Those in the music business in our part of the world know that this time of year South Carolina's capitol city is a hotbed of activity. The annual Southern Guitar Festival is happening now in Columbia and soon it will be time for the keyboards. On June 14th, the Southeastern Piano Festival will run for a week in Columbia and will feature lectures, master classes and a live piano competition open to the public. Mike Switzer interviews Joseph Rackers, associate professor of piano at the University of South Carolina and the festival's program director.
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.