The Advocates
The Advocates: 2023 Committee Leads
| I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! With the new year quickly approaching, we wanted to provide our members with the opportunity to learn more about who will be leading our government relations committees in 2023 and their perspectives on how you should engage in order to create positive change in our region. |
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| Jordi Yarborough, Regional Policy Committee Chair About: As Vice President of Statewide Stakeholders and Local Government Engagement, Jordi Yarborough leads SC Ports’ local government relations efforts, oversees the Port Ambassadors business leadership program, manages relationships with SC Ports’ community partners and represents the Port on multiple boards. Jordi currently chairs the SC International Trade Conference Board, serves on the South Carolina Automotive Council Board, the Propeller Club Board, the South Carolina Logistics Council, the City of Charleston 3 x 3 Advisory Committee, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Board and Executive Committee and the MUSC Storm Eye Institute Advisory Board. She is also a Riley Institute Diversity Leadership graduate. Jordi joined SC Ports in August 2017, overseeing government, public and community relations. How long have you been actively involved with the Chamber? My recent involvement with the Chamber began when I joined the SC Port’s leadership team five years ago. I was also actively involved with the Chamber years ago when I worked for Roper St. Francis. Many of the relationships I developed then are still strong today. Why do you believe it is important to be involved with the Chamber’s advocacy work? As leaders in our community, it’s important to have our voices heard at all levels of lawmaking. Having a collective voice through the Chamber’s advocacy efforts amplifies that voice. One way you would recommend for members to engage: My fellow Chamber members should educate themselves on the issues the Chamber is engaged in and support the Government Relations team by responding to requests to contact lawmakers and being present at council meetings when needed. |
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| Matt Brewer, Business Advocacy Committee Chair About: As President & CEO of Choate Construction Company, Matt Brewer is responsible for the development and implementation of the firm’s long-term vision, strategy and direction. His passion to advance Choate Construction’s mission and reputation in the industry leads the company to provide the highest level of service to its clients, while offering rewarding careers to its employee-owners. Matt leads Choate’s six offices across the Southeast, guiding its 500+ employee-owners to foster successful, lasting relationships with clients and trade partners. Choate Construction Company is one of the largest nationally recognized general contractors in the Southeast with offices in Atlanta, Charleston, Charlotte, Nashville, Raleigh and Savannah. How long have you been actively involved with the Chamber? I graduated from Leadership Charleston in 2013. I have served multiple terms on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors and, last year, I served as the Chair of the Regional Policy Committee. Why do you believe it is important to be involved with the Chamber’s advocacy work? Many of our region’s greatest accomplishments are a direct result of our Chamber’s highly engaged business leaders. Our elected officials and regional partners all play important roles, but they will have limited success without a highly collaborative and engaged business community that drives the conversations around key issues. One way you would recommend for members to engage: Get involved! As business leaders we all tend to be busy, and we can easily find ourselves standing on the sidelines without exercising our voice on key issues affecting our business community. We must be willing to make the investment of time if we want to reap the greatest rewards for our business community and business relationships. Consider serving on a Chamber committee and sharing your talents and expertise to the benefit of our mission. |
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| Melonie Hammond-Trace, Political Action Committee (PAC) Chair About: As a partner at Tideline CPA Group LLC, Melonie Hammond-Trace focuses on owner-operated businesses in many industries including real estate, construction, not-for-profit and professional services sectors. With more than 25 years of public accounting experience, she looks at the full picture of individuals along with their business and assists clients by gaining a deep understanding of their business and determining where strategic, financial and tax planning can be utilized. She graduated from Clemson University where she earned a BS degree in Accounting. Melonie works extensively throughout the community and is involved in many civic and community organizations. How long have you been actively involved with the Chamber? I have been involved with the Chamber since 1999 when I graduated from Leadership Charleston. I have served multiple terms on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. I was Chair of the Chamber in 2019 and took over as the PAC Chair in 2022. Why do you believe it is important to be involved with the Chamber’s advocacy work? I believe the Chamber is the only organization in our region looking out for the needs of businesses. Politically, the Chamber “has our back”! The Chamber is keeping an eye on legislation, ordinances, etc. that impact businesses in our community. They do a great job of passing this information on to us. One way you would recommend for members to engage: The Chamber has a lot of opportunities for members to get involved with advocacy efforts. Members can serve on interview teams to vet candidates for local elections or attend and speak at council and board meetings. We also need help in writing letters to the electeds about important upcoming votes. Most of all, we need you to attend Chamber events to learn about the issues so you can be a voice to those around you. |
| Thank you to our amazing volunteer leaders that have agreed to serve in 2023! If you would like to get more involved with the Chamber’s advocacy work, please email me at bvincett@charlestonchamber.org. |
Posted on
December 2nd 2022
Written by
Madison Beard
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