Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation (RHEDC) listened intently as Jason Broadwater lauded results of a recent Hive project. Broadwater meet with RHEDC last Tuesday, along with Hive manager, Michelle Rock, and Hive graduates: David Frick; Tyler Young; John Venable; and Caleb Thompson, to demonstrate the power of The Hive as an economic engine for workforce development.

Winthrop University and York Technical College students gain practical Internet Marketing, Communications, and Technology experience during their semester long studies at The Hive located in Old Town Rock Hill. The new and innovative Bleachery website is the result of a two-semester project. Analytic data demonstrating traffic to- and usage of the Bleachery website was highlighted in the presentation.

RHEDC is so impressed with the Bleachery website’s mapping technologies, GIS, and interactive content they have submitted the project for a national Innovation in Economic Development award. The goal of the site is to create greater awareness and understanding of the opportunities that exist in Rock Hill’s historic textile cooridor.

This fall, The Hive embarks on its forth semester of serving real clients to bolster their organization’s success while using the work as curriculum to train students. The Bleachery project is a fine example of how successfully collaboration between technology education and local economic development compliment the new knowledge-based services economy.