Hartsville Launches Community Building Project To Draw Attention to The Art of Good Living In this Progressive South Carolina City

Hartsville - The Art of Good Living is the theme of the program to provide more information about the various advantages of Hartsville Living. "Expect Pleasant Surprises" when you visit, vacation or move to Hartsville, South Carolina. This program launched in early October and is being carried forward by the Hartsville Chamber of Commerce and volunteer community task forces.

Hartsville, SC (PRWEB) November 15, 2008 -- Big things are happening in the small city of Hartsville, South Carolina. For the past year, the excitement has been mounting as Hartsville citizens are working together on a city-wide initiative that has become known as "Selling Hartsville". On October 2, 2008, The Selling Hartsville Task Force sponsored an event for the community as an official launch for the project. During that event the ever-thriving downtown area was even more alive as locals and visitors enjoyed a variety of entertainment from local musicians, artists, chefs, dancers and speakers. The project's tag line, "Hartsville-The Art of Good Living" can be seen proudly displayed throughout the city on banners, brochures and bumper stickers.

The project began when a group of forward-thinking citizens acknowledged the need to increase awareness of the authentic and inviting lifestyle available in their city. They began the process with several community conversations centered on one basic question, "How can we make Hartsville an even greater place to live?" In early November, The Byerly Foundation funded a grant proposal from the Hartsville Chamber of Commerce to hire a person who will continue to develop programs to move the "Art of Good Living" program further along over the next two years.

The Byerly Foundation, a local non-profit, grant-making organization became the catalyst in this ongoing initiative, under the direction of Richard A. Puffer, Executive Director of the Foundation and Professor of Communications at Coker College. "The idea of defining the luxuries Hartsville has to offer a potential resident or visitor had long been circulating in the community among several different organizations and individual networks. The Byerly Foundation decided to head up the project so that those citizens and anyone else interested in being a part of the process would have a means of coming together and really getting the process started as a unified community-wide effort." said Puffer. " A project of this nature really required a boundary-spanning organization to get off the ground," said Puffer.

Carolina Public Relations/Marketing Inc., of Charlotte, NC, was engaged by The Byerly Foundation in an effort to help define a clear identity and vision for the project. Sig Huitt and his partner, Jane Peoples, approached the task at hand by discovering what valuable assets Hartsville has to offer potential residents or visitors. It did not take them long to realize and begin promoting what they believe is "an authentic community." After exploring the city, interviewing locals and holding several group meetings they defined the Hartsville lifestyle as unique and welcoming.

Early in the project, five categories were decided upon as all-encompassing keywords for the city of Hartsville; leisure, lifestyle, livelihood, legacy and learning. Huitt, in a presentation to the community said, "The hassle free lifestyle, educational options, recreational opportunities, good climate, medical facilities and community life present a very attractive, affordable, healthy and rejuvenating way of life."

Along with the community launch event in October, a new Hartsville Good Living website was also unveiled to the public. The website, hartsvillegoodliving.com was designed by Kyle Saverance, the owner of Fingerprint Design Studio. "We have attempted to answer many of the questions potential residents and visitors to Hartsville might have. There is a lot of content and we think it meets the needs of the audience" said Stacie Fields, a Coker College intern working on the project.

The project continues to grow and expand as the message "Expect Pleasant Surprises" continues to resonate throughout the community and surrounding areas. Both the http://www.hartsvillechamber.org [Hartsville Chamber of Commerce] and the http://www.hartsvilledowntown.org [Hartsville Downtown Development Association] have been key influences in this initiative. They have helped to garner enthusiasm in the community by positioning the project as an ongoing event on the city's blossoming calendar of events. They have also worked to sponsor even more community-wide events which spread the message of Hartsville-The Art of Good Living. The City of Hartsville has this type of program as part of a recently adopted Comprehensive Plan update and that gives even more importance to continuing the forward progress, according to those working on this project.

As part of the project numerous Hartsvillians have been interviewed and their stories have been published on the Hartsville Good Living website.

Although each story is told from a variety of different people, from different backgrounds and different ties to the local community, each individual citizen praises the lifestyle of their city. Beth Grant, a local business owner said, "There is just something magical about this little city." Betty Wiggins, a lifelong Hartsville native and avid community investor and activist said, "I can't imagine why anyone would want to live anywhere other than Hartsville."

In addition to the new marketing coordinator being hired by the Hartsville Chamber, the volunteers who began the program are staying with task forces to continue work on the legacy entrances to the city, continued city improvements, and working with the school district to enhance educational opportunities. For more information on Hartsville and the art of good living visit hartsvillegoodliving.com.

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