South Carolina Business Review

Grandparents step in to help educators and students

By Mike Switzer

Published August 22, 2024 at 6:30 AM EDT

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Fran Hawk, a volunteer with The Grands program at James B. Edwards Elementary School in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., with two of her nine grandchildren.

Most people realize that K-12 students perform much better at school when parents stay involved, especially with positive reinforcement of teachers’ efforts. But sometimes, parents don’t, or for a variety of reasons, just can’t. And that’s where our next guest says, grandparents can fill the void. Mike Switzer interviews Fran Hawk, a volunteer with The Grands program at James B. Edwards Elementary School in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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