Randal Wallace

The news that Representative Thad Viers will not be running for Congress is not good news for Horry County. The upcoming election for the 1st Congressional seat will be without a doubt the most important race for our area. We are about to lose one of the best friends in Congress Horry County has ever had in Henry Brown.

Henry Brown has worked tirelessly on our behalf for the past decade. On issues of vital importance  from I-73,  Beach Renourishment and getting the stormwater pipes off the beach to our new airport terminal and a potential trade center.  Henry Brown has been at the forefront of , along with our Senator Lindsay Graham, all of them. It is a time when the first district needs someone at the helm that has ALL of us in mind. The way Henry Brown has always worked,  this fall I-73 itself could be at stake.

We need a congressman that understands that you have to have “Common Sense Conservatism” in mind when you are up in Washington fighting for our best interest. That means telling the difference between pork, and a good needed project of vital importance to our state and region. What is good for the first district is good for the entire state. The coastal region, from Charleston to Myrtle Beach, is the tourism magnet for South Carolina. Tourism is now the number one industry for all of South Carolina. Since Henry Brown has been in congress we have had a leader that understands that. Thad Viers understood that, I am not so sure I believe that Paul Thurmond, Carroll Campbell III, Tim Scott or any of the other potential candidates understands it.

I am very concerned that our next congressman fights to help our tourism based economy by working with Senator Lindsay Graham to get the funding for the various projects we need to continue to bring people to the area and have them spend money. That, after all, provides jobs and stimulates the economy. That is what we send these guys to Washington to do, look out for the people they represent while also protecting the nation from harm.

We need to elect someone to congress that understands our needs but also understands the precarious condition of our federal government with its current lack of self discipline fiscally. It sounds great to attack projects in districts and ear marks but the truth is that is a miniscule portion of the federal government. The real thing that needs to be brought under control is Federal entitlement programs and all of congress is scared to say it.  So scared ,in fact, that they are spending us into a hole that may put us into third world status and cripple our children’s ability to pay the debt. IE: a financial collapse.

We need leadership that understands the difference between what sounds good on the trail, and what needs to be done in reality, to truly bring fiscal sanity back to our country.  I think there is a big difference between an I-73 and a cowgirl museum. There is also a big diference between earmarks that make up less than 5 % of the Federal budget, and interest payments and entitlement programs that are ballooning to way over half. It is a scary time in our nations history.

We need leadership and I had hopes that we had a candidate who would go to Washington and fill the giant shoes we need filling in the 1st district. I am now concerned about the future of the district as well as the entire country. Please choose wisely this fall it will be important!

Tags: 1st congressional district, Myrtle Beach, Randal Wallace, Republican Primary, South Carolina, Tourism
Posted in State and National opinions | | 1 Comment »

On a very cold day last week, I went with DRC director David Seebok on a tour of the Boardwalk construction. I was very happy and excited about what I saw. It is coming along very well. Sections on the north end are already walkable. It will be a narrow section from just north of Plyler park to the Pier 14 restaurant. (Which has great food!!)  The area south of that are also well on the way, but not as near to being done. The large center section in front of the old Pavilion site and the south end look great though.

A lot of thanks should go to David Seebok, Nicole Desantos, and Corey Brett for all the hours of hard work they have put into making the project a reality. The entire board both past and present have really done a remarkable job of championing the cause through years of hard work.

The Boardwalk will be a new beginning for our historic district downtown. In a tourism town such as ours you have to be constantly reinventing yourself in order to stay in front of your competition. You need new attractions to keep people coming back year after year. This is  the reason you are constantly seeing Orlando coming up with something new, and why It is important that Myrtle Beach is always coming up with new concepts. We have seen it with new Ripley’s attractions, the Slingshot, Freestyle Park, Market Commons and the like. Always coming up with something new for people to go to when they come back, hopefully year after year. I believe this attraction will be in league of its own because it will take advantage of the main attraction Myrtle Beach has, the Ocean Front. We have not always used the beach to our advantage.

As I write this there is only a short list of Restaurants that front on the Ocean. Outside of the actual hotels there is very little ocean front attractions for people to take advantage of while here. That will change with the Boardwalk. The historic district will now have the opportunity to take advantage of its great location with a series of boardwalk oceanfront cafes and bars. The different merchants will be able to draw people in as they stroll along the ocean front and,I believe, you will see a reemergence of the family wandering around Ocean Boulevard. The opportunities are truly limitless.

I look forward to working on making the Boardwalk into a central destination point. One that may redefine the image of Myrtle Beach and, I hope to see the merchants down there thrive again.  It truly will be a new beginning for the entire area downtown. If you get a chance ride down sometime and take a look at the work as it is being done. I am sure you will catch the excitement as I did, even if it is REALLY COLD.

Tags: Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach City Council, Randal Wallace, South Carolina, Tourism
Posted in Myrtle Beach issues | | No Comments »

A recent letter going into the SUN NEWS.

