Bobby Hitt | |
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South Carolina Secretary of Commerce | |
In office January 2011 –June 2021 | |
Preceded by | Joe E. Taylor,Jr. |
Succeeded by | Harry M. Lightsey III |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert M. Hitt III December 27,1949 Charleston,South Carolina |
Alma mater | University of South Carolina |
Robert "Bobby" M. Hitt III is a government and business leader in the State of South Carolina. A native of Charleston,South Carolina,he was appointed the state's Secretary of Commerce in January 2011. [1] Hitt began his career as a journalist,following in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather. Over nearly two decades,he built a reputation as a dogged journalist for two of South Carolina's most respected newspapers. [2] Prior to leading the state's economic development agency,Hitt served as an executive at the BMW plant in Spartanburg County,South Carolina. [3]
Hitt was born on December 27,1949,to Ann Leonard Hitt and Robert M. "Red" Hitt,Jr. of Charleston. [4] His youngest brother is the author and journalist Jack Hitt. A third-generation newspaper man,Hitt's father served as the editor of The Charleston Evening Post,which later merged with the Charleston News and Courier to form The Post and Courier. [5] And,his grandfather,Robert Hitt,Sr. was editor of The Bamberg Herald. [6] Today,Hitt is married to Gwen,and they have two sons,Lucas and Robert Paul. [7]
Hitt graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in Journalism in 1973.[ citation needed ] In 1987,as a recipient of the Neiman Fellowship for Journalists,Hitt studied for a year at Harvard University,focusing on the impact of social,political and economic change on the South. [8]
Hitt worked for 17 years at The State and the Columbia Record . He served as managing editor of the Columbia Record from 1980 to 1987 and served in the same role for The State from 1988 to 1991. [5]
In 1991,Hitt left journalism to join Nelson Mullins Riley &Scarborough LLP as the director of planning and development. In that role,he assisted in the effort to recruit BMW to the State of South Carolina. [5] On June 22,1992,BMW announced that it had selected Spartanburg County,S.C. for the site of its first North American manufacturing plant. [9] Subsequently,the German automaker hired Hitt to manage public affairs for the plant. [3] He served as manager of corporate affairs for BMW until 2010. [10]
In January 2011,South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley appointed Hitt state Secretary of Commerce. [1] Throughout his tenure,the S.C. Department of Commerce has recruited approximately $30 billion in capital investment and 105,000 new jobs. Additionally,the state has secured significant investments from international brands,including BMW,Boeing,Bridgestone,Continental AG,Giti Tire,LPL Financial Holdings,Mercedes-Benz Vans,Michelin,Samsung,Toray and Volvo Cars. [11]
Additionally,the state of South Carolina has achieved an export sales record in each year of Hitt's tenure. In 2016,the state exported more than $31 billion in products for the first time,leading the nation in the export sales of completed passenger vehicles and tires. [11]
Throughout his career,Hitt has received several awards and accolades,including:
South Carolina is a state in the coastal Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered to the north by North Carolina,to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean,and to the southwest by Georgia across the Savannah River. South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and 23rd most populous U.S. state with a recorded population of 5,124,712 according to the 2020 census. In 2019,its GDP was $213.45 billion. South Carolina is composed of 46 counties. The capital is Columbia with a population of 137,300 in 2020;while its largest city is Charleston with a 2020 population of 150,277. The Greenville–Spartanburg-Anderson metropolitan area is the most populous in the state,with a 2020 population estimate of 1,455,892.
Greer is a city in Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 35,308 as of the 2020 census. Greer is a included in the Greenville,SC Metropolitan Statistical Area,which is part of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson,SC Combined Statistical Area in Upstate South Carolina.
Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport is near Greer,South Carolina,United States,midway between Greenville and Spartanburg,the major cities of the Upstate region. The airport is the second-busiest airport in South Carolina,after Charleston International Airport with about 2.61 million passengers in 2019.
Jack Hitt is an American author. He has been a contributing editor to Harper's,The New York Times Magazine,This American Life,and the now-defunct magazine Lingua Franca. His work has appeared in such publications as Outside Magazine,Rolling Stone,Wired,Mother Jones,Slate,and Garden &Gun.
The Upstate is the region in the westernmost part of South Carolina,United States,also known as the Upcountry,which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals,the general definition includes the 10 counties of the commerce-rich I-85 corridor in the northwest corner of South Carolina. This definition coincided with the Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson,SC combined statistical area,as first defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 2015. In 2023,the OMB issued its most updated definition of the CSA that coincides again with the 10-county region.
