News Briefs - September 2, 2021

Meeting Street Fund selects inaugural recipients

 

The Meeting Street Scholarship Fund, a new initiative that aims to support high-achieving Charleston County graduates in paying for college, is proud to announce the first class of Meeting Street Scholarship recipients. These 96 scholars will begin their college journeys in the fall. 

 

The Meeting Street Scholarship Fund awards each qualifying student up to $10,000 annually for a total of up to $40,000 over four years. The fund works in close partnership with the Charleston County School District to identify and assist potential applicants.  

 

Founders Ben and Kelly Navarro hope that many more students will achieve the academic results needed to qualify over time. The scholarship makes the dream of college financially attainable for nearly every eligible student in Charleston County. 

 

The $10,000 annual scholarship award will help fill any gap remaining after earning Pell Grants and SC LIFE scholarships, as the price of tuition at most higher education institutions continues to far outpace family incomes. 

 

Any Charleston County high school graduate of traditional or public charter schools who meets certain criteria is eligible to earn the scholarship.

 

Applications for the class of 2022 will open this fall. To learn more about the Meeting Street Scholarship Fund and its qualifications, visit meetingstreetscholarshipfund.org.

 

Frampton Construction’s Green named ‘Forty Under 40’

 

Keaton Green, vice president of Frampton Construction, has been selected by the Charleston Regional Business Journal for the 2021 Class of Forty Under 40. 

 

The Forty Under 40 program honors the top 40 business professionals across the region who have excelled in their chosen profession and in service to their community. 

 

As vice president, Green is responsible for the company’s operational procedures, training and systems. Additionally, he manages a range of client relationships and project deliverables. Based in the Charleston office, he oversees many of the company’s standard operational processes, working to build a company grounded in a culture of quality, community, credibility, and client service. 

 

In addition to his professional successes, Green led a team that brought in $237,274 for the 2020 Lowcountry Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man and Woman of the Year fundraising competition. He was also recently named to the Charleston Metro Chamber’s Leadership Charleston Class of 2021.  

 

Shelly Leeke Law Firm aids animals without homes

 

Charleston Animal Society benefited from a supply drive organized by the Shelly Leeke Law Firm. 

 

Leeke opened the doors of her offices around the state for the supply drive and she also matched every item donated by the public through Aug. 31. 

 

For more about the event and the cause, visit charlestonanimalsociety.org/shellyleeke. 

 

Home Telecom awarded $2M broadband expansion grant 

 

Home Telecom has been awarded a state grant by the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) to expand rural broadband projects in Berkeley County. Home Telecom is one of 16 internet providers in 22 counties in South Carolina who applied for and won the $2 million funding for their county.

 

Earlier this year, the Joint Bond Review Committee approved the allocation of $30 million for a competitive rural infrastructure grant program to be administered by ORS in coordination with the South Carolina Department of Commerce. The entire project will cost $4 million to complete. ORS will contribute $2 million after Home Telecom’s $2 million investment of their own capital funds. 

 

One of Home Telecom’s stated missions is to expand fiber infrastructure and broadband access to rural areas in Charleston, Dorchester, and Berkeley counties. Home Telecom has previously worked with ORS to provide broadband services to over 500 unserved residences, businesses and critical facilities in Berkeley and Dorchester counties.

 

The additional $2 million grant funding and generous match fast-tracks Home Telecom’s efforts to further impact rural residents. The additional approximate 100 miles of fiber that will be installed will make cutting-edge services available to nearly 2,000 residents in Pineville, Jamestown and Huger areas.