2024 Myrtle Beach Classic Generates $15.4 Million In Economic Impact

The inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic, the first ever PGA TOUR event held in Myrtle Beach, generated a substantial economic impact for the region.

Officials said that based on Destinations International (DI) calculations, the worldwide standard for measuring the effect events have on communities, the Myrtle Beach Classic generated an economic impact of $15.4 million, considerably bolstering the area’s economy, increasing tax revenues and supporting local jobs.

“The event has exceeded our expectations in every possible way,” said Darren Nelson, tournament director. “Knowing that $15.4 million was put back into the Grand Strand economy is incredibly rewarding. It not only supports local business – both big and small – but generates additional tax income that ultimately improves the destination and enhances the quality of life for residents.”

The inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic, held May 9-12, 2024, at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club, welcomed more than 40,000 spectators throughout the four days of play.

Additionally, a field of 132 players and their caddies, 1,300 volunteers, as well as dozens of officials, staff and members of the media participated.

Moreover, tournament officials shared additional key performance indicators, including:

* $15.4 million economic impact makes the Myrtle Beach Classic a top generating event for the Grand Strand surpassed only by the Carolina Country Music Festival, which reported a $20 million impact in 2015, its inaugural year (Visit Myrtle Beach).

* 52 percent of Myrtle Beach Classic attendees visited the Grand Strand from areas located across the U.S. and 12 countries (Zartico, a U.S.-based data science company). 

* 8 hours of live coverage appeared on the GOLF Channel and licensed media partners across 73 countries and territories as well as significant exposure through other GOLF Channel programming, websites and social media sites (PGA TOUR).

* 900+ editorial mentions (earned media) captured across major media platforms such as NBCUniversal, CBS and ESPN (PGA TOUR).

* 9 charities based in Horry and Georgetown counties rewarded as the recipients of $225,000 in total local donations (PGA TOUR).

* $600,000-plus in merchandise purchased during the event, using local vendor Native Sons, and $700,000-plus in food and beverage purchased (Myrtle Beach Classic).

* 9,400-plus lodging room nights booked across the Grand Strand (Visit Myrtle Beach).

* 281,000-plus rounds of golf were played across the Grand Strand in the month of May 2024, which was an all-time record for the month of May (Golf Tourism Solutions).

* The Q at Myrtle Beach, a unique qualifying event that was released on Play Golf Myrtle Beach’s YouTube channel on April 23, generated over 530,000 hours of watch time and one million YouTube views (Golf Tourism Solutions).

Next year’s tournament will be held May 8 - 11, 2025, once again over Mother’s Day weekend at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club.

Tickets for the event will go on sale this fall and volunteer registration will open early 2025.

For more information about the event, go to MyrtleBeachClassic.com.  

Governor Signs Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit Bill into Law

Gov. Henry McMaster on August 21, 2024, was joined by members of the General Assembly and local business leaders for a ceremonial bill signing of S. 1021, which extends the Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit through 2035 and increases the maximum tax credit that can be earned in a year from $500,000 to $700,000, further incentivizing, officials said, investment in vacant buildings across South Carolina. 

"Tax credits and tax cuts are among the most effective economic development tools we have as a state," McMaster said.

He added, "By providing this tax credit, we encourage developers, business owners, and entrepreneurs to breathe new life into once-neglected properties. This will have a ripple effect in the areas around them, preserving our history, creating new jobs, and helping to bring even more pride to our communities." 

The S.C. Abandoned Building Revitalization Act, first enacted in 2013, offers income or property tax credits as an incentive to promote the rehabilitation of empty or underutilized buildings.

An abandoned building means that at least 66 percent of the building has been vacant for at least five years.

To qualify, a taxpayer must file a Notice of Intent to rehabilitate with the South Carolina Department of Revenue and incur rehabilitation expenses exceeding either $75,000, $150,000, or $250,000 based on the population of the municipality where the building is located. 

“South Carolina is the only state in the nation with an Abandoned Buildings Tax Credit. We care about our history,” said Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort. “It may be cheaper to bulldoze an old building and ruin its character, but there is a value to rehabilitating and revitalizing.” 

Additionally, it creates a new corporate income tax credit for railroads based on qualified railroad reconstruction or replacement expenditures.

The credit is worth 50 percent of the qualified railroad construction or replacement, up to $5,000 per mile of track replaced or repaired.

GreenGasUSA, Wayne-Sanderson Farms Partner to Optimize Biogas Production, Decrease Methane Emissions at Processing Facilities Across U.S.

Charleston, South Carolina-based GreenGasUSA and Wayne-Sanderson Farms announced a collaboration to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) at a portfolio of Wayne-Sanderson Farms facilities across the U.S by leveraging existing wastewater treatment and biogas assets to bring pipeline quality RNG to market.

The two companies also plan to identify and develop additional RNG facilities at other poultry processing sites in the Wayne-Sanderson Farms portfolio, targeting locations with the largest potential to decrease methane emissions and those with capacity for co-location of a liquid CO2 recovery system.

