MURRELS INLET The board of the Waccamaw Economic Opportunity Council got its first look Tuesday night at a draft strategic plan that calls for the board and agency to restore the public’s confidence in its ability to deliver a number of federal programs, including Head Start, to thousands of low-income residents in Horry, Georgetown and Williamsburg counties.
The document sets out goals to be accomplished in 2012, by 2015 and 2018.
Agency executive director James Pasley said the plan is “a framework for how we will conduct business for the next year.”
It will be updated annually or more often, if needed, Pasley said.
The plan sets 37 things to be done in 2012, including staff training in a number of areas, the computerization of all accounting procedures, the completion of a salary/wage study that will show the agency how its pay compares with other similar agencies, uniforms for field staff, placing the agency’s public information on its website, weoc.org, and completion of the Choppee Head Start Center.
It was troubles at that center and other problems at the agency that led to the board dismissing its former chairman and the departure of the chairman who served before him.
At Tuesday’s meeting at Inlet Affairs in Murrells Inlet, three new board members were seated to replace all but two of those lost in the turmoil of the last two years. The new members are Kiley Wilson of Georgetown County, chairwoman of the agency’s Head Start Policy Council, Williamsburg County teacher Lashanda Keels and Conway attorney Bradley Smith.
By 2015, the plan calls for the agency to expand Early Head Start programs in Horry and Georgetown counties, The agency currently has an Early Head Start program in Williamsburg County.
The 2015 goals also include the creation of a wellness program for agency employees.
By 2018, the agency should have built or have locations for Head Start Centers in Myrtle Beach, Conway and Kingstree, the plan states.
The plan also includes a new board mission statement, vision statement and philosophy.
“It feels great,” board member James Scott said of the draft strategic plan. Scott was among the early board members to say publicly that former board chairman Zacharius Grate needed to be purged from the board.
He said the detail and specificity of the draft plan show that the board is moving forward in a positive manner.
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