VPET USA LLC, a manufacturer of wide-mouth polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and containers, announced plans to establish operations in Spartanburg County. The company’s $10.8 million investment will create 40 jobs.

Founded in 2001, VPET USA LLC manufactures custom and stock PET containers for the nutrition, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, and health care industries.

As a worldwide PET packaging leader, the company produces a vast portfolio of Bisphenol-A (BPA) free PET bottles and wide-mouth jars. VPET USA, LLC offers a quick, effective and flexible approach to manufacturing PET plastic containers.

Located at 861 Victor Hill Road in Greer, VPET USA, LLC’s Spartanburg County operations will initially serve as a blow molding and injection molding facility to supply key customers in the Southeast.

The new facility complements four manufacturing facilities in California, Illinois, and Texas, as well as in-house production facilities in various locations around the globe.

“VPET USA, LLC expanding their national reach with a facility in Spartanburg County proves again how big a player our county is in the larger economy, particularly with manufacturing, distribution and logistics,” said David Britt, Spartanburg County Councilman and chairman of the Economic Development Committee.

“We’re excited to welcome VPET USA, LLC to Spartanburg and excited to see them build their success here.”

Operations are expected to be online in October 2022. Individuals interested in joining the VPET USA LLC team should visit the company’s careers page.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has awarded a $150,000 Set-Aside grant to Spartanburg County to assist with the costs of building improvements.

SC REALTORS (SCR) won the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) Fair Housing Award. SCR won in the category of consumer education. The award was presented at ARELLO’s Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on Aug 31, 2022. 

The ARELLO Fair Housing Award acknowledges impactful efforts to further fair housing and to promote anti-discrimination in housing.

The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding fair housing programs that benefit the real estate industry in the promotion of, and compliance with, fair housing; to increase the awareness of outstanding fair housing programs; and to protect the public through honoring and promoting excellence in fair housing education programs.

SCR was selected for the formation, implementation and work of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council, which is made up of REALTOR members from across the state.

The purpose of the DEI Council is to sustain an inclusive culture that embraces and fosters diversity at all levels of the association as well as throughout SCR membership, ensuring that SCR is able to promote and champion equity for all home and property owners in the state of South Carolina.

“We are very proud of the work we’ve done to implement this program and all of the subsequent projects that have stemmed from it,” said SCR Past President Owen Tyler, who formed the council.

“We have done everything from creating fair housing programs, policies, guidelines and training for REALTORS, to developing a DEI scholarship for our Leadership Academy,”

The DEI Council’s mission is an extension of SCR’s mission which is to promote and protect private-property ownership and rights, advocate for SCR and keep property ownership affordable.

For the first time in its 180-year history, The Citadel will present posthumous degrees to two former cadets who left the college before graduating.

The first degree will be presented on Friday, Sept. 9, to the family of Lt. Col. George McMillan, ’38.

The second will be presented Nov. 11 to the family of Medal of Honor recipient Christopher Celiz, ’08.

A change in college policy — spearheaded by The Citadel Board of Visitors and Provost Sally Selden, Ph.D., SPHR – will allow the Military College of South Carolina to award posthumous, undergraduate degrees to cadets and students in good standing who left the college before graduating.

During a meeting in January 2022, The Citadel BOV approved the first two posthumous degrees to be awarded to McMillan, USAAF, a member of the Class of 1938, and Army Ranger Sgt. 1st Class Celiz, a member of the Class of 2008.

“It is a privilege to have an opportunity to honor two American heroes, both of whom we are proud to welcome fully into The Citadel’s Long Gray Line of alumni,” said Col. Dylan Goff, ’02, chair of the Board of Visitors.

“Both Lt. Col. McMillan and Sgt. 1st Class Celiz — on campus six decades apart — thoroughly represent the service and sacrifice we work to instill in those who join the South Carolina Corps of Cadets.”

McMillan’s degree presentation will be held at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 in Daniel Library. 

McMillan — from Winter Garden, Florida — transferred to The Citadel in 1935, after spending a year at Marion Military Institute. At the end of his senior year, he was six credits away from earning his degree when he decided to accept a position in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program.

McMillan decommissioned to join the American Volunteer Group, commonly known as the Flyer Tigers, in China. After returning home, he re-joined the Army Air Forces and served as the commander of the 449th Fighter Squadron before being shot down and killed near Pingxiang, China.

Celiz, a native of Summerville, South Carolina, attended The Citadel from 2004-2006, leaving the college in good standing to join the Army in 2007. He was selected to serve with the 75th Ranger Regiment as a combat engineer in 2013.

At the time of his death, Celiz was serving as the battalion mortar platoon sergeant and was in the process of reclassifying to the infantry branch. He was killed during combat operations in Afghanistan on July 12, 2018. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2021.

The second annual Furman women's basketball Hoops & Heels fundraising and women's empowerment event is scheduled for Oct. 5 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville.

National and Olympic champion coaching great Dawn Staley is the featured speaker for the event, which begins with a VIP cocktail hour at 6 p.m., followed by the dinner and program beginning at 7 p.m.

Registration and multiple sponsorship and ticket opportunities are detailed here. 

“We are extremely excited to welcome National and Olympic Champion Dawn Staley as our speaker for this year's Hoops and Heels event,” said Furman head coach Jackie Carson.

“The interest in women's basketball, particularly in the state of South Carolina, is at an all-time high due to Dawn's program at the University of South Carolina. She is not only an amazing leader on the court but personifies true servant leadership with her civic and community engagement across the country.”
 
Fresh off a 2022 NCAA National Championship and a gold medal-winning performance in the Tokyo Olympics as the head coach of the USA Women's Basketball National Team, Staley is one of the most successful coaches in basketball. Staley was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2013. 

Carson '00 is entering her 13th year as head coach at her alma mater.