Biz News & Specials

Conway SC - Rumors, Ramblings, and Generally Untrustworthy Information Regarding Downtown

Saturday, 10 July 2010 13:56 | Written by Stan Stephens

Conway Main Street USA News. The departure of Gail Alexander (Director) last week marks an important crossroads for the beloved program. Let's look at some options, possible scenarios, and just ponder a few interesting angles.

Why did they let her go? The headline in the Horry Independent and CMSUSA board members are citing financial issues. Come on now, we're all adults here. Saying that they let Gail go for financial reasons is like saying that you fired your Head Football Coach because there was not enough fans in the stadium. I'm familiar with quite a few local nonprofits, all are facing extreme budget cuts, and none of them have released their director. Support staff, program services, and general overhead are always the first to go. Cancel the cell phones, find cheaper office space, let the paid assistant go; that's how you address a budget cut if you really want to keep your director. They're just being nice, albeit, at the expense of reality.

Downtown Businesses Looking for Results Not Awards.

Friday, 28 May 2010 18:06 | Written by Stan Stephens

Some business owners downtown are grumbling again after an article in the Horry Independent gave credit for the opening of twelve new businesses to a poster campaign by Conway Main Street USA. The article discussed the success of the "I am Conway" posters that appeared in closed storefront windows last year. The posters featuring photographs of locals were enjoyed by all. Most folks generally agree that the posters improved the appearance of the vacant buildings and gave a boost to community moral. There was even some positive local news coverage of the campaign. However, when the embattled CMSUSA Director Gail Alexander used the poster campaign to take credit for 12 new business opening, the universal approval ended....

City Tourism Committee Looking for Thursday Crawlers

Saturday, 15 May 2010 10:15 | Written by Stan Stephens

This Summer the Farmers' Market will be doing everything that it can to help bring folks downtown on Saturdays. By connecting rural ag producers, craftsmen, and downtown businesses their success could send positive economic ripples across the entire county. The 1 year old market still has a long road ahead and will need every bit of help they can find. In case you are not aware, the market is a nonprofit community development organization.

The new art/business nonprofit CREATE!Conway will continue to promote 1st Saturday Art Walks in the Historic District. With a lunch money budget and the loss of the last dedicated art gallery, it will have it's work cut out for it this Summer. Luckily it's a simple concept. Business owners invite artists and musicians in to their shops, and Create! invites customers to come enjoy it all. It's not a huge deal, but it works. Plain and simple, customer counts are always higher on 1st Saturday Art Walks.

So when the City of Conway Tourism Committee decided to kick-start a new tourism promotion it was only natural that they choose Saturdays, but they didn't. Instead they picked Thursday nights. I'm not sure of the logic, but I think it went something like this:

Question - What day could we promote that would have the greatest positive impact on the most businesses?

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