Today we’d like to introduce you to Evan Carr.
Hi Evan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I attended USC Upstate after graduating from Dorman High School and majored in Informatics (also known as Information Management & Systems), learning IT skills such as database creation and management, networking and website construction. I also took some communications courses there, enrolled in a micro business acceleration program (and earned my certification) and even took some graphic design courses at both Spartanburg Technical College (now Spartanburg Community College) and R.D. Anderson Applied Technology Center (during senior year of high school). I also held down positions as a graphic designer for the Carolinian, blogger for University Communications and a marketing and promotions internship with WSPA-TV.
After graduation, I went on to some brief stints in finance and customer service before landing my first bigger marketing job with Dantherm Cooling, where I coordinated and assisted with trade show logistics, e-newsletter and technical catalog content (data sheets, brochures, manuals), surveys, and specialized in website content and management. Since then I’ve served and volunteered my public relations/affairs and marketing talents with Spartanburg Young Professionals, OneSpartanburg Inc., EMERGE Family Therapy, United Way of the Piedmont, One Million Cups (now The Brew), the South Carolina Association of Volunteer Administration (SCAVA; merged with Together SC in early 2021), Main Street Laurens, University of South Carolina Alumni Association and Partners for Active Living. I am also currently Video Editor and Project Specialist with Community Promotions and Lead Volunteer Coordinator & Spokesperson with Spartanburg Shares Medical Loan Closet, and recently performed freelance website design for Main Street Retreat, a now-closed restaurant in Clover, SC.
I remember going out on drives and out to eat at delicious restaurants with my folks as well as other family and friends starting from my childhood. Early favorites included the Tadpole and Flounder Fish Camps for fried fish and other seafood with hush puppies, the Skillet and Waffle House for breakfast, Quincy’s and Ryan’s for steakhouse favorites (on a budget; I later fell in love with Steak & Ale’s early evening menu) and Mr. Gatti’s and Pizza Inn for their delicious pizza buffet, spaghetti and chocolate chip pizza desserts.
As I got into my teenage years, I got more culturally curious and branched out, starting with Mexican and Asian food (Monterrey and Bronco and the China Star, Sarku Japan and Cajun Express in the WestGate Mall were favorites and all gave me a great introduction to those cuisines). Wade’s and The Beacon have also been longtime favorites.
Then during college and young adulthood, I further expanded my palette trying Indian, Thai, non-Texas Mexican and even Korean barbecue, dim sum, street food and Ethiopian among other things. My curiosity around different types of coffee in college and other drinks in my early adulthood also began. My curiosity keeps being explored as I only recently started enjoying Vietnamese cuisine including pho and ramen, and also birria (on tacos) and Cambodian food for the first time.
I merged these passions to form EC Media, and continue to innovate ways to evolve the brand as well as spin-off portions of the brand into other subsidiaries (including a food project I have in the pipeline).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not always been that smooth. In my career, I had to learn the needs of different people and about working with and under (also eventually leading) people with diverse personalities and skill sets, learning about what people want and need, identifying those different needs and adapting, and learning what I do best and where my brand and business will best serve its customers and community. I lost deals at times due to lack of experience, differing communication styles or struggling to be competitive with more established brands and newer brands with more funding and sponsorship behind them. I can say my technical and other presentation and communication skills have gotten better, especially over the last five years.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in public relations and some marketing and advertising for local businesses (particularly food and beverage-oriented but not limited to that), and I use my social media and status as a customer of many businesses to reach out to them to share my great experiences with others as free marketing. I believe this creates greater awareness for both them and EC Media (and when they see a brand over and over again, they will see that I offer food photography as well as other services I can help them or their clientele with. This includes social media management, email management, web content creation, videography, graphic design and copywriting for PR). I am most proud of the engagement we have gotten, particularly on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook (and more recently TikTok) and for getting over 1,000 followers on Instagram there (and on my @cevancarr page). I am MOST proud of being followed by what I consider my first major brand following me – the Spinx Company of Greenville, SC, a chain of gas stations serving the Carolinas. I also love it when other major influencers, public relations and marketing agencies, journalists and media personalities follow me and my brand. I am local, homegrown to South Carolina, the Upstate and Spartanburg. I stand out because I appreciate my community, know where many of the best spots are for everything, love discovering spots I’m surprised I didn’t know about before and I know and understand my area’s history and past while embracing what the future holds for it. I also have a unique functional skill set and background experience from trying many different things and jobs in my life and pivoting so many times to where I am today.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
My region is comprised of three major mid-sized cities: Greenville, Spartanburg (where I am) and Anderson. They are all unique from each other and have their own identities in spite of the sprawl along I-85 connecting the three. I love all three cities for their burgeoning food and drink scenes, their downtown areas, their outdoor options, including biking and hiking trails, there is some great shopping (both mom-and-pop and nice malls as well as the major chains), the now unlimited, copious amount of coffee shops and the arts/music and sports scene and other entertainment options. I uniquely love Spartanburg because it is home to seven different colleges (including an osteopathic medical school and a chiropractic school) and seven school districts, providing lots of other options for attending sports games, live theatre and concerts and art shows on Thursdays, Fridays and weekends.
Nothing major I don’t like about where I live. I would like better infrastructure for our interstate system and other roads to accommodate our urban and suburban growth. Sometimes it can seem like it’s slower to build and happen here than at other times.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yourecmedia.com (under reconstruction)
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/yourecmedia
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/yourecmedia
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/ecmedia5
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@ecmedia5
- Other: www.tiktok.com/@yourecmedia
Image Credits
Headshot credit: Asia Rollins
