Local resident Michael Whitfield has launched a green roof business called Green Roof Outfitters.

He comes from a family of entrepreneurs; his father, Lonnie Whitfield, owned Whitfield's Martinizing Dry Cleaners on Coleman Blvd., while his a sister owned a local hair salon, and another sister that co-owned a local health club.

Whitfield was born and raised in Mount Pleasant, graduated from Wando High School, and went on to The Citadel, where he earned his degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering.

He worked as an engineer for several years before he decided to take a gamble and start his own business.

While studying to become a LEED Accredited Professional (a national standard for sustainable building design), he became passionate about the environment, and after years of research and development, Green Roof Outfitters was born.

Whitfield worked with horticulturalists, manufacturers and other green roof professionals to create the GRO Modular green roof system. The GRO Modular system is an all-in-one, pre-planted system that blends all of the environmental and economic benefits of green roofs into a simplistic method of installation with little maintenance required.

Green Roof Outfitters has recently fulfilled orders for the GRO Modules nationwide, and is currently working on projects around Charleston.

Whitfield was one of the featured speakers at this year's Charleston Green Fair, and is now going into the classrooms to teach kids about green roofs and their many benefits.

For more information on green roofs and his business, go to www.GreenRoofOutfitters.com or call him directly at 843-364-7653.

Direct Source Imports named South Carolina's Fastest Growing Company

The Capital Corporation and the SC Chamber of Commerce recognized Direct Source Imports, an international wood purveyor company, as South Carolina's fastest growing company in 2009. The South Carolina's Fastest Growing Companies 2009 competition honored 25 companies throughout the state that displayed exceptional performance in both revenue and employment growth.

Direct Source Imports came in at number one with a revenue growth rate of 225 percent in 2008.

Chris Findlay, president of Direct Source Imports, attributes the company's success to a committed staff and creative sales and service tactics.

'Our success stems from a dedicated team and our ability to react to tough economic pressures by expanding our services into new and larger market segments,' Findlay said.

'We now offer our products and services worldwide which has helped us balance the downfall of local and US markets.'

Direct Source Imports offers a wide range of high quality, exotic and domestic construction industry wood products for decking, flooring, siding, roofing, and more.

They specialize in Ipe, Garapa, Teak and many other exotic materials and seek Renewable, FSC, Green, reclaimed, and recycled products whenever possible. Materials are delivered worldwide to several Caribbean islands and countries such as Israel, Canada, China, Portugal, South Africa and the United States.

Obviouslee Marketing relocates office to Mount Pleasant

Originally located in West Ashley, Obviouslee Marketing has relocated their office to 501 Wando Park Boulevard, Suite 200, in Mount Pleasant. OM's new phone number is (843) 972-0712. The company has resided in their new location since Nov. 12.

Obviouslee Marketing is an integrated marketing and public relations firm that partners with clients from a variety of industries including restaurants and hospitality, real estate and development and consumer products.

OM offers an array of services including marketing strategy, public relations, online branding, social media, graphic design and Web development.

For more information, visit www.obviouslee.com or contact Emily Coleman at emily@obviouslee.com or (843) 972-0712.

Charleston Entrepreneurs honored for Providing Outstanding Customer Service

As business leaders and involved citizens in the Charleston area - Allstate exclusive agency owners Jerry Bacon (North Charleston), Wally Burbage (Charleston), Paul Langston (Mount Pleasant) and Kevin Shealy (Charleston) have earned this distinction.

Bestowed upon less than 22 percent of Allstate's nearly 13,000 agency owners across the country, this designation is being presented to Bacon, Burbage, Langston and Shealy for their commitment to exceeding customer expectations in their agency.

The Premier Service Agency designation is awarded to Allstate agency owners who have consistently met designated levels in customer service and business performance.

Their recognition as Premier Service Agents proves their agency's ability to deliver accessible, knowledgeable and personal customer service allowing them to achieve outstanding business results.

SCITC

Rene Dentiste Mueller, Ph.D., and Kathryn Banks of the College of Charleston's Global Business Resource Center have been voted co-chairs of the South Carolina International Trade Coalition (SCITC) for 2010-2011.

The SCITC is the preeminent trade organization in South Carolina and is comprised of the state's major trade entities, including the US Export Assistance Center/US Commercial Service, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the Export Consortium, the SC Department of Agriculture, the SC World Trade Center, the District Export Council, and the SC Forestry Commission.

The principal goal of the SCITC's outreach efforts is to educate constituents on the wealth of global commerce opportunities that exist for South Carolina companies.

SCITC member entities work together to ensure that South Carolina companies have access to the best resources to meet their importing and exporting needs.

For its part, the Global Business Resource Center fosters global commerce education by connecting College of Charleston students and faculty with the South Carolina business community through education, outreach and research programs.

Local PR and Social Media Firm honored with Two National Awards

Step Ahead Inc. has been recognized by two national organizations for its creative public relations and social media marketing work.

The Squeaky Clean blog, which Step Ahead designed and maintains for Castle Keepers, a Charleston-area cleaning company, recently received a Gold Award from the MarCom Awards, an international competition for marketing and communication professionals.

Additionally, the Society for New Communications Research recognized Step Ahead with a Commendation of Merit for the Twitter Beach Bash it hosted earlier this spring for MyrtleBeachHotels.com, a group of oceanfront hotels and condos in Myrtle Beach.

The Twitter Beach Bash was a two-hour event in which Twitter followers were invited to answer trivia questions via Twitter for a chance to win prizes at the Myrtle Beach resorts.

'Effective January 1, 2009, Mount Pleasant resident, Jennifer Lennon will assume the position of Vice President, Development & Education for the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. The Medal of Honor Foundation supports the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which is headquartered on the U.S.S. Yorktown at Patriots Point, by raising funds to support the programs and goals of the Society.'