 Welcome to City View, where we give you a close-up view of the City of Columbia. I'm your host, Belisha Yuzzi. In our top story, congratulations to Mayor Steve Benjamin, who was recently inaugurated as the 76th President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. This evening is not about the inauguration of Stephen K. Benjamin. This is indeed about Columbia, South Carolina, and the Midlands of South Carolina. This is our opportunity to show in concert with all of our sister cities all across this country exactly what we're made of right here. When we talk about being the most talented, educated entrepreneurial city in America, showing people what that means, how we can work together to make sure that the needs of all our families are met, that the hopes and dreams of our families can become real, that here in the wealthiest, most powerful democratic nation in the history of the world, that cities can indeed be a force for good. Prior to the inauguration, city council members and city leaders share their thoughts regarding Mayor Benjamin's recent appointment and the positive impact that they will have on our city. I am elated to witness this historic day for my longtime friends and colleague, Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin, as he begins his term as the president of the United States Conference of Mayors. South Carolina is once again giving the U.S. Conference of Mayors an outstanding leader. Somebody that can help us through these troubled times and will lead with distinction and honor for the state of South Carolina and the city of Columbia. We congratulate you, Steve, on having the kind of support that's necessary. You are an example of what I've tried to tell my sons that they need to do. And that is to stay focused, take no wooden nickels, and you have to be in it for the right reason. And it's obvious over these years that you are in public service for the right reason. The city of Columbia recently celebrated and recognized National Small Business Week. In order to kick off the week, the city partnered with the Chamber of Commerce and Richland County. As Mayor Pro Tem for the city of Columbia, it is my honor to recognize Small Business Week. We as the city of Columbia have been recognizing Small Business Week for many years. We have an amazing office of business opportunities led by Ms. Melissa Lindler and the great staff that's here. And so we are honored to be a part of this proclamation and recognition of this day. Following the kickoff of National Small Business Week, the office of business opportunities here with the city of Columbia hosted a Small Business Week conference with over 200 persons in attendance. I must say, there is some synergy across the city around you guys. We're here. They're leveraging resources. They're committing resources. We're looking at ways to be better advocates on your behalf. We want to do trainings. We want to do technical assistance. We want to reach. We want to partner with each other. And you'll notice, if you haven't noticed already, if you're here at any of our activities this week, and you'll notice it certainly during this conference, the level of commitment that you have not only through the city of Columbia, but also through our other public agencies. Small Business Week continued to be a very busy week in the city of Columbia when the U.S. Small Business Administration sponsored a tour here in our city. We went out and visited with our draper company owned by the Chays, just our wonderful, wonderful folks. And they really, they were the Phoenix Award winners, the National Small Business Phoenix Award winners because they literally came back from a terrific flood and rebuilt their business with a lot of help from SBA, a lot of help with local community, their church groups, just neighbors helping neighbors. And so it's wonderful to hear those stories. And speaking of business, the 21st annual Black Expo Economic Empowerment Summit was also held in May. The kickoff event was a breakfast for local business leaders and sponsors of Black Expo. Our board looked at our footprint of what we've accomplished over the 20 years and decided that one of the things that we wanted to do was to make the Expo more mission-based going back to our mission, which is to educate, to enlighten and to empower the community. Thus, our theme for this year, Building a Legacy for Your Family, focusing on the five pillars of economic empowerment, jobs, education, health, wealth generation, and entrepreneurship. Following the kickoff breakfast, the 21st annual Black Expo Economic Empowerment Summit was held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. Inspiring our constituency to really take action as far as wealth creation within our community, being politically involved, civically involved. And so it's just a great opportunity for the community to come out, to hear some great speakers, to really do stuff together and get to know their neighbors, and walk away with a lot of knowledge and information. A lot of times, you know, just even being in the community, people don't always understand what resources are in the community, what things are out here. And so right now you've got so many businesses who are out here and who can tell you what