b'ON AFFORDABLE AIRFARESFlights at the local airport were expensive and one carrier had a near monopoly. The region needed affordable airfare. The Chamber had developed an opportunity fund created from positive variance funds at the end of each fiscal year that allowed it to match the $25K commitment made by both the Convention and Visitors Bureau and Charleston airport to hire an airline consultant to prove Charleston was ripe for an affordable airline.Today, Charles boasts, growth at the Charleston International Airport has exceeded anyones imagination. In 2003, passenger traffic there was 1.6 million and by 2022 it was over 5.3 million. The number is predicted to double in the next 10 years along with opening a new concourse.ON SEEKING NEW QUARTERSWhen Van Rysselberge joined the Chamber, it was housed on Mary Street, between the famous King and Meeting streets, in an old railroad warehouse depot from the 1860s. He says it was very expensive to operate. During his nine-year tenure, the Chamber moved twice to locations in North Charleston, first to an old, empty hospital and later to the two-story office quarters of a million-square-foot industrial facility. The move to North Charleston, Charles says, emphasized that we were in fact a regional chamber with members in all three counties. People were always surprised when I would tell them that of all the cities in South Carolina, North Charleston was number one in retail sales tax revenue!46 CHAMBER RETROSPECTIVE250 YEARS'