Haley Talks Tourism, Gambling and 'Great Day'
Keynote speaker at Governor's Conference in Greenville
During a stop on Tuesday at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Travel in Greenville, Gov. Nikki Haley talked about South Carolina’s largest industry — tourism — as well as the renewed interest in legalizing gambling.
In her keynote address to the group, Haley brought up the much-discussed phone greeting, “It’s a great day in the South Carolina," she made mandatory for state employees.
Haley said she decided to institute the phrase because of the effect it would have on state employees rather than state visitors.
“South Carolina was a state of negativity and changing the culture has been a big part of my job," Haley said. "You can either focus on the positive or focus on the negative. I choose to focus on the positive."
In a session with the media after her speech, Haley said it’s important to sustain the momentum the state has in the tourism sector by making sure all parts of the state are marketed to potential visitors.
“It’s not just the Upstate and our beaches, we’ve got bed and breakfasts all over the rural parts of the state,” she said. “There is whitewater rafting, golf courses and wonderful state parks. We’re a great state as a whole and we do not need to be regional anymore.”
Haley added that she believes South Carolina has benefited from being wedged between a group of states (North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee) whose residents like to take weekend getaways during slow economic times, instead of longer vacations.
The governor also addressed a proposed casino to be built by United Keetowa Band of Cherokee Indians in Jasper County near Hardeeville. She did not dismiss the possibility of a casino, but preferred other strategies to help build the economy.
“I don’t think we should settle and take the first thing that comes along. We have industries coming to our state," Haley said. "We can get good, productive manufacturing jobs here. Gambling is not a priority right now.”
After spending much of the morning with hospitality representatives, Haley visited an elementary school in Greenville before leaving for Spartanburg to hold her "open door" meetings.
Mike Buddin
8:40 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
What is our Governor talking about cutting Teacher Pay and education funding. When I left High School in 69, I believe we were 49th in the country in education and we haven't made much progress since. We always hear we're making progress in our school systems but actually we're not. The pay is low unless you teach in a big city school where the Industries and money seem to flow to all the time. We have our I95 corridor of shame that no one wants to talk about except the President of the United States. What do we have to do in order to bring the schools up to date with technology and better classrooms. We are now issuing IPads to students and we have others out that barely have the essentials to study with. The teachers in low income areas struggle month to month to make sure their students have what they need to learn with and if they don't have it they go out and purchase items they might need. Why can't our Politicians quit bickering and start taking care of our young generation that's our future in years to come.
Thelma
9:07 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Gambling should be a priority right now. Look at all the money video poker used to bring in to the cities alone. $180 per machine plus gross income from the machine. Not to mention how much the state charged. People that want to gamble are going to do so. If they have to go to Cherokee and give their money to NC they will. If it were legalized, the state and cities would get the money and the illegal gambling houses would close. a majority of the money could be used for grade school. Let's face it, if the children do not learn how to read, write and count in grade school, the lottery money for higher education is a waste of time.
Mike Buddin
9:46 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I agree wholeheartedly my friend, we pay the Commissoner a lot of money to run the Lottery program and the other half goes to pay off who knows what group or politician.
JoSCh
9:46 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
They don't need to legalize gambling (I really couldn't care less if they do or not) to raise money for education, there is a budget surplus for the second consecutive year. The problem is if you increase funding for public education then the public will get educated and smart voters are bad for South Carolina politics.
Bob
4:45 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
You know how you have a great day in South Carolina? Raise the salaries of State Employees, Nikki Haley.