they do in the community, what resources they have to support you, to, you know, really help your household. And so it's great for people to be able to come and support their own and to know what's going on in our community. Not only is Columbia a community that's focused on business, but it is also focused on giving and helping others. The annual Midlands Gives Fundraising Campaign kicked off in a big way. And Councilwoman Tamikaiza Devine, who also serves as our Mayor Pro Tem, represented City Council on behalf of Mayor Benjamin. Midlands Gives is our fifth annual 24 online giving day event where we bring our community together to support local nonprofits. They're raising money and awareness for the great work that we're doing. Right now we're getting ready for our nephron mayor's putting contest where regional mayors are coming together to put for some favorite nonprofits. If they make their pet, they'll have a $250 prize added on to that nonprofits total. So it's an exciting day, lots going on, lots of prizes. Well let's give a special shout out to Mayor Pro Tem, Tamikaiza Devine on that whole in one at the Midlands Gives Fundraising Campaign kickoff. Thank you for watching City View. We hope you've enjoyed the program. And if you have any questions, contact Public Committee Relations at 545-3020. Email us at PIO at columbiasc.net. You can also find out information on our website at columbiasc.net and please follow us on our social media platforms, especially Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And as always, stay tuned to City TV for the latest information and news from the City of Columbia. As we close our program, the City also celebrated and recognized Public Service Recognition Week during the month of May. In honor of this week, Public Committee Relations produced a special video showing testimonials from various City of Columbia employees. Again, as we close, we'd like to share with you our special video about why we serve. I serve because I'm a firm believer in to who much is given, much is expected and required. I've got a love and a passion for what I do. I'm lucky enough to actually be in a job and position where I enjoy getting up every single day. It gives me a chance to give back to others in their greatest time with me. Because I believe that planning for our future is important. I enjoy people. I enjoy being out in the public. Everybody needs that helping hand at times. Well, I think serving your fellow man is very important. And if we care about one another, we serve one another. And that's what all of us should be about. I think that people would feel somewhat lost unless you have people in place to show you around and show you what is available and make people feel welcome. It's about giving back to the community. And also, it's about helping those who can't help themselves at times. One of the most important qualities a public servant should have is being a believer. Very open-minded. Trustworthy. Passionate. We have to be patient. We have to be kind. We have to be humble. Seeing individuals as individuals and being empathetic to what they're going through. I'm a believer that events, organizations, programs can get better and enhance people's quality of life. Ironically, I think the most rewarding experience and enriching experience I've had was during the flood of 2015. I saw our staff step up with servant hearts and give them themselves like I had never seen before in the private sector. That attitude of we can't fail and to pull together and deliver like they did was very rewarding. Most public servants are not doing this for, you know, any financial reward or gratitude. But I do think that they genuinely love what they do to be in the work that they're in. I want a citizen's or somebody's worst day when they thought they have lost it all. And they say thank you just for saving someone's life. Saving a picture or a photo or even saving an heirloom is gratification enough for us. I daily get an opportunity to connect with the citizenry that we serve and it is greatly rewarding to me and how I perceive my job myself. All the relationships and connections I've made throughout the years. Seeing those people when you're not working, when you're off the clock, enhances your quality of life so much. And I love every day I do it. As public servants, if we don't engage with community members, we're doing a disservice to our community as a whole because it's so important to be inclusive and to really understand where everyone is coming from in order to build a brighter future. We choose to be here. We choose to work with the City of Columbia to serve our citizens. And it's a choice that we all make and we need to embrace that, enjoy that. But understand that we appreciate that very, very much. We're one team, one fight. Everybody's trying to achieve the common goal which is to make Columbia a greater place. Folks get up every day ready to try to make life more pleasant for the community and everybody works hard. I can't say thank you enough to all those people because even though I'm also a public servant, I'm also being served by all those other people as well. And so I'm very grateful for everything that all of us do here at the City. It's a great place to work and live.