Summit urges united front to diversify area's economic engine

During Jim Rozier's tenure as its supervisor, Berkeley County attracted billions of dollars in private investment. Its median income increased, and unemployment decreased.

The key to making all that happen, Rozier said, was collaboration among leaders of that area's local governments who had not regularly worked together in the past but joined forces to boost their shared region.

"The most important point is working together because most of us can't do it by ourselves," Rozier told a group of business and civic leaders Wednesday during the second night of the two-night Lowcountry Regional Jobs Summit at the University of South Carolina Beaufort's Hilton Head Gateway Campus.

Other participants in the panel -- entitled "Setting the Table for the Future" -- were an attorney at the Nexsen Pruet law firm and representatives of engineering firm Thomas & Hutton, the Savannah College of Art & Design and international planning firm Duany Plater-Zyberk.

Wednesday's panel followed up on the previous night's discussion, which was designed to show elected officials from Beaufort and Jasper counties how the recession has affected the region and featured the experiences of local people in a variety of fields.

The summit was organized by the Coalition for Jobs, a group that includes local chambers of commerce, homebuilders associations, Realtors associations and the Hilton Head Hospitality Association.

It was orchestrated by staff of the Lowcountry Economic Network, a public-private agency that recruits businesses to the region.

Organizers say the coalition wants to show policymakers that area businesses are interested in creating better jobs in a wider range of fields than traditionally have been available in the Lowcountry, where tourism, home building and the military have long been the primary engines of the economy.

After the panel, moderator Paula Harper Bethea led a spirited discussion among attendees about how to advance the summit's goal.

Leaders from many of the region's local governments agreed to participate in future efforts, and organizers distributed copies of an "action plan" that listed steps officials can take regarding business licenses, permitting, signage, access to capital, green and sustainable development, educational endowments and entrepreneurship.

Several people in the audience offered to volunteer their time and services.

"This is a call to action," Bethea said shortly before the meeting adjourned. "If we wait too much longer, the world's going to pass us by."