Roofing company in Georgetown, SC

GEORGETOWN — Front Street will be glowing even brighter this holiday season.

After seeing the popularity of Conway’s Halloween transformation, Georgetown officials began working to make the city a Christmas destination.

"We have expanded our lights exponentially," said Al Joseph, Georgetown's Main Street director. "Three years ago, we lit 11 trees – this year we have 124."

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Joseph has been able to do more to enhance the city's holiday cheer, thanks to additional city funding his efforts. There are now 142 light poles wrapped with decorative garlands.

"The entire business district, every tree on the street, and we added two parks where we light trees," he said. "There’s going to be a lot more lights, a lot more trees and a lot more Christmas."

Georgetown resident Robbie Buice helped take the city's Christmas decor to the next level by building a large wooden sleigh and reindeer set. The sleigh is 8 feet long with two 9-foot reindeer that will reside in Joseph Rainey Park.

Visitors are welcome to sit in the sleigh and take photos with their families.

"It's just something to bring the holiday spirit to a town that really needs some," Buice said while taking a break from painting the reindeer and sleigh.

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Georgetown has been reeling since Oct. 31 when International Paper announced it would shut down its 87-year-old mill and cut nearly 700 jobs in the process.

The looming shutdown led to the county organizing job fairs and Front Street businesses launching a toy drive.

Apart from the efforts to help mill workers, throughout the Christmas season the town will host a number of festive events like the Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 6 and a Christmas parade the following day.

A number of sip-and-shop events will also be taking place throughout the month of December.

Doodlebugs Children’s Finery and Gifts owner Ginger Gray said she’s had her business on Front Street for 22 years and she’s seen how much visitors and residents alike love the lights.

"It just kind of makes you feel like you've got that hometown Christmas atmosphere," Gray said. "Last year it was just on this block, maybe two blocks. It was great they were able to extend it down Front Street."

Joseph is already making plans for next year. He hopes to be able to run lights on the Harborwalk behind all the buildings.

"I would like a tunnel of lights there," he said, adding that he hopes to have some electrical work done to install more outlets by the time Christmas 2025 rolls around.

Joseph also plans to decorate Constitution Park, which is currently under construction as part of the city’s recent stormwater project.

"That park should be redesigned before next Christmas," he said.

Marley Morris, owner of Cashlyn’s Boutique, said the new décor entices more people to shop locally.

"As a small-town business owner, celebrating holidays plays a huge role in bringing our customers in," Morris said. "The Christmas decorations around Georgetown have given such a warm Christmas spirit welcome to everyone who comes to town. We are so proud of our southern Christmas town and we hope people continue to shop small this season."

GEORGETOWN — When Brian Howard heard the International Paper mill would be closing, he almost didn’t believe it. A third-generation mill worker, Howard assumed the smoke from its stacks would always be flowing above the Sampit River. “I thought they were joking,” he said of being notified of the closure.

But on Oct. 31, International Paper officials announced that the mill would shut down by the end of the year. Nearly 700 employees will lose their jobs, and that doesn’t include some 200 contractors and other local businesses that will be impacted.

News of the mill’s demise floored local leaders in this city of about 9,000. International Paper is among Georgetown County’s largest employers, and it’s been the driver of the city’s economy since it opened in 1937.

In the wake of the announcement, local leaders scrambled to respond. On Nov. 7, a coalition of local officials and organizations met to discuss Georgetown’s future. They focused on how mill workers like Howard can receive assistance after the mill closes.

Job fairs will be held on Nov. 21 and 22 to offer displaced workers paths to new employment opportunities, Georgetown County Council Chairman Louis Morant said.

“We are prioritizing job placement and skill development to help these families stay here, thrive here and continue being part of our Georgetown County family,” he said.

About 75 employers and resource agencies from Georgetown and across the state are expected to attend the job fair, according to Rusty Gaskins of the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments.

Maya Morant, marketing director for Georgetown Economic Development, said all of the new or expanding industries in Georgetown, including four companies in the Andrews Industrial Park, are hiring and have asked to be included in the event.

Silicon Ranch, the company behind the solar farm project in the Lambertown community, has also expressed interest in hiring mill workers, officials said.

Companies interested in signing up for the job fair should contact Maya Morant at mmorant@gtcounty.org or 843-545-3161 by Nov. 15.

To prepare workers for the upcoming job fairs, a rapid response team organized by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, SC Works and Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments will hold workshops at the paper mill on Nov. 14 and 15.

The workshops will assist workers with resume writing and interview preparation, according to Ayla Dyer, workforce development director with the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments.

The rapid response team will also conduct 18 informational sessions with mill workers to review and explain unemployment insurance benefits, reemployment services, training opportunities and information about community resources, Dyer said.

“We want you to know that these events are not the end, they’re just the beginning of the response that will be required over the coming year as these workers seek new careers,” she said.

Dyer said the organizations plan to offer assistance to all contractors, employees and other people impacted by the mill closure.

