Local Leaders You Should Know

A Network in Action – Power Team Carolinas Series

If you want to understand Fort Mill and the surrounding region, you can’t just look at where it is today. You have to look at the people who built the economic backbone long before growth was fashionable.

One of those people is Elliott White Springs.

Elliott White Springs was more than just a businessman. He was a force. As a leader of Springs Industries, he helped shape the textile industry across the Carolinas at a time when manufacturing meant jobs, stability, and community identity.

But what made him different was that he didn’t stop at business.

Springs was also a writer, publisher, and outspoken thinker. He believed leadership wasn’t about staying quiet or playing it safe. It was about taking responsibility, making decisions, and being willing to stand behind them. Whether you agreed with him or not, you knew where he stood. That kind of clarity is rare today.

Under his leadership, Springs Industries didn’t just operate mills. It helped support entire towns. Families built their lives around that work. Schools, churches, and local economies existed because industry leaders understood their role went beyond profit.

That mindset helped shape the region that Fort Mill would eventually grow into.

This is the common thread you’ll see throughout this series. The leaders who made the biggest impact here weren’t chasing short-term wins. They were building systems, communities, and opportunities that lasted decades.

At Network in Action – Power Team Carolinas, we believe strong business networks work the same way. Real success comes from leaders who think long-term, invest in relationships, and understand that what they build affects more than just their bottom line.

Elliott White Springs understood that long before it became a buzzword.

And Fort Mill is still benefiting from that kind of leadership today.

Network in Action – Power Team Carolinas brings together local business leaders who believe in relationships, long-term thinking, and building something that lasts.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Web of Success: Building and Sustaining a Referral Network That Works for You

By Salvatore P. Incorvaia, MPA, AIC, BNC | Network in Action – Power Team Carolinas In business, success isn’t just about who you know, it’s about who remembers you when opportunity knocks. That’s where your   Web of Success   comes in: an intentional network of trusted relationships that continues to generate referrals, even when you’re not in the room. At a recent   Serving Up Success   meeting, I shared how to build and sustain that web one connection at a time and why investing in relationships always pays the greatest dividends. 1. The Spider in the Center: Why Relationships Come Before Referrals Picture a spider sitting at the center of her web. The food doesn’t come to her by chance, it’s caught in a structure she’s carefully built. Your referral network works the same way. Every connection you make, every “strand” represents a relationship. Over time, those relationships become the framework that brings opportunity directly to you. A strong web does more than...
Read more

How to Turn Your Network Into a Referral Engine

By Salvatore P. Incorvaia, MPA, AIC, BNC | Network in Action – Power Team Carolinas In our last conversation, we explored the idea of building your Web of Success,  a deliberate network of trusted relationships that catch opportunities even when you’re not in the room. But once you’ve built the web, the next question is: How do I scale it without burning out? How do I turn great connections into consistent business? That’s where activation comes in. 1. From Network to Ecosystem A network is a list of names. An ecosystem is a living, breathing system where everyone grows together. To scale your web, start by identifying your “core collaborators”, the 3–5 people in your network who: Understand your value Share aligned audiences Are already referring (or willing to) These aren’t just connections; they’re ecosystem partners . Invest in them first. Pro tip: Schedule recurring 1:1s with your top 3 every month. Not to pitch, but to strategize how you can help ea...
Read more
Image
  Local Leaders You Should Know A Network in Action – Power Team Carolinas Series One of the things I appreciate most about Fort Mill is that its history quietly punches way above its weight. This town didn’t just grow overnight. It was shaped by people who thought long-term, understood stewardship, and cared more about legacy than headlines. A perfect example of that is Anne Springs Close . Most people around here recognize her name because of her impact on land preservation, philanthropy, and helping shape Fort Mill into the community it is today. What a lot of people don’t realize is that she was also part of a remarkable moment in world history. As a child, Anne Springs Close traveled across the Atlantic aboard the Hindenburg during its operational years in the mid-1930s, well before the tragic disaster that made the airship infamous. At the time, the Hindenburg represented innovation, global connection, and big-picture thinking. Not exactly small-town living. When Anne...
Read more