Last week, it was announced the Greenville Chamber of Commerce was ending its partnership with City of Greenville tourism to share executive directors.
It has been learned that the Chamber and Greenville University have signed an agreement to have one person be director of the Chamber of Commerce and the Greenville SMART initiative. SMART will work to unify the resources and connections of the university with local businesses to foster economic growth.
Chamber President Randy Alderman said the growth and success of tourism in Greenville led to the shared position being too much for one person to oversee. In the past few years, there have been three individuals in the job.
Alderman said there are many advantages to the partnership with Greenville University SMART.
“Number one is continuity and putting somebody in place that will hopefully be long-term,” he said. Alderman noted the chamber has tried to keep up with the salary and make the money appealing to candidates, but one of the things that it’s always been a downfall is they were never able to offer benefits. “But this new partnership with Greenville University and Greenville SMART, the chamber SMART position will actually not only provide what we think is a good starting salary, but also provide full benefits to the employee.”
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The agreement will also provide additional services to Chamber members.
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Alderman said the quest for a new director is underway. There is a link to apply to the position on the Chamber’s Facebook page and on Greenville University’s website. He hopes to have someone selected by the end of September.
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Greenville University President Ivan Filby said the goal with Greenville SMART is to create a symbiotic University-community relationship that fosters economic growth. “We’re excited to see how an employee specially dedicated to this vision can strengthen our efforts,” Filby said
The SMART center, planned to be open in the fall of next year, is in the former Masonic building at the intersection of Second and Main streets in downtown Greenville.
Alderman said the Chamber of Commerce office will eventually move there.
