Join us for lunch and an update from Patrick McCrory, President and CEO at Palmetto Railways! Last chance to register.

Patrick McCrory has nearly 20 years of experience in railroad and marine terminal operations and management through his history with APM Terminals, CSX Intermodal Terminals and Palmetto Railways. He received his undergraduate degree from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and a graduate degree from the University of Denver. Patrick is a veteran of the United States Navy Reserve, previously serving as a Strategic Sealift Officer.

In 2022, Patrick assumed the role as President & CEO of Palmetto Railways (PR). Over the last 10 years with PR, he has specifically focused on rail and intermodal related economic development project development while holding positions as Vice President & Chief Operating Officer and Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer, respectively.

CWIT is honored to welcome Barbara Melvin back to kick off the New Year! Barbara's insight and remarks always draw a crowd, so go ahead and register NOW to secure your tickets before it sells out!

As the first woman to lead a top 10 U.S. operating container port, her skilled leadership guided many of the port’s significant achievements, including deepening the Charleston Harbor to 52 feet, making it the East Coast’s deepest harbor.

Barbara has held numerous leadership positions during her 25 years with SC Ports. What began as a career in government relations and external affairs, advanced to port operations and being named the SC Ports’ Chief Operating Officer in 2018, before becoming CEO in 2022. Since taking the helm in 2022, she has been recognized as a 2023 Leading Woman by SC Women in Leadership, a 2023 Rainmaker by DC Velocity, and was unanimously selected to receive the Outstanding Women in Supply Chain Award from supply chain management students at the University of Tennessee.

Barbara proudly leads the 1,000-person SC Ports team, who work tirelessly on keeping freight moving through the Port of Charleston and South Carolina’s two rail-served inland ports

Save the Date!

CWIT's 18th Annual Auction & Party

Hosted by Charleston Women in International Trade and Tradesman Brewing Company

Event Details:

Stephanie Yarbrough, Partner at Womble Bond Dickinson.

Tuesday September 12, 2023

Crowne Plaza Charleston Airport: 11:45 am - 1:15 pm

CWIT’s annual fundraising auction & party is BACK! and it's an event you do not want to miss! We will have food trucks, beer/wine and bidding ! Get your tickets today!

Click here to sponsor the event.

• $3,000: co-signer of scholarship ~ 10 tickets ~ logo & link on website ~

Corporate membership (for 3) ~ company recognition on Facebook,

Twitter, and other social media ~ mention in promotional material.

• $1,500: 5 tickets ~ logo & link on website ~ Corporate membership

(for 3) ~ company recognition on Facebook, Twitter, and other social

media ~ mention in promotional material.

• $750: 4 tickets ~ logo & link on website ~ Single membership ~

company recognition on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media ~

mention in promotional material.

• $450: 3 tickets ~ logo & link on website ~ company recognition on

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media ~ mention in promotional

material.

• $250: 2 tickets ~ listing on website ~ company recognition on

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media ~ mention in promotional

material.

• $50: Individual Ticket

• $10 / person for entrance into the Cornhole Tournament

We are so excited to see you all after our summer meeting break, and to welcome Joy Riley to speak! Joy graduated from Clemson University in 1996 in Engineering and is registered as a Professional Civil Engineer for the State of South Carolina. Joy is also a registered professional project manager, a certified public manager and a certified design build professional. 

Joy has been with SCDOT for over 12 years, as a transportation project manager. Joy has over twenty five years of professional engineering experience that also includes working with the SC Department of Health & Environmental Control and as a small business owner for an environmental engineering and consulting firm. Joy is currently the project director for the I-526 Lowcountry Corridor Project as a part of the newly formed Office of Alternative Project Delivery at SCDOT. Joy is also the current President of the WTS SC Chapter which is a professional organization committed to advancing women in the Transportation industry. 

Boxed lunch is included!

Please join CWIT on Tuesday, June 14th for a unique tour of the South Carolina Aquarium and Charleston Maritime Center! Registration is limited to only 25 people, so book now to reserve your space! This email went out to MEMBERS ONLY first - thank you for your ongoing commitment to CWIT!

