The publication is reproduced in full below:
2021 BUS TOUR
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HON. JOE WILSON
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I always look forward to the annual bus tour of South Carolina's Second Congressional District. Our bus tour began with a meeting with U of SC Aiken Chancellor Daniel Heimermann at the Savannah River National Laboratory led by Dr. Vahid Majidi and regional academia partners. Then we headed to Woods Farm Market in Aiken, owned by Pamela Johnson Ely, where new jobs have been developed.
The next stop was the Aiken Rotary Club under the leadership of President Mallory Holley and then the Central States Manufacturing facility in Graniteville for a wonderful tour led by General Manager Rick Neely. Our team also stopped by Cavalier's Coffee, a local small business just developed by David Brannon with plans to add jobs in North Augusta. We ended our day at beautiful Aiken State Park hearing from the wonderful folks at South Carolina Parks, Recreation, and Tourism hosted by Paul Mcformack, Joy Raintree, Aaron Chavous, James Studdarb, Samantha Queen, Justin Hancock, Steve Beckham, Mary Ann Keisler, and Mark van der Linden.
Day two began with a townhall hosted by the Irmo Chamber of Commerce, which is capably led by Kerry Powers. I appreciated the chance for open and honest conversations about issues currently facing our country. Then, the team received a tour of the new Piney Woods Elementary School in Chapin under the leadership of Principal Cassy Paschal. We also toured the state-of-the-art UPS Air Hub facility at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in West Columbia with Kim Barbery. She is the Operations Training Manager of an impressive facility with great staff producing over 2,000 jobs. I was grateful to co-author with State Senator Kay Patterson the legislation to incentivize UPS to locate in Lexington County.
Day three started with a tour of the beautiful Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia, greeted by President and CEO Tommy Stringfellow. Next, we stopped at TerraStride and met with Founder and CEO Lanford Holloway, whose leadership has made TerraStride one of the fastest growing tech companies in South Carolina. Afterwards was a visit to Fort Jackson for a briefing on the Army Combat Fitness Test, led by Brigadier General Patrick R. Michaelis. We ended day three with a visit to Thermal Technologies in Blythewood, where founder Jim Lentz has revolutionized the fruit ripening industry, particularly for bananas.
On the final day of the bus tour, I stopped at the world-class Government Training Institute in Barnwell, led by President Von Bolin. Then, we made our way to Tommy Shealy's restaurant, Shealy's Bar-B-Que, a tradition that I look forward to every year. Our bus tour concluded with a warm welcome from Orangeburg Mayor Pro-Tem Liz Zimmerman Keitt, and a tour of the new Orangeburg VA Clinic and adjacent Orangeburg Recreation Center. It was inspiring to see the great work by Gregg Robinson and his team at Orangeburg County Development Commission to attract new business to South Carolina. The legislative achievements of Senator Tim Scott, with President Donald Trump, has led to building opportunity zones specifically designed to create jobs.
In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September the 11th in the Global War on Terrorism.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 152
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