Vista Lights Celebrates 30 Years

By Mike Switzer

Published November 12, 2015 at 5:00 AM EST

This year marks the 30^th anniversary of a holiday event in the Vista arts and entertainment district of Columbia, South Carolina. This particular business community has grown tremendously over that time and our next guests attribute much of that growth to the collaborative environment fostered by events like Vista Lights. Which, by the way is coming to Columbia November 19^th.

Mike Switzer interviews Meredith Atkinson, executive director of the Vista Guild of Columbia, and Clark Ellefson, artist and owner of Lewis and Clark.

Tags

South Carolina Business Review business news

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.

See stories by Mike Switzer