Security Commission (ESC). However, Sen. Robert Ford (Charleston) objected to consideration of the bill, all while South Carolina continues to borrow millions of dollars from the federal government each week to pay out unemployment benefits.

It is clear that most in the General Assembly agree major reforms are needed at the ESC. In fact, last week the House passed a resolution on the matter by a vote of 112-1. In addition, South Carolina’s Legislative Audit Council (LAC) is set to publicly release their final report on needed changes at the ESC. The current organizational structure and benefit restrictions are expected to be some of the top priorities in the report.

Just today, the ESC announced the December unemployment rate rose sharply to 12.6 percent, the highest rate on record. Since December 2008, the state has borrowed more than $700 million from the federal government to pay out benefits.

Senate Must Prioritize Time
The legislative session is only six days old, but business leaders and others around the state are becoming concerned about the inaction of the Senate on critical business issues. With the highest unemployment rates on record and the legislative session likely to be shortened because of severe budget cuts, the Senate has a limited number of days to improve the business climate in the state. 

This year, two issues that are holdovers from last year remain critical: Employment Security Commission Reform (S.391) and Secret Ballot Protection (anti-card check legislation, H.3305). With all the political rancor in Columbia over the last two weeks, the Senate voted down a proposal to debate ESC reform and has not even attempted to debate anti-card check legislation.

The Senate needs to put political differences aside and focus on reforming the ESC, anti-card check legislation, tort and budget reforms. These all are issues that will positively impact the current business climate in South Carolina.

DHEC Restructuring Lingers
This week, the Senate Medical Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Harvey Peeler (Cherokee), took up S.384, legislation to restructure the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC). The South Carolina Chamber, along with many other business organizations, has continuously and publicly opposed the legislation.

Sen. Danny Verdin (Laurens) chaired the subcommittee that studied the issue. At the subcommittee’s first hearing in the fall, Sen. Verdin stated the legislation would not advance unless there was ”clear consensus” on the need to restructure DHEC. But despite a nearly 50/50 split in public comments, with the business community unanimously opposed to the legislation, the subcommittee moved the bill forward anyway.

The business community continues to advocate for a DHEC structure removed from political influence with permitting decisions based solely on science and the rule of the law. The full Senate Medical Affairs Committee is set to vote on S.384 in the coming weeks.

Governor Gives His Final State of the State
On Wednesday evening, Gov. Mark Sanford stood before members of the House and Senate to deliver the final State of the State address of his administration. In his remarks, the governor encouraged forward movement on reforming the Employment Security Commission, imposing state spending caps and restructuring state government, including putting the governor and lieutenant governor on the same ticket.

In Other News …
Point of Sale compromise efforts between realtors, local governments and schools continue to fall through, and each day that passes without a compromise illustrates the complexity of the problems. The ultimate solution is comprehensively addressing Act 388, the 2006-passed property tax reform legislation.

S.1066, legislation providing a tax credit for contributions to the South Carolina Manufacturers’ Retention and Growth Fund, was introduced by Sen. Billy O’Dell (Abbeville) and sent to the Senate Finance Committee.

S.186, legislation to limit attorneys’ fees in the state, passed the Senate in 2009. This week it was passed by the House and returned to the Senate with amendments by a vote of 95-3.

On the federal front, Erroll Southers, President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), has withdrawn his nomination. His nomination was blocked by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint because of Sen. DeMint’s concerns regarding Southers’ views on TSA employees’ abilities to unionize.

Legislators to be Honored at Business Speaks
The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce’s Business Speaks at the State House, a gathering of more than 500 of South Carolina business leaders, constitutional officers and members of the General Assembly, is set to take place Jan. 27 at the Marriott Columbia at
4 p.m. During this year’s Business Speaks, the business community will honor six senators and 30 representatives who scored 100 percent in the S.C. Chamber’s 2009 Legislative Scorecard and are true friends to business.

Come and be a part of the S.C. Chamber’s most prestigious legislative event of the year. If you would like to submit a question for either Business Speaks panel, send it to Alexa Stillwell, alexa.stillwell@scchamber.net.

The Carolina Master Chorale, Dr. Timothy Koch, music director, offers a concert valentine, Hearts of Passion, at 8pm Saturday, February 13, and 4pm, Sunday, February 15, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 3000 North Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach.

The concert provides a tuneful window to love of all kinds: platonic, parental, religious, and, of course, a heavy dose of romantic. The Grand Strand’s Voices of Passion will sing beautiful choral and solo arrangements of some of music’s most cherished love songs, folk songs, Broadway tunes, and religious anthems in a program sure to bring a smile to every face and a tear to every eye. Composer-In-Residence Dr. Andrew Fowler offers his latest gorgeous suite, Five Love Songs, in continuing celebration of his tenth anniversary year in artistic leadership with Timothy Koch and the CMC.

Advanced tickets are $15 and may be purchased at Joan Crosby Shop in Myrtle Beach, Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island, Bodega in Conway, and the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce.  Tickets may also be purchased by calling (843) 444-5774 to place an order over the telephone.  Tickets are $20 at the door on the day of the concert. For more information, please visit www.CarolinaMasterChorale.com.