May 8, 2014 | News
Upstate, SC [May 5, 2014] – Ten at the Top, an organization created to foster collaboration, partnerships and strategic planning across the Upstate, will focus the first Our Upstate Vision Forum of 2014 on the topic of Cultivating a Knowledge Based Culture in the Upstate. The forum, which is free and open to the public, is being held from 3:00-5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 in the AT&T Auditorium at CU-ICAR (4 Research Drive Greenville, SC 20607). A networking reception will immediately follow the forum.
The overall theme for the 2014 Forum Series is “Destination 2030: Thinking BIG and BOLD About the Future of the Upstate.” Each forum will focus on a different topic and look at short, middle and long term opportunities that can help ensure that the Upstate in 2030 is universally recognized as a leader in that particular area. During this forum, we will explore the importance of creating a knowledge based culture in the Upstate.
The featured speaker will be Lynne Scott Safrit. Ms. Safrit serves as President of Castle and Cooke North Carolina and oversees the development of the North Carolina Research Campus as well as other real estate development opportunities in North Carolina. The North Carolina Research Campus is a research community of 300 scientists and support staff focused on treating and preventing the most prevalent diseases of our times including cancer, diabetes, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers find connections and support by participating in associations like Catalyst, Faculty Staff, the Administrative Forum and the Cabarrus Chinese American Association. Ms. Safrit will discuss how the NC Research Campus has successfully created a knowledge based culture in a traditional mill community.
There will also be a group discussion, led by Dr. Tom Moore, Chancellor of USC Upstate, where the audience and subject experts will discuss some of the current initiatives in the Upstate and what can continue to be done to grow this culture.
The Our Upstate Vision Forum Series began in 2012 with TATT hosting forums across the Upstate on issues of regional significance. The series continues in 2014 with BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina serving as the Series Premier Sponsor.
There is no cost to attend the forum, but attendees are asked to register in advance at www.tenatthetop.org. Registration deadline is May 16th. For more information contact Ten at the Top at 864.283.2313.
Apr 7, 2014 | News
Hunt Meadows Elementary School and Pickens Middle School have been selected as the first recipients of a Clean Air Upstate Sustainable Schools Grant. Each school will receive a $1,000 grant through the Clean Air Upstate initiative, which is being coordinated by Ten at the Top. Funding for the grants was provided as part of a grant from Duke Energy to the Clean Air Upstate effort.
These two schools were awarded grants as part of a competitive process amongst schools from across the Upstate that have previously demonstrated a commitment to supporting a sustainable environment by participating in the Breathe Better (B2) anti-idling program. The B2 program is an anti-idling/clean air campaign sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) which educates about the harmful effects of vehicle idling and encourages developing anti-idling zones to reduce toxic emissions around schools.
Hunt Meadows Elementary School, located in Anderson County, will use their grant to start a composting program using worm bins. As part of the project, each grade level within the school will have its own worm bin for composting food waste. This project will involve students of all age levels, and the composted soil produced from the bins will be used for the school flower garden and ecobottles, along with other school projects.
Pickens Middle School will use their grant to create sustainable ozone bio-indicator gardens and to establish a Conservation Gallery. The ozone bio-indicator gardens will feature ozone sensitive native plants in raised beds, to be monitored by students, while the Conservation Gallery will educate visitors about the three main areas on our Earth that need protecting: Air, water and land. The projects will include students from the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, with each grade level responsible for a particular aspect of the project.
Through such initiatives, Hunt Meadows Elementary and Pickens Middle School are doing their part to promote sustainability education within Upstate schools, thus promoting a culture that values living and growing in a sustainable manner. Additional grants will be awarded during the 2014-2015 school year to other Upstate schools.
Clean Air Upstate is an initiative developed by the Upstate Air Quality Advisory Committee to promote the importance that having clean air can play for both the physical health and economic vitality of Upstate residents. The effort includes a combination of specific on-the-ground emission reduction programs and an awareness & education campaign that highlights ways Upstate residents can help reduce emission levels in the region, thus helping ensure that the Upstate remains within compliance with EPA Clean Air Act standards.
Feb 10, 2014 | News
Upstate, SC [February 10, 2014] – South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) recently honored the Upstate Air Quality Advisory Committee with the “Spare the Air” Award in the Outstanding Community Improvement Campaign category for the Clean Air Upstate (CAU) initiative. The purpose of the Spare the Air Award is to recognize environmental leaders that have made a voluntary commitment to promote and practice air quality improvement in South Carolina.
Clean Air Upstate is an initiative of the Upstate Air Quality Advisory Committee, a group of diverse stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Ten at the Top, a nonprofit that fosters regional collaboration across Upstate South Carolina, coordinates this initiative and engages local governments, businesses, and community organizations from the region in efforts to promote physical health and economic vitality through improved air quality.
The cornerstone of CAU is the Regional Air Quality Pledge. The pledge allows local governments, businesses, community organizations, media outlets, and even individuals to illustrate their commitment to improving air quality. To date, 23 governments, businesses, and community organizations have signed the pledge, each committing one representative to work with UAQAC and the SCDHEC on their strategies.
Another significant piece of CAU is the promotion of SCDHEC’s Breathe Better (B2) program, which helps to protect the health and safety of children by reducing harmful vehicle emissions around school campuses. CAU secured funding from Duke Energy and the Hollingsworth Funds to provide grants to schools that participate in the program. The program makes schools a no-idling zone for both school buses and personal vehicles, thus significantly reducing emissions and resulting in a decrease of gasoline usage. The program also includes a student education component that teaches the importance of clean air and how individual actions can make a difference. Participation in the program has increased by 129% from 14 to 32 schools.
