About The One Orangeburg County Initiative
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The One Orangeburg County Initiative (“One Orangeburg County”) is a collaborative effort to bring together Orangeburg County’s leaders (from all segments) in order to work toward a common goal of making the County an even better place to live, work, learn, shop and play.
Phase I began in July 2015. The Orangeburg County Development Commission (OCDC), working with an outside consultant, identified core leaders (now known as “One Orangeburg County Leadership” and “The 100”) and work began to align community needs, group purpose and the goals that are now the key focus of our work. Task Forces were then formed and are now used to deliver key outcomes and results. Having these key leaders working together (with the information exchange that takes place) facilitates getting impactful results. Successful completion of identified projects will not only attract new jobs, industry and residents to the area; but will help ensure continued improvements in the area’s quality of life.
Phase II “The 1000”, was conceived as a means to engage the entire community in support of One Orangeburg County. The mission of The 1000 is to harness the collective forward momentum, hopes, strategies and efforts of the citizens of Orangeburg County, and to move the county more quickly toward an improved quality of life for everyone. This group facilities our ability to unify and communicate opportunities as a part of this grass roots movement. The first meeting of The 1000 was held in January 2016.
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What is the current goal of The One Orangeburg County Initiative? Is The One Orangeburg County Initiative a “short term entity” or is it designed to exist permanently?
Goal: By 2021, companies are not only choosing Orangeburg to grow their business, but more of their employees are choosing to live here.
The Executive Committee of The One Orangeburg County Initiative will continue to evaluate the needs of the community and make decisions in accordance with those needs and county-wide input.
Aren’t there entities that already exist to improve Orangeburg County?
Yes. Orangeburg County is fortunate to have various public, private and nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving the lives of its citizens. The One Orangeburg County Initiative exists to assist all of those entities and facilitate cooperation and collaboration between them. To be immensely successful, the level of collaborative effort must be unprecedented and is key in delivering transformative results. Our County is poised for the next major step forward. There is growing interest from businesses, industry and individuals considering investments here. Having key leaders engaged and meeting regularly helps ensure we can respond timely and meet the needs of those interests that would benefit our community.
Does The One Orangeburg County Initiative support all of the current work being done by those other entities?
Yes. But not all of the support is direct. The One Orangeburg County Initiative’s Leadership Team has identified and prioritized goals that need to be accomplished and has engaged the use of task forces to get the work completed. The existing strategic work of individual entities continues with the support from The One Orangeburg County Initiative varied depending on the project.
How is The One Orangeburg County Initiative structured and what task forces exist?
Currently, there is an Executive Committee and four task forces with chairpersons within “The 100” — 1) Gateway; 2) K-16 Education; 3) Commercial, Housing and Retail; and 4) Marketing and Communications. Most work has been handled thus far through the volunteer efforts of those supporting The One Orangeburg County Initiative; however, recognizing the intensity, scope and specialty needs of some of the work, The One Orangeburg County Initiative has enlisted the services of a management team and professional consultants to assure transformative results.
Why are you asking for financial support?
Funds are used to complete identified projects. In addition, The One Orangeburg County Initiative now has a part time “Administrative Coordinator” that works with the support of consultants as needed to succeed. We rely heavily on the support of our leaders who commit their time and resources for much of the work which allows The One Orangeburg County Initiative to operate on a very tight budget. Private sector donations are the cornerstone of our financial future with our local legislative delegation providing much needed initial and ongoing support as tangible targets are met.
