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SCBR Thursday

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At a recent event we attended in the Midlands commemorating a new historical marker for a formerly all-black high school, we were introduced to our next guest whose organization is now housed in that building.  She and her team are working hard to improve the lives of seniors and youths in that area and have also recently begun offering office space to entrepreneurs.

Mike Switzer interviews Cindye Richburg-Cotton, executive director of the Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center, in West Columbia, SC.

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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.