One Region Launches “One Region Ready” Safety Pledge Program

MONDAY, JUNE 8 – CHARLESTON, SC – One Region, a collaborative initiative focused on building a stronger, more inclusive regional economy, today released the “One Region Ready Pledge.” Local organizations can take the pledge to demonstrate to employees, customers, clients, and vendors their commitment to put health and safety first as they return to business. Access the pledge at https://oneregionstrategy.com/ready/.

One Region Ready is the next evolution of One Region’s multifaceted campaign across the tri-county region to safely reopen Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in a phased approach. Over the past three weeks, One Region has released 14 guidelines with recommendations for specific industries on how to reopen. The strategy and guidelines are located at www.oneregionready.com.

“One Region Ready is a public pledge where organizations certify they are following the One Region guidelines,” said One Region Chairman, General Hank Taylor. “This pledge is a critical step to ensuring the safety of employees and customers, ultimately increasing consumer confidence and bringing people safely back to restart our economy.”

The One Region Ready Pledge consists of eight statements to certify a business is adhering to the One Region Ready guidelines and following best practices to keep their customers and staff safe and healthy. The tenets of the pledge include: the use of masks; reduced occupancy; handwashing and sanitization accessibility; contactless solutions for payments and entry; sanitization of high-traffic areas; employee safety protocols; adherence to state, federal and One Region Ready guidelines; and reminders to adhere to social distancing best practices.

Businesses certifying the pledge will receive “One Region Ready” materials they can post on premises and online. In addition, their organization will be added to a searchable, online database on the One Region Ready website. Consumers can go to the website www.oneregionready.com and search by business name or industry to determine which businesses are following the One Region Ready guidelines, so they can feel comfortable and safe visiting their favorite places.

“One Region Ready will serve as an important signal to consumers about where they can safely visit,” said Charleston Regional Development Alliance Chairman John Hagerty. “I know I will personally feel more confident visiting places of business that have taken the safety first pledge.”

“I am proud of everything One Region is doing to ensure the safety of our region and its economic viability as we begin to emerge from this crisis,” said Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Chairman Willis Cantey. “One Region Ready is the next step to safely restarting our economy.”

One Region Ready Pledge is based on the One Region Guidelines which were developed with buy-in from numerous stakeholders across the region and follow public health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), accelerateSC, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

One Region Ready is supported and informed by many local organizations, including: Berkeley County, Charleston County, Dorchester County, City of Charleston, City of Goose Creek, Town of Mount Pleasant, City of North Charleston, Town of Summerville, Berkeley Charleston Dorchester Council of Governments, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Explore Charleston, Gaylord Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Medical University of South Carolina, Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Trident Health, Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, Cantey Tech Consulting, Charleston Southern University, Charleston Trident Association of
REALTORS, Coastal Community Foundation, College of Charleston, Greater Summerville/ Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce, Home Telecom, The InterTech Group, Lowcountry Land Trust, Lowcountry Local First, Nelson Mullins, South Carolina Community Loan Fund, Thomas & Hutton, Trident United Way, Urban Land Institute, and Wells Fargo.

About One Region

Launched in May 2016, One Region is a values-based strategy to build global competitiveness, prosperity and inclusion across our three-county region. One Region is leading the creation of One Region Ready, a coordinated plan that provides guidelines to businesses in the Charleston region on how and when to safely reopen.

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Media Contact: Peter LaMotte, Senior Vice President, Chernoff Newman
Direct: 202-375-8787 or [email protected]