The SC Aquarium is home to more than 10,000 plants and animals and more than 100 exhibits. The aquarium also utilizes its facilities to operate a Sea Turtle Hospital, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources transports injured or stranded sea turtles to the hospital, after which aquarium staff and volunteers nurture the animals back to health. We will tour the first floor including the Sea Turtles and the Great Ocean Tank, which is the deepest tank in North America (42 feet), holds more than 385,000 US gallons (1,460,000 l) of water and contains more than 700 animals. A lunch-and-learn will follow, providing details about the Charleston Maritime Center and its future role with the aquarium. Finally, the tour will wrap up with a visit to the Maritime Center, located right down the street. Don't miss this unique behind the scenes opportunity!

Ethel Bunch with SustainSC will discuss sustainability as it relates to international trade.

Ethel Bunch is the President and CEO of Sustain SC ,a 501(c)3 bringing together a diverse group of business, economic development, academic, conservation and state agency leaders with the mission to connect the sustainability goals of business in South Carolina with local solutions that benefit the economy, environment and people.

Prior to founding Sustain SC , Ethel co-founded Wittering Advisors, a consulting group working with clients to raise the standard for informed decision making that maximizes South Carolina’s economic growth and strong natural resource based infrastructure. Serving organizations such as the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, Lowcountry Land Trust and Congaree Land Trust she helped match corporate environmental and social commitments with South Carolina’s needs. She has 20+ years of fundraising and communications experience bridging the nonprofit and private sectors operating in healthcare, environment and education. She has served as Director of Development and Marketing for EdVenture Children’s Museum, Prevent Child Abuse South Carolina and Heathwood Hall Episcopal School.

Born and raised in South Carolina, Ethel earned a B.A. in English and Masters in Mass Communication from the University of South Carolina. She is married to Bill Bunch and has two daughters, Caroline and Claiborne who keep her motivated and humble.

Membership renewals are due now! Head to our website to renew or join at cwitsc.org/join

Please save the date for our annual membership appreciation party Tuesday, February 15th at LoLa in Park Circle. Come hang out with us and get in the Mardi Gras spirit with a couple of beverages and some food!

Members get in FREE, but you must register. Non-members, $10. Includes drink ticket and light bites.

Memberships may be renewed on our website, or at the door the night of the party.

Free Registration

Jeff Holzbauer is a Supply Chain professional with over 13 years’ experience working in both Engineering and Operations Management for Kohl’s Department Stores, Daimler Trucks, and currently Walmart. Jeff has worked on projects including standard work creation, labor management, WMS implementation, and a variety of continuous improvement initiatives utilizing his Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma knowledge. Jeff has designed and established multiple warehouses putting an emphasis on safety, quality, and associate engagement. Jeff is married to wife of 11 years Colleen with a son Dylan (age 20 months) and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering earning academic All-Big Ten honors while playing football.

We are so excited to kick off 2021 with the Annual Port Update presented by CWIT's 2014 Woman of the Year, Barbara Melvin!

In her role as Chief Operating Officer, she oversees terminal operations, Procurement, IT and support services, crane and equipment maintenance, engineering, environmental, Port Police, carrier sales, and cruise operations.

Link to Barbara’s presentation.

Please consider making a donation to our scholarship program. 100% of proceeds will go towards our scholarship fund.

Charleston Women in International Trade Hosts The Annual Charleston Soirée

CWIT will honor Suzanne Dickerson

Director of Logistics at SC Council on Competitiveness and Director of SC Fraunhofer USA Alliance

 Register for the Soiree Now!

Suzanne joined the SC Council on Competitiveness in 2016 after serving for 8 years as the Director for International Business Development at Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). Suzanne's experience includes 20 years in the automotive industry: 12 years within BMW working in the fields of corporate sustainability, innovation management and long-term strategic and structural planning.

She began her career with BMW in Munich Germany at corporate headquarters upon completion of the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program. Suzanne speaks fluent German and is also a Fellow of the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Forum. 

Suzanne serves as a Founding Board Member of the multi-state Southern Automotive Women's Forum and is a Board Member of the South Carolina Automotive Council. In her local community of the Upstate of South Carolina, Suzanne is a Fellow of the Furman Riley Institute Diversity Leadership Program and co-chairs a Ten at the Top Task Force for the Connecting our Future initiative.  

In 2013, the South Carolina Research Authority awarded Suzanne with the Knowledge Economist Award and in 2015, Suzanne was the recipient of the Clemson Women in Leadership Award.  In 2018, Suzanne joined the SC Manufacturers Extension Partnership Board. 

