Greenville Chamber awards community leaders.

• Author: Hulsey, Molly
• Position: Greenville Chamber of Commerce, South Carolina

This story first appeared in the May 23 print edition of the GSA Business Report.

Last year, the Greenville Chamber had its first annual meeting at the Greenville Drive stadium for social distancing purposes.

In 2022, the not-so-new coronavirus was less of a concern. Bringing a business community together in the wake of two distanced years, more so.

"By the most traditional metrics, the pace of our recovery has far exceeded even our most optimistic expectations, and during this time, the chamber has continued to help Greenville move the ball forward," Greenville Chamber CEO Carlos Phillips told the crowd gathered on the field and in the stands.

He spotlighted the Greenville Chamber's creation of a community data platform and the spread of its minority business accelerator into the Charleston and Columbia markets in 2021.

"And the participants have seen almost $30 million in new revenue," he said of the minority business accelerator graduates. "I see many of these business leaders here tonight."

The chamber lauded other business and community leaders for their work toward economic recovery and ongoing growth with a lineup of awards throughout the ceremony:

Becky Ballenger, a chamber ambassador since 2019, was announced the Ambassador of the Year, an award sponsored by AFL.

Katherine Smoak Davis of Smoak Public Relations was awarded The Athena Leadership Award, sponsored by Hughes Agency. The award honors individuals who assist women in reaching their full leadership potential and work to improve the quality of life for others, according to a news release.

Judge Merl Code and David Lominack, co-chairs of Greenville's Race, Equity and Economic Mobility Commission, were presented the Buck Mickel Leadership Award, sponsored by Duke Energy. The award honors those who have had a dramatic impact on the community by playing a leadership role in solving critical community issues or providing visionary leadership to a major community development project.

Rich Hagins, CEO of US&S...