South Carolina is one of the Southern United States and has produced a number of renowned performers of jazz,rock,blues,R&B,country,bluegrass and other popular styles.
South Carolina Educational Television is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is operated by the South Carolina Educational Television Commission,an agency of the state government which holds the licenses for all of the PBS member stations licensed in the state. The broadcast signals of the eleven television stations cover almost all of the state,as well as parts of North Carolina and Georgia.
The Miss South Carolina competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Carolina in the Miss America pageant. The pageant was first held in Myrtle Beach and moved to Greenville starting in 1958 and remained in that city until the 1990s. Spartanburg hosted the pageant in a few different venues until new leadership took over the organization and moved the pageant to Columbia,SC in 2011. The pageant was televised since the 1960s until the 1998 pageant. Televising was resumed with the 2000 pageant through 2006. The pageant returned to television in 2014.
Paul M. Dorman High School is a high school located in Roebuck,South Carolina,United States. It is the only comprehensive high school in Spartanburg County School District Six. It consists of a main campus for 10th-12th graders and a separate campus for 9th graders,and a College,Career,and Fine Arts Center. The center features an auditorium,multiple classrooms,an art gallery,kitchen,student center,and computer labs. The campus is located at the intersection of Interstate 26 and Highway 221 in Spartanburg County.
BMW cars have been officially sold in the United States since 1956 and manufactured in the United States since 1994. The first BMW dealership in the United States opened in 1975. In 2016,BMW was the twelfth highest selling brand in the United States. The North American headquarters for BMW is located at 300 Chestnut Ridge Road,Woodcliff Lake,Bergen County,New Jersey.
The economy of South Carolina was ranked the 25th largest in the United States based on gross domestic product in 2022. Tourism,centered around Myrtle Beach,Charleston,and Hilton Head Island,is the state's largest industry. The state's other major economic sector is advanced manufacturing located primarily in the Upstate and the Lowcountry.
Harry Franklin Cato is a former Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. From 1991 to 2010,he represented the state's 17th District. During his tenure,Cato served on the Rules Committee and was Chairman of the Labor,Commerce,and Industry Committee from 1994 until 2008. Cato also served as Speaker Pro Tempore of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2008 to 2010. In the private sector,Cato is Manager of Cato Transportation Supply Inc.
Karen Floyd is an American attorney and politician from the state of South Carolina. She is a former prosecutor and low level magistrate judge and later served as the only female Chairperson of County Council for the state's fourth largest county. Karen was elected Chairperson of the South Carolina Republican Party and served from 2009 to 2011. As the first woman Chairperson of the state party,under her tenure,the party experienced historic wins by adding a Republican congressional seat and winning all constitutional offices,the first time in the state's history. Additionally,Republicans Nikki Haley and Tim Scott were also both elected as governor and congressman,respectively,while Floyd served as state party chairwoman.
Although there are no major league professional franchises based in South Carolina,the state does have numerous minor league teams. The Carolina Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes major league pro teams representing both North Carolina and South Carolina,are based in neighboring North Carolina. The Carolina Panthers,the professional American football team of the National Football League based in Charlotte,North Carolina,has training facilities in Rock Hill,South Carolina. College teams throughout the state represent their particular South Carolina institution,along with the state being a prime destination for golf and water sports.
James D. Bearden III,M.D. F.A.C.P. is a native of South Carolina,a medical oncologist and current Vice President and Clinical Research &Physician Manager of the Gibbs Cancer Center &Research Institute in Spartanburg,South Carolina. Bearden is nationally recognized for his extensive involvement in the advancement of research and treatment for cancer.
William Douglas Workman III was an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Greenville,South Carolina from 1983 to 1995. Greenville is the seat of Greenville County,the state's most populous county,at the center of the Upstate South Carolina region.
The Montgomery Building,listed on the National Register of Historic Places,is an iconic building located on Church Street in Spartanburg,Spartanburg County,South Carolina. It was built in 1924,and is a ten-story,nine-bay-wide,steel frame skyscraper faced in precast concrete. It originally housed the offices of textile companies,cotton brokers,and factories. The building also contained a theatre/auditorium space,a radio and television station. The Montgomery Building was the tallest building in Spartanburg until the 1950s. In 2016,a developer announced a $29 million plan to renovate the building for mixed-use to include apartments,offices and retail. Restoration began in Spring 2017 and was completed in December 2018.
The literature of South Carolina,United States,includes fiction,poetry,and nonfiction. Representative authors include Dorothy Allison,Daniel Payne and William Gilmore Simms.
Michael Del Priore was an American master portrait artist with an international reputation,known for oil and pastel portraits in the Classical Realism style.
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