Past recipients of this prestigious award include Betsy Burton (Premier Logistics, 2019), Adriane Malanos Belton, (Mercedes-Benz Vans, 2018), Jessica Sage (Carolina's Rigging & Crane and Charleston's Rigging & Marine Hardware, 2017), Anita Zucker (Chairwoman and CEO of The InterTech Group, 2016), Elizabeth "Liz" Brabham (Wando Trucking, 2015), Barbara Melvin (SC Ports Authority, 2014), Pam Zaresk (Maritime Association of SC, 2013), Christian MacIver (MeadWestvaco, 2012), and Elizabeth Colbert-Busch (Clemson University Restoration Institute, 2011). 

 Ms. Dickerson will be honored at CWIT's 18th annual meeting, the Charleston Soirée, on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at Founders Hall, Charles Towne Landing.

 There are several sponsorship opportunities and individual tickets may be purchased online for $75.00. Cocktails, networking and Charleston Entertainment's Classical String Duet will start at 6:00 pm and the dinner program will follow at 7:00 pm. 

 Register for the Soiree Now!

March Meeting: Anna-Kate Shores, Senior Manager, Elliott Davis

The Role of the US Financial System in Int'l Trade: A Case Study of North Korea

As a senior manager in the Forensics, Valuation, and Litigation Support practice, Anna-Kate specializes in financial misconduct matters, including analyzing and investigating reported or suspected cases of corporate, securities, and healthcare fraud. She provides forensic accounting and expert witness services in criminal and civil matters.

Anna-Kate has served as a senior associate at a Big Four accounting firm, providing consulting services to Fortune 500 companies in matters of internal fraud, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, and regulatory and criminal enforcement matters.

Prior to joining Elliott Davis, Anna-Kate spent seven years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In her final assignment with the FBI’s Money Laundering Unit, she served as the lead financial investigator of some of the FBI’s most high-profile and complex fraud and money laundering cases. During her tenure at the FBI, Anna-Kate held a unique position as an expert in matters of international money laundering, serving as a consultant for Bureau offices around the country that sought to collaborate with her in all manner of financial investigations.

When: Tuesday March 10, 2020 11:45am-1:30 pm

Where: Crowne Plaza Charleston

4837 Tanger Outlet Blvd North Charleston, SC 29418

Cost: $25 members/$30 non-members (lunch included)

Kick off 2020 with the Annual Port Update presented by CWIT's 2014 Woman of the Year, Barbara Melvin!

In her role as Chief Operating Officer, she oversees terminal operations, Procurement, IT and support services, crane and equipment maintenance, engineering, environmental, Port Police, carrier sales, and cruise operations.

This event sells out every year, so please register early to secure your spot!

Click here to view presentation!

David Ginn

President and CEO

Charleston Regional Development Alliance

Please join us in welcoming David Ginn for our May meeting! He'll provide and Economic Development Update and Trends Report for the Charleston region.

In his leadership role with the CRDA, David works closely with the region's top business, academic and political leaders to shape and execute a comprehensive regional economic development strategy. He also leads the organization's day-to-day efforts, and is directly involved with global business development and global marketing initiatives.

A Certified Economic Development professional, David maintains a comprehensive awareness of current issues in economic development, thanks in part to affiliations with the International Economic Development Council and as past president of the S.C. Economic Developers Association. 

The Waterfront Collective (comprised of Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association, Charleston Motor Carriers Association, Charleston Women in International Trade, Maritime Association of SC and Propeller Club of Charleston) will be hosting a commencement breakfast featuring special guest speakers Joe Cunningham and Barbara Melvin on Friday, May 24th. 

Please mark your calendars and save the date.

Click here for more information:

Charleston Women in International Trade Hosts The Annual Charleston Soirée

CWIT will honor Betsy Burton,

Principal, President of Holy City Solutions and Co-owner of Premier Logistics, 

as CWIT’s 2019 Woman of the Year

Betsy is currently the owner and President of Holy City Solutions, and co-owner of Premier Logistics in Charleston, SC.  A graduate of Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania with a B.S. degree in Accounting., she spent over ten years as a civil servant working primarily as an auditor for the US Army Audit Agency. Her operational audit experience included logistics, transportation, information management, training and medical support.

