[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 31, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             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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