SC Chamber President & CEO Ted Pitts To Serve on Governor’s Accelerate SC Task Force
Staff Report From South Carolina CEO
Thursday, April 23rd, 2020
SC Chamber of Commerce (SC Chamber) President and CEO Ted Pitts has been selected to serve on the Governor’s newly announced “Accelerate SC” task force as part of the “Response” group. Rolled-out today, Accelerate SC is charged with advising Governor McMaster on developing a plan to move South Carolina toward a phased-in reopening of some businesses and activity as healthcare data indicates it is safe to do so.
“The business community appreciates Governor McMaster’s focus on getting South Carolina’s economy going.” said Pitts. “This group has the experience and expertise to make an impact. The SC Chamber looks forward to working with AccelerateSC and state leaders to develop actionable solutions that can get the state’s economy and business community back on track.”
Membership on Accelerate SC includes representatives from various business and industry sectors including workforce, healthcare, government, and education. Representatives are divided into four groups: Response, Protection, Governance, and Resources and they are charged with looking at five components of analysis and effort: Response, Protection, Governance, Resources, and Information.
Several current or former SC Chamber leaders have been nominated to serve on the task force including Lou Kennedy, immediate past Chair, current board member, and President and CEO of Nephron Pharmaceuticals, and over half of the companies represented on Accelerate SC are SC Chamber members.
The group plans to hold its first meeting this Thursday with details to be announced sometime this week.
The Governor’s office is also calling on the SC Chamber to help Accelerate SC by surveying members about COVID-19 effects and potential state-level solutions that may assist business through the recovery period. Results from the survey will help shape the work of the task force and ensure plans are based on sound, relevant, and timely data. The survey should go out to SC Chamber members by the end of this week.