Summerville, South Carolina

October 4, 2011 – 

Gov. Nikki Haley defended
her phone-greeting mandate with a smile Friday at the Chamber’s industry
appreciation luncheon.

"The future is bright in South
Carolina. It is a great day in South Carolina," she said.

Her sentiment that South
Carolinians need to get past their habit of negativity and project pride in the
state drew murmurs of agreement.

"It’s a small thing that will make a big difference."

The room of 250 local
business people and elected officials awarded Haley with strong applause when
she talked about her fight with the National Labor Relations Board, which is
suing Boeing for moving Dreamliner production to the Charleston area.

Boeing’s expansion adds 2,000
jobs in South Carolina, but it also adds 1,000 jobs in Washington, she said. No
jobs were lost because of the move, Haley said.

"It’s the most un-American
thing I’ve ever seen happen and we’re going to fight it every step of the way."

She’s talked to officials at Boeing and asked them to
fight the case and not settle. She believes fighting will lead to a win for
business, but settling will open the door for future lawsuits.

The bonus for South
Carolina is that every time she appears on television talking about the case,
more companies call South Carolina interested in moving here, she said.

Haley also spoke of how she’s
working to change the business landscape.

She replaced the entire board
of the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the new chairman is
a construction company president.

The state must also focus on
training its workforce to match job openings, and there will be an aggressive
push starting in January, she said.

South Carolina is attracting
jobs with 13,000 new jobs announced since January. She’s also focusing on
bringing jobs to more rural areas like Denmark and Marlboro County.

County Council Chairman Larry
Hargett commended Haley as an effective leader who’s leading the way in
economic development.

He outlined Dorchester’s recent
successes and said in 2010 the county announced 651 jobs and $200 million in
investment and so far in 2011 a total of 146 jobs and $287 in investment.

The Dorchester County Economic
Development Board has also begun developing a strategic plan to guide the
county’s efforts for the next five years, he said.

The Chamber also singled out representatives from
Bosch, which recently received the 2011 Silver Crescent Award for large
manufacturers.