By: Natalie M. Zeigler
City Manager
A year ago, our community was named All-America City. A group of 20 adults and 6 Hartsville teens traveled to Denver to present to judges about Hartsville’s progress in problems relating to youth wellness and education. The demonstration highlighted our local hardships and our growth. The youth told our story, a narrative that we expound upon every day in our collective efforts to build a better home. I think it is important to commemorate achievements. I believe there is value in looking back at major milestones that offer us a chance to measure our success and how we might progress further.
Winning All-America City was great validation of our commitment to revitalize historically marginalized neighborhoods. Many partnerships with the City of Hartsville continue to play vital roles in this promise. Support from Sonoco, the Byerly Foundation, the Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville and other local organizations, aid initiatives that positively impact the lives of residents in areas that need critical attention.
The title of All-America City also reinforces our vision to grow and strengthen our city center. We have a vibrant downtown that is consistently developing. We are seeing more and more entrepreneurs succeeding downtown thanks to assistance from Startsville, Main Street Hartsville, Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce, and the City’s Business Navigator. These small businesses contribute to the municipality as a whole. Sales Tax revenues have risen. Since 2011, City Hospitality Tax revenues have jumped 30%, Accommodations Tax profits have nearly doubled, and we have seen $489 million in gross sales, up from $412 million.
Many of our greatest attractions are making us a tourist destination. We also house nationally recognized institutions and corporations. However, citizens are our greatest assets. Accordingly, the City works with area companies and non-profit organizations for the betterment of our youth. From Carolina Kids providing food and clothing for children, to Darlington County First Steps advancing early childhood development and empowering parents, to Cypress Adventures challenging students through outdoor experiential learning and mentorship opportunities, groups are inspiring Hartsville’s future leaders. There is also the PULSE (Partners for Unparalleled Local Scholastic Excellence) Initiative—made possible by a Sonoco grant for $5 million—to improve our educational environment through partnerships with the Governor’s School and Coker College.
Since first winning All-America City in 1996, again in 2016, and to today, we have so much to be proud of and to commemorate. The progress we’ve made, our advancement, is directly a result of the combined efforts of everyday citizens, corporate leaders, community organizations and charities. The City of Hartsville is thankful for the efforts of so many individuals that invest in making Hartsville prosper.
Together, I hope we will continue to strive. We must recognize that there is further progress to be made. To remain an acclaimed city, to live up to the honors we’ve achieved, we need to stay committed to identifying problems and always come together to fix what isn’t working. We must glance back occasionally at where we’ve been while never letting our sight stray too far from the vision of where we want to go.
Natalie Zeigler is the City Manager of Hartsville. For more information, call City Hall at 843-383-3015 or email info2@hartsvillesc.gov.