Military Enhancement Committee (MEC) Stands United in Support of BCSD Bond Referendum
[BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA] – October 18, 2023 – The Military Enhancement Committee (MEC), an affiliate of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, is proud to announce its unwavering support for the Beaufort County School District (BCSD) Bond Referendum, scheduled for Tuesday, November 7, 2023. As advocates for our region’s military community, we understand the crucial […]
The Numbers Are In – South Carolina’s Military Economy
As this blog has frequently discussed, it’s well known that South Carolina heavily benefits from military and defense industry spending. This spending is one of the closest things to ‘free money’ that South Carolina can receive from the federal government, with defense projects creating local jobs, bringing servicemembers and their families to South Carolina, and […]
Beaufort Bases Host ‘Marine Day’ for Industry Leaders
Last month, 33 civilian leaders from academia, business, and corporate America got the chance to experience a slice of what life is like in the United States Marine Corps. These civilian leaders were participants in the 2023 Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC), a week-long, hands-on event that is recognized as the Department of Defense’s oldest […]
Making Marines and Bringing Tourism
With scenic waterfronts, majestic Spanish moss trees, and more than one charming downtown, Beaufort county has a wide variety of excellent tourism opportunities for outside visitors. With this knowledge in mind, it may be of some surprise that one of the major draws for tourists in the Beaufort area doesn’t really seem like a tourist […]
The Palmetto Pathfinder and the Future of Veteran Support Services
This week, the Lowcountry received a special visitor from the state capitol: South Carolina Secretary of Veterans Affairs Todd McCaffrey. Secretary McCaffrey visited Marine Corps Air Station – Beaufort and attended a lunch hosted by the Lowcountry chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). The visit was a prime example of how the […]
The Ways We Remember
For those of us who witnessed the events of September 11th, 2001, the images of those tragedies will be ingrained into our consciousness forever. However, a large portion of the current United States population cannot remember the events of that day and will never have the same visceral recollection of those who experienced it in […]
More Win-Win Land Protections in Beaufort County
Additional land in Beaufort county will now be preserved for both the enjoyment of residents and the compatibility of military operations thanks to a recent conservation easement. This specific easement will take effect on close to 500 acres of land located near South Wimbee Creek in the area north of Beaufort known as “Bower’s Farm”. […]
Training the Next Generation of Cyber Innovation
Usually ‘camp’ means setting up tents, roasting marshmallows for s’mores, and unplugging for a while to get some valuable relaxation and experience nature. But this summer at Beaufort County School District, attendees of the GenCyber Camp took the idea of ‘camp’ in a slightly different, but equally valuable direction – less campfires and a lot […]
Military Spouse Entrepreneurs – Welcome in Beaufort
Here at the MEC blog we talk a lot about how the servicemembers from our local military installations provide immense benefits to the Beaufort area economy. However, in all the talk of ‘military economic impact’ the contributions of military spouses deserve just as much attention as those of their uniformed partners. Many military spouses are […]
REPI and Beaufort – An Exemplary Partnership
It’s a proven fact that military installations bring jobs, money, and other economic advantages to nearby communities. These benefits usually come in the form of partnership programs, grants, and other structures which enable federal or state-level dollars to be spent locally. But some of the best of these initiatives occur in ways that are more […]