The school-specific B2 program works in tandem with CAU’s broader anti-idling campaign, which encourages no-idling zones in shopping centers and other parking areas. A variety of stakeholders – including the Upstate location of GE Energy – have placed CAU’s no-idling signs around their parking facilities. Rounding out CAU’s clean air toolkit are a series of practical, easy-to-implement clean air tips developed by the UAQAC.
These tips are disseminated on promotional materials and through electronic and social media channels. Seven public service announcements, representing an in-kind donation from WSPA, bring the tips to life and were shown for ten weeks on three regional television channels. The PSAs were also featured for six weeks in the pre-screening reel at over 100 movie theaters across the Upstate. For more information about the Clean Air Upstate initiative or how to get involved with the Clean Air Advisory Committee, visit www.cleanairupstate.org.
Jan 6, 2014 | News
Upstate, SC [January 6, 2014] –Ten at the Top (TATT), a non-profit organization created to foster collaboration and strategic planning in South Carolina’s Upstate region, conducted 97 regional forums, meetings, presentations and programs in 2013, marking the most the organization has held in a single year since being incorporated in 2009. A total of 3,300 participants were engaged in the organization’s activities.
Since 2010, TATT has conducted 322 regional engagements with more than 19,000 total participants.
During 2013, Ten at the Top hosted regional meetings and discussions amongst stakeholders on a wide range of topics including workforce & skill development, transportation & infrastructure, senior needs, education, natural resources and community vibrancy. TATT conducted four regional forums, coordinated three meetings of the Upstate Professional Planners and partnered with other regional organizations to host two Upstate Elected Officials Meetings.
Ten at the Top also conducted a series of four Community Vibrancy Workshops across the region. The workshops included presentations from leaders representing 10 state and national examples of communities that have increased local economic and community vibrancy. In addition, TATT teamed with Hughes Investments to develop the Hughes Investments Elevate Upstate Community Vibrancy Grants, which in 2013 awarded $5,000 each to three Upstate communities to develop their own vibrancy initiatives.
Illustrating the organizations role as a regional convener, Ten at the Top helped the seven United Ways that serve the Upstate region come together for the first time to develop a region-wide program from start to completion to address an issue that impacts residents across the region. The result is the Upstate Born Learning Early Childhood Messaging Campaign in which the United Ways are working together to provide a consistent message across the region on the importance of early learning opportunities for children from birth to age five. The seven United Ways have signed a Memorandum of Agreement with each organization providing funding and staff support for the program.
Serving as the coordinator of the Upstate Air Quality Advisory Committee, Ten at the Top coordinated the Clean Air Upstate Education & Outreach Campaign. Thanks to grants from Duke Energy and the Hollingsworth Funds and in-kind support from WSPA-TV and GSA Business, the efforts included the development of television PSA’s that were viewed nearly 6.9 million times. In addition, the program’s support of the Breathe Better (B2) no-idling program has resulted in an increase of schools in the Upstate participating in the program from 14 to 33 with schools from Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg counties all participating in the program that result in ozone emission reductions as well as savings in diesel fuel and gasoline usage.
A full 2013 Ten at the Top program overview is available on the TATT web site.
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Dec 9, 2013 | News
Upstate, SC [December 9, 2013] –Ten at the Top (TATT), a non-profit organization created to foster collaboration and planning in South Carolina’s Upstate region, has announced its officers for 2014-2015.
Serving as officers for Ten at the Top for the next two years will be:
Chair: Carol Burdette, Chief Professional Officer, United Way of Anderson County
First Vice Chair: Hank McCullough, Senior Manager – Government Relations, Piedmont Natural Gas
Second Vice Chair: Sue Schneider, General Manager, Spartanburg Water
Secretary: Lisa Jones, Publisher, GSA Business
Treasurer: Erwin Maddrey, CEO, Maddrey & Associates
Development Co-Chairs: Sam Erwin, President/CEO, The Palmetto Bank; Terence Roberts, Mayor, City of Anderson
Immediate Past Chair: Neal Workman, Chairman, Trehel Corporation
The TATT Board of Directors is composed of public, private and civic leaders from across the 10-county Upstate region. TATT board members are charged with representing the region and their community in fostering trust and collaboration across the region on issues of regional significance, serving as an advocate for regional thinking within their specific city or county, assisting TATT in engaging elected officials, business and community leaders, and supporting general organizational functions.
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Nov 21, 2013 | News
Upstate, SC [November 21, 2013] – The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport has been selected as the 2013 recipient of the Welling Award for Collaboration, which is presented by Ten at the Top (TATT) in honor of the organization’s founding chairman Irv Welling.
Welling presented the award to Dave Edwards, President and CEO of the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport at the Our Upstate Vision/Ten at the Top Regional Forum on November 19th.
The Welling Award is given to recognize individuals, businesses, or organizations whose actions have demonstrated a sustained commitment and effort to developing and fostering regional collaboration(s) that work strategically to make the Upstate one of the best places to live, learn, do business and raise a family.
“The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport was started more than 50 years ago as a result of regional collaboration and has grown into such an important component of our region because it continues today to be a great example of regional partnerships,” Welling said.
Ten at the Top is a regional collaboration organization focused on promoting collaboration, partnerships and strategic planning across the Upstate on issues that impact economic vitality and quality of life in the ten-county region. Welling served as chairman of Ten at the Top from its founding in 2005 through 2011.
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