59 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com our town people back into physical stores. Imholz started visiting businesses herself and heard the same concerns repeatedly. Owners were worried about survival. Restaurants were trying to recover. Shops needed foot traffic again. Instead of waiting for someone else to solve the problem, the chamber partnered with the Town of Mount Pleasant to create the “Biz Where You Live” campaign, encouraging residents to support local businesses close to home. Now entering its fifth year, the campaign includes more than 200 participating businesses. Another initiative focused on helping businesses better understand the benefits of hiring individuals from the neurodiverse community. The program was designed to help employers fill workforce needs and create more meaningful opportunities for people who are often overlooked. That kind of work seems to matter most to Imholz. She believes small businesses are a major part of what keeps the town from losing its identity, even as the population continues growing rapidly. Imholz pointed out that many of those businesses are constantly giving back to schools, nonprofits and local causes behind the scenes. They sponsor events, support families, donate resources and help create the sense of community people associate with Mount Pleasant. Even with nearly 95,000 residents now, Imholz said the town still somehow manages to feel connected. Of course, growth has brought challenges too, especially traffic and workforce shortages. The chamber has tried to help tackle some of those issues by focusing on local hiring efforts and establishing partnerships with schools like the East Cooper Center for Advanced Studies. The chamber’s annual Business and Community Expo even added a job fair component to help businesses connect with local workers. Imholz herself has had a career that moved in many different directions over the years. She studied communications at Virginia Tech and worked for the Department of Energy before eventually owning a gift basket company, marketing for small businesses, hosting a talk radio show and helping families navigate elder care issues as her own parents aged. “As my stages of life evolved, I evolved,” she said. Her advice to younger women is to stay open to opportunities and not become too locked into one version of success. At this point in her career, the award itself almost feels secondary to the larger impact behind it. When asked what she hopes people remember about her years from now, Imholz said, “She brought people together, created opportunities for others and worked tirelessly to make our community stronger.” For a lot of people in Mount Pleasant, that probably already feels true. www.RadRydz.com | 843-972-8525 | Chad@RadRydz.com | 1316 Stuart Engals Blvd UNIT C, Mt Pleasant, SC 29464 Rad Rydz is your go-to source for high quality golf cart sales and service in Mount Pleasant, Sullivan’s Island, Isle of Palms, and surrounding areas. @RadRydz
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