About
Nancy Ogburn is the owner of Tomato Palms®, LLC. It is certified as a Woman Owned Business by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) www.wbenc..org. The company's mission is to keep all recyclable materials out of the landfill.
Nancy began her training in the recycling industry through the South Carolina Department of Commerce's Recycling Marketing Development Department. She joined the Recycling Industry Group (RIG) in February 2009. RIG is a cluster under the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, New Carolina. www.newscarolina.org. RIG operates under the direction of the Governor appointed board of the Recycling Marketing Development Advisory Council (RMDAC). On October 13, 2009 Tomato Palms® was recognized by RMDAC for its waste reduction and recycling efforts.
Nancy is Co-Chair of the Joint Marketing Committee of the Recycling Industry Group. The committee is responsible for marketing the new South Carolina Recycling License Plate available in January 2010. In 2009, the RIG Committee received approval from SCDOT regarding Nancy's recommendation to have the Adopt-A-Highway programs implement recycling in addition to the garbage pick up on South Carolina's highways.
Tomato Palms® is also a sponsor of New Carolina's SC Recycling Industry Cluster Strategic Plan to guide the recycling industry cluster's efforts to 2025. The proposal will be completed at The Jim Self Center on the Future in the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs at Clemson University.
Tomato Palms® is listed as a resource on the Department of Health and Environmental Control's Index of Waste Minimization www.scdhec.gov. Tomato Palms® was recognized by the Climate Protection Action Campaign as a Green Business Member and is also a member of the Carolina Recycling Association, the Better Business Bureau, the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce.
Tomato Palms® has been invited to assist in developing Lexington County's Certified Green Business program and is a charter member. Go to www.lex-co.com/greenbusiness.html for more information on becoming certified.
WIS-TV and WLTX-TV have reported on Nancy's innovative approach, and she was featured in The State newspaper's article on Earth Day 2009. Lexington Woman Magazine ran a feature story on her in their spring 2009 edition, and The Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce's on-line radio broadcast, Business Matters, featured Tomato Palms® in the fall of 2009.
