Pee Dee Palmetto Pulse, August

SPOTLIGHT

Colony Bankcorp, Inc., First Reliance Bancshares, Inc. Sign Definitive Merger

Colony Bankcorp, Inc., the holding company for Colony Bank, and First Reliance Bancshares, Inc., the holding company for First Reliance Bank, jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement in which Colony has agreed to acquire 100 percent of the stock of First Reliance in a combined stock-and-cash transaction valued at approximately $163 million. Following the closing of the merger, which is expected to close in fourth quarter 2026, the combined organization will have approximately $5 billion in total assets, $4 billion in total deposits, and $3.2 billion in loans.

GRANT FUNDING

Florence County Fire Rescue (FCFR) Secures More Than $108,000 in Combined Grant Funding

V-SAFE Grant Award: Florence County Fire Rescue was awarded $88,200 through the South Carolina V-SAFE (Volunteer Strategic Assistance and Fire Equipment) Grant Program, which was used to purchase equipment including: • 18 portable speed bump sets, • 18 sets of foldable traffic cones, • Four reflective Emergency Scene Ahead warning signs, • Multi-gas detection meters. Duke Energy Foundation HERO Grant: FCFR also received a $20,000 Duke Energy Foundation Helping Emergency Response Organizations (HERO) Grant. The HERO Grant will be used to equip two dedicated traffic control trucks.

AWARDS

The City of Florence Celebrates 46 Consecutive Years as a Tree City USA and its 19th Tree City USA Growth Award

The City of Florence has been designated as a 2026 Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation, marking its 46th consecutive year of receiving the award. Additionally, the city received its 19th Tree City USA Growth Award for demonstrating environmental improvement. The City of Florence continues to hold the honor of receiving the most Tree City USA Growth Awards in the state of South Carolina. Throughout 2025, the City of Florence planted 287 trees, pruned 2,085 trees, and removed 144 hazardous trees.

EDUCATION

FMU Trustees Extend President Carter’s Contract, Honor Longtime Faculty Member

The Francis Marion University board of trustees held its quarterly meeting, unanimously extending President Fred Carter’s current contract by two years to last until July 2031. The board also approved a resolution naming the Travis Knowles Biological Station at WildSumaco in Ecuador in honor of Travis Knowles, who served as a faculty member in the Department of Biology for 35 years. Trustees adopted a budget resolution authorizing expenditures at the current operating levels until the South Carolina General Assembly enacts the state appropriations bill for fiscal year 2026-2027.

CANCELED DEVELOPMENT

Stream Data Centers Pulls Out of $800 Million South Carolina Data Center, Says Utility Power Would Take Too Long

Stream Data Centers has canceled plans to develop a data center in Marion County, South Carolina. The company said that it would no longer continue with the project "because utility power cannot be sourced on this site within the required time frame." Timing specifics were not shared. The data center was approved by Marion County Council in January, alongside tax breaks. Locals claimed that it was hastily approved during a winter storm and not initially labeled as a data center. Residents packed February meetings about the project, with some protesting the data center.

Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments Presents End-of-Year Summary for Fiscal Year 2025-2026

Accomplishments: Managed 105 Open Projects, providing nearly $135 million in funding to local governments; managed Community Development Block Grant Funding for 20 of 39 local governments; and supported six SC Works Centers/Connection points, with over 1 million services provided to job-seekers and businesses

Awards and Recognitions: Coffee with the COG Quarterly Networking Event received an Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), and the Pee Dee Workforce Development Board received recognition as a High-Performing Workforce Board by the State of South Carolina's Workforce Development Board

Project Highlights: Converted the Winn-Dixie in Bennettsville into a workforce training center, and repurposed the former warehouse in downtown Dillon, making it a pop-up farmer's market and a venue for community events.