Upon moving to the Charleston area in 2003, she began working for Premier Logistics where she helped grow the company's revenue by 800%. In 2006, Betsy started Holy City Solutions for customers desiring a woman-owned business to provide supply chain and logistics services, consulting and logistics brokering support. Holy City accomplishes these service offerings through its network of logistics providers as well as its sister company relationship with Premier Logistics Solutions, which she owns with her husband.

Past recipients of this prestigious award include Adriane Malanos Belton, (Mercedes-Benz Vans), Jessica Sage (Carolina's Rigging & Crane and Charleston's Rigging & Marine Hardware, 2017), Anita Zucker (Chairwoman and CEO of The InterTech Group, 2016), Elizabeth "Liz" Brabham (Wando Trucking, 2015), Barbara Melvin (SC Ports Authority, 2014), Pam Zaresk (Maritime Association of SC, 2013), Christian MacIver (MeadWestvaco, 2012), and Elizabeth Colbert-Busch (Clemson University Restoration Institute, 2011). 

Ms. Burton will be honored at CWIT's 17th annual meeting, the Charleston Soirée, on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at Founders Hall, Charles Towne Landing.

There are several sponsorship opportunities and individual tickets may be purchased online for $75.00. Cocktails and networking will start at 6:00 pm and the dinner program will follow at 7:00 pm.

Elizabeth Colbert Busch, Trident Technical College

We are excited to have Elizabeth Colbert Busch with Trident Technical College to present an update on the S.C. Aeronautical Training Center.

With construction anticipated to be completed in 2019, the $79 million facility will house the college's Aeronautical Studies academic programs as well as aeronautical training offered by the college's Division of Continuing Education and Economic Development and readySC™. In addition, it will increase capacity to provide training for well-paying jobs in expanding advanced manufacturing industries that have diverse work forces and excellent upward job mobility.

Jeffrey Montgomery, Founder, Managing Partner at Omatic Software 

Jeff Montgomery is a Software Developer based in Charleston and the founder and managing partner of Omatic Software. Omatic is an Inc. 500 software company and Charleston Digital Corridor member focused on integrating and automating data  operations exclusively for national and international nonprofits. Over 2,000 organizations, from Charleston's own Blackbaud, The Red Cross to Special Olympics, and Consumer Reports to Doctors Without Borders are powered by Omatic solutions. Jeff is also a Liberty Fellow and lives in Charleston with his family. Join us as we learn valuable insight from Jeff on building a business in Charleston! 

It's Membership Renewal Time!

CWIT memberships renew each January.  As a thank you for your support, we are happy to invite you to our annual membership social.  Join us for an evening of networking, beer, food, axe throwing and a free gift for renewing your membership!  This is a free event for our current 2019 members,  and memberships may be renewed at the door the night of the event.

And Now For Something Completely Different... 

Join us at Frothy Beard Brewery and try your hand at Axe Throwing! Blade and Bull will teach you and your friends to throw axes safely and competitively. 
Memberships may be renewed via membership link at the bottom of  this email, or at the door the night of the party. All 2019 Members will be entered into a drawing for a fun give-away. Any members who bring a friend who also becomes a member that night will be entered twice.  

FREE for CWIT Members!

Forum for International Trade Training (FITT)

with Speaker Scott C. Ferris, CITP, Director of Business Development at FITT and Moderator Cortney Morgan, Vice President for Partnerships at OWIT International

WHEN: Tuesday, January 29 at noon EST

FREE for OWIT International and FITT Members

If you are a CWIT Member, your OWIT Membership is included, FREE! Take advantage of your membership and join us for this free informational webinar.

OWIT International has a number of partner organizations around the world. In this webinar, we highlight the Forum of International Trade and Training (FITT) and the nature of the OWIT-FITT Partnership. FITT is an organization that provides international business training, resources, and professional certification to individuals and businesses. In this webinar, Scott C. Ferris will provide an introduction to FITT and what they do. Scott will also provide an overview of the training options available to FITT and OWIT Members, the benefits of training with FITT and a FITT certification, and the ins and outs of how the trainings work. If you are interested in learning more about international business training and export-import resources available to OWIT members, please join us to meet FITT.

Kick off 2019 with the Annual Port Update presented by CWIT's 2014 Woman of the Year, Barbara Melvin!

In her role as Chief Operating Officer of the SC State Ports Authority, she oversees terminal operations, Procurement, IT and support services, crane and equipment maintenance, engineering, environmental, Port Police, carrier sales, and cruise operations.