Boeing is coming, but is South Carolina ready?

By GRAHAM OSTEEN

graham@theitem.com

If you believe in miracles, then Boeing choosing South Carolina to build a $750 million assembly plant qualifies as a full-blown whopper.

In spite of Gov. Mark Sanford's recent sexual unpleasantness, Rebel Joe Wilson¹s startling squawk, the ongoing threat of every bone-headed and peculiar act of man or beast making the national news in spite of ourselves South Carolina will now be home to another highly sophisticated, major world-class company.

Sure, the recession is horrible and the new normal is unimaginably challenging, but this economic news for our state is like throwing a big rock in a small pond. It's bound to mean good things, and the job and economic expansion opportunities will affect every segment of the state.

When a person has a job, a lot of issues are automatically resolved. When a student understands that concrete opportunities can be realized only through concentrated academic effort in a given field and pure luck a different sort of light comes on.

Boeing coming here means other companies will too, just as they did with BMW in 1992. Downtown Sumter is just 100 miles from where the Boeing plant will be, so Sumter economic development officials should put on more lipstick and shake some tail feathers. Get those hot prospects in here and let's get this party started.

In addition to that good news, Sumter¹s Shaw Air Force Base is right in the thick of the hunt for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, the Big Dog of aerial killing machines.

If I were running for governor I'm still undecided Carolina would market itself as the new natural destination for the great aeronautical and technology companies of the world. I would fly around (as a passenger) in an F-16 or F-35 to make my case, complete with low-level ingresses over our scenic little towns and cities as a way to create excitement, wonder and awe amongst my people. I would not go to Argentina under any circumstances, or hike the Appalachian Trail.



   



This past week I spent a lot of time re-evaluating our use of space here at Osteen Publishing Co.'s world headquarters in beautiful downtown Sumter.

This involved a great deal of soul-searching, cleaning up the clutter of the various old business models under our roof, and contemplating how to prepare for new opportunities.

Now that we outsource our printing, we are in a building that is more than double what we need. There has been no time to stop and consider how our company like so many companies in America today has had to keep changing and adapting and rethinking costs at breakneck speed over the past three years just to survive and keep doing what we do. And this will be an ongoing part of the new economic realities we all face.

The world is still undergoing tectonic shifts, it will never be the same, and you better figure out how to make it in the new world quickly. Like right now.

This week I met two recent Clemson graduates who majored in architecture.

They are both extremely smart and talented, but there are almost no jobs to be found in their given field aside from offers of "free" internships.

What are they doing? Using the advanced computer and design skills they have developed naturally to create web sites for businesses, and they're extremely good at it. Their inherent understanding of technology makes them unique, and they are easily able to take advantage of increasingly powerful software applications in order to improve web communication. Like my own kids, they're part of the first generation of computer children, so it comes naturally to them.

Their story also confirms that the new economy requires not just creativity and the flexibility to learn new skills, but the ability to recognize revenue opportunities and adapt quickly. The marketplace is more competitive than ever, and the brainpower needed to populate the employment rolls of Boeing and the support companies it brings to South Carolina is going to depend on an educational system in constant need of improvement.

I hope South Carolina is up for the challenge. Don't forget to thank a teacher and give him or her a pat on the back and a shiny red apple every once in a while.



Graham Osteen is co-president of Osteen Publishing Co. and Editor-At-Large of The Item. Contact him at The Item, 20 North Magnolia St., Sumter, S.C., 29150; graham@theitem.com, or call 803-774-1352.