Last week, a business that was pondering the idea of leaving Beaufort County, ended up staying. Not only are they staying, they are going to stick around for the next decade.

Coeur, a medical facility in Washington, renewed its lease for another 10 years with the Beaufort County Committee of 100, who owns the building. Coeur employs 144 people, which means if it had not renewed the lease, 144 jobs in Beaufort County would have no longer existed. The renewal was due to the support given by the Committee.

Back in 2004, when the original lease was signed, the Committee financed some upgrades to the building that allowed the company to grow. At that time, Coeur employed 60 people. Due to that financial support, the company was able to more than double its sales in a decade, and Coeur Plant Manager Tim Barrett was able to convince leadership that the company should remain located in Beaufort County.

The initiatives of the Committee of 100 are extremely beneficial to Beaufort County’s business community. Since it’s a private, nonprofit organization, it can obtain and use grant monies to improve Beaufort County. It supports the efforts of Beaufort County Economic Development in creating and maintaining jobs as well as attracting new business and keeping existing businesses going. Being a private organization, the Committee is able to respond more quickly to different needs of a company interested in expanding or locating in Beaufort County than County or City government can. It also provides leadership in tackling issues in our community relative to economic development.

The Committee of 100 is an asset to the community, at large, and its initiatives allow a better economy and a better future for Beaufort County.