Previous to his term as Chairman, Dew served on the Chambers Executive Committee.  Dew has spent countless hours working with the Chamber and the city for the betterment of North Myrtle Beach.  During the search for current President/CEO Marc Jordan, Dew served as acting president for the chamber from August 2007- January 2008. 

“This past year has been an educational one for me. As acting President from August through February, I had to take over a staff that deserved more leadership than I thought I could give,” said Dew.  “I am certainly proud of what they accomplished throughout this past year and my heartfelt thanks go out to them for their time and efforts.”

“Although the goals I set at the beginning of the year were lofty they were certainly not unobtainable. We had an outstanding 90% membership retention rate; and that is great considering the economic times we are in right now. We certainly promoted the area through the Travel Channel promotion “Passport to Great Weekends” with Samantha Brown and our recent promotional bus tour ‘Twice the Fun, Half the Distance.’ We continue to have a good working relationship with our local political leadership and with our new President Marc Jordan in charge, I know that will only continue to strengthen,” continued Dew.

As announced at the December 2007 Board of Directors meeting, succeeding Dew will be Ed Horton, President of Anderson Brothers Bank in North Myrtle Beach.

“Ed Horton taking over as Chairman this year will be great for our chamber. He has the knowledge from the small business world and understands what financial institutions mean to them through his position at Anderson Brothers Bank. His qualifications in this area will certainly benefit all of our members. His political acumen is immense and he has been paving the way to improve our relationship with all of our political leaders in the area. He has aligned a great team of individuals on the board and they will enable him to take our chamber to the next level, especially with the right leadership we have right now in Marc Jordan. I look forward to helping Ed make this the best year in the history of our chamber.”

Some of Horton’s goals for the 2008-2009 year are:

• Increase member participation in North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce
• Further Develop the Leadership Programs
• Develop Sponsor relationships with North Myrtle Beach Chamber Members and recognize them during the year through the new ‘Chamber Stars’ program
• Increase North Myrtle Beach Chamber’s participation in Economic Development
• Develop programs and strategies to involve the areas young business people
• Offer financial support to Sea Coast Medical Center’s 50 bed expansion by developing a program to fulfill that commitment.
• Continue to partner with the City of North Myrtle Beach to make North Myrtle Beach one of the best communities along the entire eastern coast in which to do business; continue to provide a life style that will to draw residence to the area; further support our tourism industry and maximize the potential of the developments and facilities.

“These are just some of the goals I will address during my year as Chairman. I want to especially thank Marc Jordan and the Chamber Staff for all they are doing and for the support I know I can count on during the next year.  I am looking forward to getting to know many of our members better during this term,” stated Horton.

The North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce has been serving the local community for the past 9 years.  The mission of the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and its members, as a business organization, is to promote continuous improvement in the North Myrtle Beach area by taking leadership in economic, tourism, and civic development and by actively supporting social and cultural activities.

The Chamber recognized the following Board Members who completed serving their term on the Board:  Bubba Rabon, Carol Stump, and Frank Boulineau.  The Chamber also welcomed the following new Board Members:  Joyce Thomas, Monroe Baldwin, Bubba Collins, Kim Dayvault, Rachel Whitley, and Mike Robertson.

For information on the chamber call (843) 281-2662 or visit www.NorthMyrtleBeachChamber.com.  Stay up-to-date on chamber events by visiting www.nmbevents.com.

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Jennifer C. Prince
Media/Communications Specialist
270 Highway 17 North
North Myrtle Beach, SC 29582
Office: (843) 281-2662