“Wayne-Sanderson Farms has already proven themselves a leader in efforts to reduce waste and promote circularity within their operating portfolio. Combining the innovative strategies in place at Wayne Sanderson facilities with GreenGas’s RNG expertise will ensure the maximum RNG yields and on-site environmental benefits – including a further reduction of Scope 1 emissions in Wayne-Sanderson Farms’ carbon footprint,” said GreenGasUSA CEO and founder Marc Fetten.

Fetten added, “We are incredibly proud of the opportunity to work with Wayne-Sanderson Farms to build upon the success of their existing biogas operations and support the company in achieving their climate targets.”

“We recognize that true progress on environmental challenges requires collaboration, and we are excited to be at the forefront of innovation in renewable energy generation with GreenGasUSA,” said Paul Billingsley, vice president of development and engineering at Wayne-Sanderson Farms.

Billingsley added, “This partnership demonstrates our unwavering commitment to minimizing our carbon footprint and dedication to a more sustainable future.”

GreenGasUSA partners with global businesses to help reduce their environmental footprint by producing renewable natural gas and other renewable products, like carbon dioxide (CO2), clean water, and agricultural nutrients.

Its wastewater and engineering experts design and permit comprehensive biogas solutions including, biogas capture, anaerobic digestion, gas flaring, compression, transportation, and pipeline injection.

GreenGasUSA has operational RNG facilities at agricultural and food processing sources across the country, installing, commissioning, and operating gas upgrading equipment; RNG and CO2 product compression and transportation; and existing pipeline injection infrastructure.

It has five operational RNG facilities, and one CO2 facility, and is actively developing additional RNG and CO2 facilities across the U.S.

GreenGasUSA is majority owned by the IFM Net Zero Infrastructure Fund (“IFM NZIF”). IFM NZIF is an open-ended fund, managed by IFM Investors, which targets essential infrastructure assets that seek to accelerate the world’s transition to a net-zero emissions economy.

With a diverse portfolio of products, a strong operating culture, and an industry-leading workforce of more than 26,000 people, Wayne-Sanderson Farms owns and operates 23 fresh and further-processing facilities across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas.

Wayne-Sanderson Farms produces poultry products for retail, foodservice, restaurant, industrial and institutional segments under the brand names of WAYNE FARMS® fresh and prepared chicken; SANDERSON FARMS® fresh chicken; COVINGTON FARMS® fresh and frozen chicken; PLATINUM HARVEST® premium fresh chicken; CHEF’S CRAFT® gourmet chicken; and NAKED TRUTH® premium chicken.

What You Can Do To Protect Your Personal Information

Note: The Social Security Administration is providing the information below as a public service following reports of a data breach that is unrelated to the SSA’s internal systems and data, neither of which has been compromised.

What to do if you suspect your Social Security number has been stolen  

Identity thieves can use your SSN and other personal information to apply for loans and credit cards and open cellphone and utility accounts in your name.

If you believe your information has been stolen and you may be a victim of identity theft, you can:

Go to IdentityTheft.gov to make a report and get a recovery plan. IdentityTheft.gov is a one-stop resource managed by the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency. Or you can call 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338).

File a police report and keep a copy for your records in case problems arise in the future.

File an online report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov. Its mission is to receive, develop, and refer cybercrime complaints to law enforcement and regulatory agencies.

Notify 1 of the 3 major credit bureaus and consider adding a credit freeze, fraud alert, or both to your credit report. The company you call is required to contact the others.

Equifax at 1-800-525-6285.

Experian at 1-888-397-3742.

TransUnion at 1-800-680-7289.

Regularly check your credit report for anything unusual. Free credit reports are available online at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Contact the IRS to prevent someone else from using your Social Security number to file a tax return to receive your refund. Go to Identity Theft Central or call 1-800-908-4490.

To learn more, read the blog, Protect Yourself from Identity Thieves, and our Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number publication.

What else can you do to protect yourself

Create or sign in to your personal my Social Security account to check for any suspicious activity. If you have not yet applied for benefits:

You should not find any benefit payment amounts, and you should be able to access your Social Security Statement and view future benefit estimates.

Review your Statement to verify the accuracy of the earnings posted to your record to make sure no one else is using your Social Security number to work.

If you receive benefits, you can add blocks to your personal my Social Security account:

The eServices block prevents anyone, including you, from viewing or changing your personal information online.

The Direct Deposit Fraud Prevention block prevents anyone, including you, from enrolling in direct deposit or changing your address or direct deposit information through my Social Security or a financial institution (via auto-enrollment).

You’ll need to contact the SSA to make changes or remove the blocks.

Other ways to safeguard your information

Don’t carry your Social Security card with you. Keep it at home in a safe place. Be careful about who you give your number to.

Change your passwords regularly and use a unique password for each account to prevent hackers from accessing multiple accounts if one password is stolen.

Add an extra layer of security to your online accounts by using multi-factor authentication, which is a sign-in process that requires a password plus additional information.

Be wary of scammers pretending to be Social Security employees. If you get a suspicious call, text, or email about a problem with your Social Security number or account, ignore it, hang up, and don’t respond!

To report the scam and to learn more, go to Protect Yourself From Scams.

Allow us to tell your company's Business Narrative. Send your press release to David Dykes or for more information email [email protected]