Kevin Fisher of Fisher Communications

Kevin Fisher

By John Temple Ligon

Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

Kevin Fisher was born in Hickory, North Carolina, a town of about 20,000 at the time. His father was in the retail furniture business, and his mother was a manager in the local department store, something similar to Tapp's. Fisher lettered in baseball and after high school graduation went directly to N.C. State.

In college he was editor of the school daily newspaper, The Technician . A history major, Fisher graduated and stayed with journalism. His first job was as a reporter for the Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald.

He sent a letter to Democrat Luther Hodges Jr.from Roanoke Rapids, blindly advising Hodges on his burgeoning N.C. gubernatorial campaign. Hodges invited Fisher to join the campaign, but Hodges missed the nomination, never getting his shot at Jesse Helms.

Fisher took his newly developed political skills to Columbia, where he joined Rita McKinney and Marvin Chernoff in Pug Ravenel's campaign to defeat Sen. Strom Thurmond.

With two losses to his name, Fisher returned to N.C. to work for their ETV, called UNC- TV. He broadcasted The General Assembly Today five nights a week while the Legislature was in session.

Invited back to S.C. by Chernoff, Fisher spent about 10 years in both Chernoff/Silver and Cook/Reuf advertising agencies. In 1989, he began Fisher Communications.

As head of his own firm, Fisher is well known for his "Highways or Dieways" campaign, which he adjusted to suit other states and even the railroads. His "Wild Thing" for the Riverbanks Zoo made a star out of Columbia's Bill Roberson, who turned up sitting on a bench in the movie Forrest Gump.

Fisher held his aspirations high, but he managed to hold his firm to a manageable scale, competing with the big boys and expanding as necessary on a temporary basis. For the long haul, though, Fisher never got caught with too much overhead.

By expanding his capital instead of his personnel, Fisher was able early to put his money to work. He invested in properties, some income- producing and some simply raw land with high long- term potential.

A beachfront house on two lots at the south end of Folly Beach became Fisher's first foray into real estate development. He pulled in an accomplished partner and let his cottage make way for two large houses worth $1 million each.

For 15 years, Fisher has kept 50 acres of raw land on the Sumter Highway near Hunting Creek Farms, just past Defender Industries. The Mungo Co. recently bought the McGregor Dairy Farm on Lower Richland Boulevard adjacent to Fisher's property.

Smaller property but quicker potential is part of Fisher's own house at Idlewood Mills, three acres of a former water- wheel-powered corn mill operation close to the northwest corner of Belt Line and Devine. Three acres zoned for single-family residential with the requisite 5,000 square feet per unit implies a small subdivision if Fisher ever wants to take it to its full potential.

Fisher occupied his office on Gadsden Street in the same building with the S.C. Philharmonic, on the west side of the street between Lady and Gervais for 17 years. This past week he and his people moved Fisher Communications to lower Heyward Street in Olympia. The administration building for the former Olympia Mills is part of Fisher's property domain and works as his new office.

Granby Mills across the street is fully leased as a residential property, and Olympia Mills is following suit. Meanwhile, Fisher Communications is firmly ensconced as part of the neighborhood revitalization.

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