By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Grayson Chamber of Commerce President Jill York welcomed chamber members back for a brand-new year at the January 2026 chamber meeting. Chamber Director Mike Nelson said the chamber was starting the year off well with 232 current members. Nelson pointed out that a current chamber member business, Collins and Company, will be rebranding, becoming a children’s clothing store and changing their name to Tiny Blessings.
Nelson also gave an update on the Mistletoe Market; a promotion the chamber held during the Christmas season to encourage people to shop in Grayson. Local member businesses were given punch cards that they punched for each ten dollars a customer spent in their store. Customers could then present the card at any other participating store where they also spent at least ten dollars for another punch, until they filled up the card. Once the punch card was filled – ten punches representing $100 spent in local businesses – they could be filled out and dropped into a box in whatever store was convenient. The chamber then held weekly drawings for shop local gift cards, ranging from $50 to $500 in value. Those cards, which work exactly like debit cards, could be used at any chamber member business.
“We did really well with the Mistletoe Market,” Nelson told the chamber. “We distributed all of the punch cards, except maybe a couple of hundred.”
That meant well over 2,000 of those cards were distributed, he said, highlighting just how substantial customer response had been.
“It exceeded our expectations,” Nelson said. “So, we are going to have another promotion, probably in the Spring, probably around Easter.”
President York said the success of the punch cards yielded a lot of useful information as well as revenue. By examining the data on the cards that were entered into the drawings the chamber could determine what percentages of purchases were made by local consumers and what percentage were from out-of-town shoppers.
“We will be digging into that more,” York told the chamber. “And we want to thank all the local merchants who participated in that.”
In other chamber reports, the Grayson Chamber of Commerce reported they had raised $5,000 for Project Merry Christmas.
Ashley Traylor from Grace and Gray Social Media Marketing was the guest speaker at the meeting and discussed numerous ways for businesses to grow their presence on social media platforms while maintaining security.
“Social media gives you the opportunity to showcase your brand globally,” Traylor told the chamber. “It’s not something that is just in Grayson, or Olive Hill, or Kentucky. What you put out there can be found by anyone. As of early 2025, 5.41 billion people use social media globally. And the average user spends just under two and a half hours daily on social media.”
Traylor pointed out the top four social media platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok), with Facebook being the platform with the most consistent traffic. Using a business she personally does the social media for, Traylor pointed out how traffic to a particular post changes, and can be enhanced. One way to enhance this traffic, she said, was with emblems used in the post that help keep your branding consistent. Another is to post surveys to increase interaction, regardless of whether or not the survey itself has anything to do with the business.
Traylor provided a few basic ‘Dos and Don’ts’ in her presentation to the chamber. Among the ‘Don’ts’ were things like not downloading an image to use without permission, don’t expect instant results for each social media interaction, and don’t ignore comments on your posts.
“If someone takes the time to comment on one of your posts, take the time to respond, even if it is just a simple thank you,” Traylor said.
On the list of ‘Dos,’ Traylor said to be ready to try new things. Also included are creating content for your ideal customer, and being consistent and posting regularly. This, she said, increases customer confidence.
Traylor can be found, of course, on various social media platforms and is in the business of helping both new and established businesses enhance their social media presence and grow their individual brands.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
