Myrtle Beach jobs agency touts new leader, stability in effort to grow membership

Laura DuRant stopped Josh Kay as he walked through the conference room of the Marina Inn at Grande Dunes.

DuRant, the managing partner of WebsterRogers’ Myrtle Beach office, told him her accounting firm was considering joining the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp. (EDC), the area’s industry recruitment agency.

“I need you to,” said Kay, the EDC’s president.

He was being honest. In recent months, EDC leaders have searched for ways to entice more businesses to support the organization, which encourages out-of-state companies to relocate to Horry County and helps local businesses expand.

Over the last two years, the EDC has seen two CEOs step down. The second one lasted less than six months.

EDC officials have said the instability in leadership led some company owners to abandon the agency. Some business owners have said they wouldn’t join the EDC because the turnover at the top raised questions about the group’s future.

But the EDC has a new CEO and a new focus. That was the point officials sought to convey to the more than 200 people who attended the group’s annual meeting Thursday.

“Today’s message was about how a team really pulls together for economic development,” Kay said. “That’s our existing industry, but it’s also for prospective investors and members of the EDC. And what their dollars can do is they can allow us to go out and recruit new industry, they can allow us to help our existing industry expand, but also there’s internal investment for them as well. If we can get more business for them, then we can increase their sales, increase their revenue.”

All former EDC members were invited to the annual meeting. The agency’s leaders also asked more than 50 other business owners to attend. They even made special name tags for non-members and urged current members to seek them out and make them feel welcome.

Keynote speaker Bobby Hitt, the state’s secretary of commerce, also spoke about the need for Horry County businesses to support industry recruitment.

“You need to know one really important thing about economic development: it’s a local function,” Hitt said. “Columbia doesn’t come here and sprinkle out projects for you. … You sell your community.”

The EDC has about 170 members. Revenues from membership dues declined from $326,027 in the 2014 fiscal year to $279,978 in 2015, according to EDC records.

Recently, a major selling point for the EDC has been Kay, who arrived in November from the state-run utility Santee Cooper. EDC leaders have touted Kay’s role in bringing a Volvo plant to Berkeley County. Announced last year, that project is expected to generate 2,000 jobs and a $500 million capital investment.

EDC supporters insist that Kay will remain in Horry County for a long time, a point they highlighted during Thursday’s meeting.

“Unfortunately, last year about this same time I introduced someone else,” said Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus, referring to former CEO Jim Moore, who resigned in June. “I’m not going to introduce a different person this time next year. I can promise you. Josh is the right guy. He’s going to do a great job for us.”

Kay said he’s recently been meeting with businesses that have left the EDC fold and those that are unfamiliar with the agency. Persuading people that he’s committed to the county, Kay said, will not happen overnight.

“Stability’s proof in the pudding,” he said. “That’s really where we’re at. I think we’ve got a good vision. … It’s going to take time.”

Kay is the EDC’s third president since the agency reorganized five years ago. During that time, the organization has seen mixed success.

The first industry expansion the EDC announced was for AvCraft Technical Services, which filed for bankruptcy in March. Another, Ithaca Gun Co., never signed a contract with the EDC and withdrew from the area. Other firms have been slow to hire or have seen setbacks, including layoffs.

But the EDC has also seen successes. A Star Tek call center has welcomed more than 340 employees and has committed to hiring 615. BauschLinnemann has hired 57 and Frontier Communications added 132 jobs.

Altogether, more than 770 workers have been hired through EDC deals, according to county records.

Although the EDC is primarily funded with public dollars — the county budgets more than $1 million per year for the group — the agency also sells memberships ranging from $500 per year to more than $10,000 per year.

EDC officials use the private money in their efforts to court companies, spending it on things like dinners and golf outings.

During Thursday’s meeting, Kay showed testimonial videos of business owners talking about the ways the EDC had benefitted their companies. He compared his industry recruitment to the membership drive.

“After every pitch, I say, ‘I’m a salesman. And you know I’m a salesman. And I’m a pretty doggone good salesman,’” he told the audience. “But I say, ‘Call some of our existing industry. Call people who have invested in Horry County. Talk to them. Ask them what we do and make sure that we’re not selling you a line of BS.’ I’m going to do the same thing for you. If you’re not an investor in the EDC, if you’re not a part of the team, don’t take it from me. Take it from some of our folks.”

For DuRant, the accountant, the pitch seemed to work.

After the meeting, she said she was impressed with the message and thought the EDC could help her business. WebsterRogers specializes in accounting work for various industries, including hospitality, health care and manufacturing. Several WebsterRogers clients are EDC members.

“We thought we’d like to get more involved in the economic development of Horry County,” she said.

But will the firm actually sign up for a membership?

“Ninety percent sure we will,” she said.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach jobs agency touts new leader, stability in effort to grow membership."