On Friday the Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation Board hosted its annual retreat. At first I wasn’t too excited about the idea of missing most of the day at the office in order to do volunteer work, but it turns out that it was really a worthwhile thing to do.
I’ve been serving on this non-profit board for a few years now and it’s been great to be able get to know these people, who are without a doubt, leaders sharing a common vision. http://rockhillusa.com/ Much of the retreat was concerned with exploring more ways that the community can accelerate the already rapidly unfolding progress that Rock Hill has been seeing.
Downtown Fountain Park
We heard a report from consultants who have looked at the progress of the community, compared it with other outstanding locations around the country and reviewed perceptions about Rock Hill. What they told us is that their study revealed that the quality of life in Rock Hill is excellent and really great things have been happening here. They also told us that perceptions haven’t kept pace with progress. It was also interesting to learn that the lag time in awareness is both internal and external, i.e. many people living here are still uninformed about some rather exciting developments.
Just last night I watched the Carolina Panthers game on Monday Night Football and along with millions of other people I heard the sportscasters discuss what a great community Rock Hill, South Carolina is. They showed a photo of an event depicting Panthers team members with high school football players from Rock Hill. What impressed me though was after they went back into the play by play a while later the announcer returned to the subject of Rock Hill and acknowledged it as a fine community, that was only 20 miles from Charlotte and had excellent football programs. This is just one of many examples of how Rock Hill is becoming acknowledged as a fine place to live and work.
Imagine if you were trying to choose a place to live and you saw this list of attributes:
• A vibrant city, large enough to have many amenities with no traffic or parking problems.
• About 30 minutes from one of the busiest international airports in the country.
• Known regionally, nationally and internationally as a first-class amateur sports destination.
• Historic sites, arts and cultural attractions http://www.visitrockhillsc.com/things-to-do/arts-attractions/
• A center for cycling, including a state-of-the-art Velodrome; and a Supercross track, which has been selected as the site of the 2017 BMX World Championships http://www.visitrockhillsc.com/things-to-do/sports-recreation/
• Has an excellent 70-acre soccer complex.
• Has a long list of first class amateur sports venues including golf and a regulation tennis center – member of the United States Tennis Association; also has a championship disc golf course.
• Abundant outdoor lifestyle activities locally; premier softball/baseball facilities; a short drive to the mountains and ocean beaches within about 3 hours of the beach.
• A business-friendly environment with a diverse, technologically sophisticated workforce.
• All of the cultural advantages of one of the fastest growing cities in the Southeast United States within 30 minutes’ drive.
• Features Knowledge Park, a new model where the best of cutting edge technology is put to work for transformational outcomes in business and education. A highly regarded university, a technical college and a community college partner with the City, schools and the Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation blending public and private resources in the planning of Knowledge Park. 
Click the following link for a 3 minute video to hear many of the community’s leaders explain what makes this initiative so special: http://knowledgeparkrockhill.com/ (Scroll about half way down the screen to find the video).
All of these and many other elements, too numerous to mention in a short blog are among the many reasons that I am thankful to be a part of this fine community.