2023 ECONOMIC GROWTH AND REAL ESTATE SUMMIT

March 24, 2023
The Dunes Golf & Beach Club
7:30 am - 12:30 pm

"The future of the Waccamaw region's economy from a historical perspective"

Speaker biographies

Tim McGinnis  
Businessman, Journalist, Community leader

Representative Tim McGinnis is a businessman and leader in the Grand Strand community. He is the owner of Famous Toastery in Carolina Forest, and represents South Carolina State House District 56, which covers part of the Conway, Carolina Forest, Socastee, and Longs communities. Previously, Rep. McGinnis served as a journalist and television news anchor in the Myrtle Beach, SC, Peoria, IL, Savannah, GA, and Augusta, GA markets. He is married with two kids.

Clay Brittain III
Chairman
Brittain Resorts & Hotel

Clay Brittain III is a native of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He attended Myrtle Beach High School and Wofford College, receiving a BS in Economics from Wofford in 1977. Clay graduated from the University of South Carolina law school in 1980 to begin a thirty-five year career in law. He started as a law clerk and then lawyer in Columbia, South Carolina. In the late 1980’s Clay returned to his hometown Myrtle Beach to a general practice, primarily in business law.

Clay focused primarily on closely held companies that operate restaurant, golf, and hospitality businesses. Many of these clients remain in business today. Several continue to be industry leaders and major employers along the Grand Strand. After retirement, Clay has focused on redevelopment efforts in downtown Myrtle Beach, as well as supporting the growth and prosperity of businesses started by his father and his two brothers.

A lifelong road cyclist and sailor, Clay continues to enjoy the fabulous marine and outdoor life in Horry and Georgetown Counties. He is married to Emma Ruth Helms Brittain from Darlington County, a lawyer as well. They have two sons, Clay and Benjamin, as well as one granddaughter. Clay IV and his wife Meagan live in Houston along with Harper. Ben and his partner Rhys Jones reside in Brooklyn, NY. Clay and Emma Ruth have a hard time staying away from Houston and Brooklyn, but continue to pull themselves away from those two cities to travel extensively in their retirement.

Ethel Bunch
Founder & CEO
SustainSC

Ethel Bunch is the Founder 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.

Michael Mancuso
Executive Director
Waccamaw Community Foundation

Mike is a veteran business leader with more than 30 years of experience as an innovative problem solver and change agent for nonprofit, banking, and small business organizations. Mike is a skilled economic developer with background in community development, downtown redevelopment, industrial development, and strategic planning. His passion is helping communities and businesses thrive and grow. Most recently, Mike served as the President and CEO of the Triangle East Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Foundation in Johnston County, North Carolina and as Executive Director for the Sustainable Opportunity Development Center, Inc. in Salem, Ohio.

Mike and his wife Christine make their home in Little River, South Carolina. They have 3 children and 6 grandchildren living in Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia, & Austin Texas. Mike enjoys boating on the Intracoastal Waterway, tinkering in his workshop/garage, and spending time with family and friends.

Sandy Davis
President & CEO
Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation

Sandy Davis is a Horry County native and a graduate from Coastal Carolina University. Davis earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2004 while working with Horry Telephone Cooperative. Mrs. Davis has also completed all required courses to sit for the International Economic Developer Certification.

Prior to working for the MBREDC, Mrs. Davis worked as the Controller for Carolina Southern Railroad for more than ten years. Mrs. Davis also served as a part-time professor at Horry-Georgetown Technical College, when needed.

Davis began her role as Director of Operations with the Myrtle Beach Regional EDC and now serves as the President and CEO. Davis’s duties include all financial aspects of the company, assisting existing industry in Horry County and recruiting companies to expand or relocate to Horry County.

Mrs. Davis resides in Aynor with her husband and son.

Michael Benson, D.Phil.
President
Coastal Carolina University

Michael T. Benson is president and professor of history at Coastal Carolina University. His previous administrative posts include special assistant to the president and secretary to the University of Utah, and president of Snow College (2001-2006), Southern Utah University (2007-2013), and Eastern Kentucky University (2013-2020). He has held faculty appointments at the University of Utah, the University of Notre Dame, and Johns Hopkins University and has taught at each institution where he served as president.

Michael earned his doctorate in modern history from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College) where he was a Rotary Foundation Scholar and recipient of the Oxford Overseas Graduate Fellowship. His books include Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel (Praeger, 1997), College for the Commonwealth: A Case of Higher Education in American Democracy (with Hal Boyd, University Press of Kentucky, 2017), and Daniel Coit Gilman and the Birth of the Modern American Research University (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022).

Michael King
President/CEO
KingOne Properties International

Michael King is the founder and CEO of KingOne Properties International, an International real estate and development firm that specializes in the sale and the development of residential and commercial properties. 

