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Community Business Academy presenter thanks James Island for sponsorship and outlines spring plans
Summary
Jackie Berger briefed council on the Community Business Academy: three island residents attended the fall cohort, one completed the program (town-sponsored tuition), the town holds economic-ambassador benefits, and organizers plan a spring cohort focused on food-and-beverage businesses with Trident Tech.
Jackie Berger told the council the Community Business Academy was successfully hosted at town hall and that James Island sponsored tuition for one local graduate, plus a year of Lowcountry Local First membership benefits for that graduate. Berger said three James Islanders enrolled in the fall cohort but only one completed the program; she framed that as a positive outcome because some participants discover entrepreneurship is not the right path before investing further.
"We did recruit as Mary Lyon said earlier, we had 3 James Islanders join the class, only 1 of them graduated," Jackie Berger said, noting the town-sponsored graduate benefited from follow-up membership and support. Berger described the town's role as an economic ambassador in a multi-jurisdictional partnership (Mount Pleasant, Goose Creek, Charleston County) and said the academy will offer a spring 2026 specialty cohort for food-and-beverage entrepreneurs in partnership with Trident Tech. Council members expressed support for continued sponsorship and promotion of local businesses.
