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Final Stakeholder's Symposium hosts special guest speaker

Aiken Standard - 8/31/2017

Aug. 31--Several residents and members of various departments within the City of Aiken had a meet and greet Tuesday at the final Stakeholder's Symposium.

Following the City Department's meet and greet, attendees heard from guest speaker Bernie Mazyck, the first president and chief executive officer of the South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development.

SCACED is the state's trade association and funding intermediary for Community Development Corporations, Community Development Financial Institutions and grassroots economic development organizations, according to a release.

Through its network of members and partner organizations, SCACED strives to improve the quality of life for poor families and communities by providing innovative and sustainable solutions to low-wealth communities in South Carolina, the release states.

"I'm so honored to be here in Aiken," Mazyck said, "I'm here to say thank you. South Carolina is a place people are curious about -- the work that you're doing here has already got the attention of data researchers in Washington."

He talked about the organization Prosperity Now, which was created to help people who do not have financial security.

"The organization measures prosperity throughout the country, and they actually score one state against another," Mazyck said. "In South Carolina, we received a B in housing and home ownership. That's because of affordable housing that's being developed."

He said while there is good news in South Carolina, there is always more work to be done.

"We need to work on the areas of income and finance," he said. "We've got to help our families and our neighbors to be able to take the income we have and convert that into wealth."

Mazyck went on to laud the Aiken Safe Communities Initiative, which is a unified, proactive community approach to engage, educate and encourage recurring offenders to change their behavior and make healthy life choices. Its aim is to reduce high levels of crime and recidivism in the community and undergird Aiken's Northside Revitalization.

He ended his speech by offering three areas for Aiken to focus on moving forward:

--Build on community strengths

--Practice democracy

--Grow leaders

"We need strong leaders from every sector of our community to bring about change," Mazyck said.

For more information on Prosperity Now, visit prosperitynow.org.

Tripp Girardeau is the crime and courts reporter with the Aiken Standard. Follow him on Twitter at @trippgirardeau.

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(c)2017 the Aiken Standard (Aiken, S.C.)

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