Dear Editor,

Amid all the fervor over climate change and the debate about what to do, many on the far right in our state have focused their attacks on U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, as if he caused this.

For my part, I want to say thank you to Senator Graham for offering to help strike a compromise.

Without his participation, an energy bill stands little chance of passing.

If you think that is a good thing, think again.

As a member of the Energy , Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the National League of Cities. I have spent countless hours studying these issues.

This week the EPA ruled that carbon emissions are harmful to public health, which means if congress does not pass a bill this year, the administration will unleash the EPA on American business with a vengeance much worse than any legislation negotiated in the Senate.

We need a climate bill to protect our economy from the EPA and Senator Graham seems to be the one of the only Republicans willing to do something about it, which is probably why he has the support of the U.S . Chamber of Commerce and other organizations who understand that sometimes you have to take the best deal you can get.

As for cap-and-trade, Senator Graham has stated flatly the he will not support the Kerry-Boxer bill.

He seems to realize that, while any passable proposal must successfully tackle the issue of carbon emissions, it must also be transparent, easy to administer, and resistant to manipulation. Cap-and-trade , as it has been proposed, simply does not meet those criteria.

Senator Graham is trying to make the best of a bad situation before it gets much worse and I applaud him for his efforts.

Randal Wallace

Tags: Randal Wallace, South Carolina
Posted in State and National opinions | | 1 Comment »

History is a great teacher. It is there that you can learn from both the mistakes and successes of others and how to take advantage of what you have learned. There is no better place to look at why the 1% tourism fee is so important than at the history of the two big cereal giants of the 1930’s.

At the beginning of the Great Depression there were two giant companies that competed for the prepared cereal market, Kellogg’s and Post. When the depression hit, Post did what most would do; they slashed there advertising budget and cut costs to ride it out. Kellogg’s, on the other hand, aggressively increased its marketing budget, defined its product and advertised , advertised, advertised. Kellogg’s has dominated the market over Post for 70 years. For Kellogg’s, the Great Depression became the Great Opportunity.

When you look at the current economic climate nationally, you cannot help but be frightened. Fourteen thousand  jobs were lost in Horry County alone,  the state cut out tourism’s two- for- one money, a projection by area experts of a 10% decline in visitor spending that could lead to a 581 million total loss in revenue and 7060 jobs as well. It has the feel of a perfect storm for tourism. However, it could be from that storm we have  the perfect opportunity to take our region to the next level.

I admit ,up front, that my only goal last October was to figure out what we, as a city, could do to help our immediate situation.  We had just passed a number of ordinances designed to reign in the negative effects of two major bike rallies in the month of May. I knew that those decisions were going to have an impact on certain  businesses in our area, and I wanted to figure out a way to help those people as these changes  unfolded. In the meantime, the economy grew much worse. I felt we had to do something.

 The 1% tourism fee began to spring to life from the very bright people at the Chamber of Commerce that have always made this such a great place to live. What they came up with is a strategic investment for the future that has a component of a huge tax cut for homeowners. A win- win scenario for everybody. We can potentially be the Kellogg’s of the tourism world. The plan calls for a long term branding of our product, Myrtle Beach, as a diverse, affordable, vacation destination. It’s simple and, over the next ten years, we will have the money to make it happen and become THE  PLAYER  in the southeast.

This fee is our first major investment in tourism by local government . The industry average is only 17% privately funded.  Myrtle Beach businesses have been funding up to 66% and piecing together the rest from everywhere else. The short term goal is to invest in our underfunded drive- in and fly- in markets. We have 26 direct service markets that are only 50% actively advertised in and all are underfunded.  The fee should allow us to maneuver in these markets.

The midterm goals are to have  active Fall and Holiday advertising campaigns that will grow our share of the pie into December. The long term goals to brand the destination and grow our  domestic an international air service, hold big events and help us grow into a year round destination, are very exciting. It will take us away from dependence on the spikes of our current mix of events.

My hope is to target these big event promotions in a way to revitalize our downtown. The Myrtle Beach ocean front area is truly our historic district. My thinking is that by placing a number of these potential outdoor concerts, arts festivals, family festivals, craft events etc, into this area, we will see downtown become just as competitive as any of the other newer areas of Myrtle Beach. We need to be dedicated in making this area thrive because it is the heart of Myrtle Beach. The 1% fee has already freed up the monies to make the Oceanfront Boardwalk a reality this winter.

It is an exciting time to be a part of what is happening here in Myrtle Beach. I believe we are making the investment necessary to become the premier resort area in the nation. Investing as Kellogg’s did in grabbing so much of the market share, we will be the leader far into the future. It is one of the things I am proudest to have been a part of making a reality.

(The statistics used were part of a presentation to City Council by the Myrtle  Beach Area Chamber of Commerce)

Tags: 1% tourism Fee, 1% tourism tax, Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach area Chamber of Commerce, Myrtle Beach City Council, Randal Wallace, South Carolina, Tourism
Posted in 2009 Platform | | No Comments »