COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Henry McMaster will hold a meeting with members of accelerateSC to receive briefings on and discuss funds coming to the state from the American Rescue Plan ACT (ARPA) tomorrow, Tuesday, June 15 at 2:00 PM.

As he previously did for funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Governor McMaster will develop and distribute his recommendations for how the General Assembly should invest ARPA funds following a series of accelerateSC meetings.

The purpose of tomorrow’s meeting is for the group to receive an overview from S.C. Department of Administration staff on the many funding streams coming to the state.

Governor McMaster originally established accelerateSC in 2020 as a coordinated economic revitalization plan that included representatives from the business community, health care professionals, local government officials, and education professionals. accelerateSC consisted of five components, which helped guide the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Response, Protection, Governance, Resources, and Information.

The latest iteration of accelerateSC will be comprised 12 original members. James Burns, who is a partner at the law firm of Nelson, Mullins, Riley and Scarborough and previously served as executive director of accelerateSC will chair the group.

Members of the group will include the following:

Greg Ryberg - Greg Ryberg is a businessman and former South Carolina State Senator who served Aiken county for 20 years before retiring in 2012. Ryberg started an oil distributorship and convenience store business, growing it to 53 stores before its sale, and is a former board member of the National Association of Convenience Stores and member of the Petroleum Marketers of America.

James Bennett - Bennett is the Mid-South Area Executive Vice President for First Citizen’s Bank and currently serves on the board of directors for Prisma Health.

Bob Hughes – Hughes is the chairman of Hughes Development Corporation, a Greenville, S.C. based firm widely recognized as one of the leading development firms in South Carolina.

Dr. Fred Carter - Dr. Carter has served as the president of Francis Marion University since 1999 and currently chairs the Governor’s Medical Education Council.  Dr. Carter previously served as Chief of Staff to Governor Mark Sanford and senior executive assistant to Governor Carroll Campbell.

Tiffany Freeman – Freeman currently serves as Senior Public Policy Counsel for Government Affairs with BlueCross BlueShield South Carolina.  Her legal career includes positions as Staff Attorney for the South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee, Associate with Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte, now Robinson Gray, and Assistant Solicitor for the Seventh Judicial Circuit of South Carolina.  

Helen Turner Hill – Hill is the CEO of Explore Charleston, the South Carolina membership organization representing all segments of the travel and hospitality industry in the Greater Charleston area. She is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Charleston County Aviation Authority.

Lou Kennedy – Kennedy is CEO and owner of Nephron Pharmaceuticals in West Columbia. Nephron is on the frontlines of the nationwide response to COVID-19, manufacturing more than half of the respiratory solutions used to treat symptoms associated with the virus. Kennedy is chairman of S.C. BIO, the largest advocacy group for the life sciences industry in the state, and the immediate past chairman of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

Pam Lackey – Lackey served as President of AT&T South Carolina from 2007 through 2018 and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Ports Authority.

Nicky McCarter – McCarter is the president and CEO of Hopkins, S.C.-based Defender Services and serves on the Clemson University Board of Trustees.   

Dr. Akil Ross - Dr. Ross was named the 2017 South Carolina Secondary Principal of the Year and the 2018 NASSP National Principal of the Year. Dr. Ross is currently a professor of Educational Leadership at the University of South Carolina, an author, and owner of HeartEd LLC, an educational services company.

Councilman Tyler Servant – Servant has served on the Horry County Council since 2014 and is the Chief Operating Officer of Surfside Realty Company.

Mayor Knox White - Mayor White is currently the mayor of the city of Greenville, a position he was elected to in 1995 after serving on Greenville City Council since 1983.

Meeting Details:

WHO: Gov. Henry McMaster, members of accelerateSC

WHAT: Meeting of accelerateSC to receive an overview of funding streams coming to the state from the American Rescue Plan Act

WHEN: Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 15 at 2:00 PM

WHERE: USC Alumni Center, first floor ballroom, 900 Senate Street, Columbia, S.C.

Note: Members of the media will be permitted access to the ballroom. SCETV will have a mult box on site, which will allow tv stations to share audio and video. SCETV will also be streaming live on its website.