Bruce Bailey, president and CEO of Tidelands Health, said there will be a program to ensure mill workers have access to needed medical services. Tidelands Health is working with Smith Medical Clinic, a free clinic in Pawleys Island and Georgetown to ensure that workers will not lose access to medical care after the mill closes.

“We will be working hard to make sure that that does not happen,” Bailey said.

Georgetown Mayor Carol Jayroe said the coalition of officials and organizations has already begun assisting those affected by the shutdown, and the group is committed to continuing its efforts going forward.

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – Georgetown County leaders came together to discuss how the county will move forward after learning a major employer will be closing.

The Georgetown County Council chairman called for a news conference with other agencies to discuss steps that have been taken since International Paper announced its closure last week and what the path forward will be for the hundreds of people who will lose their jobs in December.

International Paper made the surprising announcement last week that it will be shutting down by the end of 2025. The company said 526 hourly employees and 148 salaried employees will be impacted by the closure.

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The paper mill has been open in Georgetown County for nearly 90 years, and many have called it a devastating loss to the community.

“Since learning of the closure, Georgetown County, City of Georgetown, SC Works, and a strong coalition of local, regional, and state departments have come together with a single goal-- to support the people affected and provide a way forward,” said county councilman Louis Morant.

County representatives say teams have already been at work preparing paper mill employees for job fairs later this month, where over 50 employers will be ready to greet them.

“This support includes, again, filing for unemployment, job search tools, workshops, career coaching, and access to retraining programs through WIOA and apprenticeships,” said Ayla Dyer, Workforce Development Director for the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments.

Officials say organizations across the state are reaching out to mill workers with job openings, but just as many of those openings are *also* coming from within the county.

“We are plugging ourselves in to all the workforce initiatives that have been described,” said Bruce Bailey, president and CEO of Tidelands Health. We’ve got a couple hundred positions open right now, and so we hope we can map out a path for some of the folks at IP to come work for us, if that works for them.”

But, it’s not just workers and their families who will take a hard hit from the mill’s closure.

“Many of our grantee partners have received grants from the IP foundation over the years, and as a result, many of them will feel the financial impact of the mill’s closing as well,” said Ashley Nelson, senior director at the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation. “We will be in communication with our grantees to discuss other ways that we may be able to fill the financial void for their organization.”

Officials admit the closure’s sudden and recent nature is making it tough to forge a path forward, but many do say they still have hope for the future.

“In the face of this adversity, I stand here encouraged by the resilience and unity of our community,” said Morant.

Job fairs for workers are set for November 21st and 22nd at Howard Gymnasium, and there is still time for employers to sign up to be a part of it.

Copyright 2024 WMBF. All rights reserved.

Georgetown County to lose 700 jobs as International Paper plant closes

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — An 87-year-old Georgetown County mainstay will close its doors at the end of the year.

International Paper is closing the plant and taking 700 jobs with it.

Thursday, city and county leaders held a press conference to address efforts to help workers.

"This facility has been a pillar in Georgetown County, saysLouis Grant, Georgetown County Council Chairman.

READ MORE | "Georgetown reels as International Paper mill closure to ax hundreds of jobs."

Soon, that pillar will be gone.

"We are prioritizing job placement and skill development to help these families remain here, thrive here, and continue being part of our Georgetown County family. We will implement a coordinated support plan to ease this transition," Grant said.

Those plans include sessions to help workers apply for unemployment insurance, as well as a job fair and worker training programs.

"Organizations will also work with displaced employers employees... To help them understand how their skills may translate to other industries such as healthcare, education and technology. Our focus now is on providing pathways to stable employment, ideally within our county," Grant said.

"We have over 50 employers who have signed up to participate in these job fairs. We are absolutely overwhelmed by the response as numerous businesses and industries from across the state have reached out to let us know that they have job openings," said Ayla Dyer, the Workforce Development Director at Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments.

Government leaders say those workers could have other opportunities with new businesses moving in.

"There are some solar farms that are currently looking at doing business in Georgetown County. One has already been approved. They're in the construction, well, the beginning of the construction particular process. I know that they are looking for skilled labor. They certainly are interested in these folks. There's gonna be injected into the workforce and hopefully that'll be a great pathway for some folks forward," said Angela Christian, Georgetown County Administrator.

READ MORE | "Georgetown Pulp and Paper Mill to close by end of 2024, impacting over 670 jobs."

For workers who have been at the plant for decades, there's an effort to make sure their mental health is cared for as well.

Sheldon butts/south carolina state conference naacp political action chairperson

"That's gonna have an impact not only on the person but the person's family. Psychological and mental health should be right up there up upfront,"Sheldon Butts, South Carolina State Conference NAACP Political Action Chairperson.

As the process moves forward, civic leaders want city and county officials to keep the public informed.

"As much as you can get in front of that camera and tell people, this is what we're doing," said Butts. "You got to keep people informed about what has been drastically torn away from them for so many years. In the absence of silence, people can go in very dark places...You've got to make sure that you're letting individuals know that you're genuinely concerned."

For more information:Georgetown County Job Fair Info.