King has been a resident of Myrtle Beach, SC since the early age of 11 when he and his family moved from Virginia. Since then, he and his entire family have been very involved in the North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach communities and continues to do so to this day.  Entering the real estate market at the early age of 19 while attending Coastal Carolina University, Mr. King has played a major role in transforming Myrtle Beach from a sleepy little beach town to an International real estate and vacation hot spot.  He has been responsible for selling in excess of $1.7 Billion putting communities like Grande Dunes and developers like Heritage Communities in the national spotlight.

Mr. King is the Chairman of the Grant Center for Real Estate and Economics at Coastal Carolina University where he won the 2019 Ammons Free Enterprise Award, Co-Chairman of fund raising to build a safe home for mothers and children experiencing domestic violence in Horry County, founding member of the Myrtle Beach Chapter of Vistage Worldwide Inc., board member of the WALBER Foundation; an organization that raises money for local underprivileged children, and past President of 2 Live Beyond; all 501c3 charitable originations that raises money for local underprivileged children.

KingOne Properties International has won Best Real Estate Company in the Myrtle Beach area the past six years in a row, Best Residential Developer, Best Commercial Developer and winner of the 2020 Business Innovation Award presented by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. King was also awarded the Entrepreneur Of The Year for 2022 by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and the Realtor’s Image Award for 2022 by the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors.   He has also been nominated for the National Realtor’s Good Neighbor Award which recognizes 1 realtor in the United States for helping their community through charitable organizations.  Lastly King was nominated by Inc. Magazine as one of the Countries Top 100 Most Influential Realtors in America.

Continuing his "Out of the Box" business mentality, Mr. King and KingOne Properties also have offices in Toronto, Canada, Ft Lauderdale, FL, Charleston, SC, and the South Brunswick Islands, NC and continues to seek out other well-known destinations to open offices.

Mr. King and his wife, Victoria, are parents to four children; Christian, Giselle, Luciana, and Andreas.

Joe Moglia
Chair of Athletics / Executive Adviser to the President, Intercollegiate Athletics
Coastal Carolina Univeristy

Joe Moglia is the former CEO and Chairman of TD Ameritrade, Chairman of Capital Wealth Advisors and Fundamental Global, and Chair of Athletics and Executive Advisor to the President at Coastal Carolina University.

In 1984 Joe was one of 26 people who entered the MBA Training Program at Merrill Lynch, 25 MBA's and 1 football coach. By 1988, he was the Number One Producer in the World. By the time he left, he had been a member of both the Institutional and Private Client Executive Committees, and his final responsibilities were all Investment Products, the Insurance Company, the 401(k) Business and the Middle Market Business. Prior to that, he was the head of Global Fixed Income Institutional Sales and ran the firm’s Municipal division.

He became the CEO of TD Ameritrade in 2001, and when he stepped down in 2008, shareholders had enjoyed a 500% return. In 2009 he became Chairman and stepped down in 2020 when TD Ameritrade was acquired by Charles Schwab. At close, the combined company was worth $100 BILLION with client assets of $7 TRILLION. When Joe arrived, those numbers were $700 million and $24 Billion.

Joe has also been a Football Coach for 25 years, but it wasn’t a traditional 25 years. He began his career coaching football for 16 years, moved to the business world for 24, and returned to coaching in 2009.

In 2012, Joe became the Head Coach at Coastal Carolina and in his first five seasons went to the National Playoffs all 5 years and was Conference Champion 4 times. His overall record is 56-22 and in his last 11 years of college coaching, he was a part of 8 championship teams. He has also received multiple Coach of the Year honors, including the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year, was the recipient of the Vince Lombardi Award and was inducted into the Lombardi Hall of Fame. He was also selected to the Big South All Decade Team, and based on the success at the FCS, CCU was invited to the Sun Belt Conference.

Moglia has received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Sharp Trophy for Leadership. He has been honored by the National Italian American Foundation, UNICO, the Columbus Citizens Foundation, the Irish Arts Center, the American Institute for Stuttering, and the Stuttering Association for the Young.

He has been inducted into TEN Halls of Fame and of over 200,000 alumni at Fordham University, is only the 4th to have been inducted into the Hall of Honor, Athletic Hall of Fame, and the recipient of the Founders Award.

He is a member of the National Economics Honor Society, is the recipient of three Honorary Doctorates and has given 8 commencement addresses. Joe has already had a book written about his life, and he is also the only author who has written books published on both investing and football. He is currently writing a book on leadership.

Robert F. Salvino, Ph.D.
Economist, Coastal Carolina University
Director, Grant Center for Real Estate and Economics