By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Grayson Chamber of Commerce needs to know what local businesses – and their customers – most need from them. That request for feedback was a major theme when the chamber met last week (July 9) for their regularly scheduled monthly meeting. Chamber coordinator Mike Nelson reported that the chamber currently has 175 active members, with more expected to join in the coming months. But the chamber needs those members to be active and communicative in order to make the most of their membership.
Nelson told the chamber that it was crucial to encourage and receive member feedback so the organization could better serve those members. He said he believes each individual member-business has their own unique ideas that can help improve the chamber.
“We always appreciate constructive criticism and ideas we didn’t think about,” Nelson said.
For instance, input or help with spreading awareness of upcoming chamber events.
“We will have a job fair coming up, probably in the month of September,” Nelson told the chamber, as he discussed those and other upcoming events.
“We do the job fairs in the spring and fall, and always have them at KCU. They always do a fantastic job,” he said of the university.
Nelson also mentioned the upcoming Golf Scramble at Hidden Cove Golf Course and the Hometown Holidays coming in December. Other upcoming events sponsored by the Grayson Chamber of Commerce are the farmer’s markets in Olive Hill and in Grayson on July 17 and 18, and on alternating weekends throughout the month, and The KCU Summer Concert Series with the Issacs on July 26.
Some of the benefits Chamber membership currently provides to member businesses are the Text Shop Local, Beam, Pop Up Video, and the Shop Local Campaign. Text Shop Local offers weekly digital deals via text notification to the opted in audience of customers. Beam is a monthly Zoom training and seminars with business coach Dave Beam that covers leadership, decision making strategies and other insights to enhance business owners’ skills and success. Pop up Video is a Chamber livestream and video capture of ribbon cuttings and 15-minute Pop Up visits that highlight the business and what it has to offer. And Shop Local is a campaign designed to keep local dollars local where opted in merchants redeem Shop Local e-gift cards that can only be spent in Carter County.
The Chamber of Commerce’s ultimate goal is to bring customers and businesses together, Nelson explained, and to that end the chamber is always looking for new ideas and new ways to serve and promote its members. A healthy business environment serves the community in many ways throughout the region and beyond. To that end, the Chamber encouraged its members to promote and support each other whether an individual business is one that has been in Grayson for generations or one that has just opened for business.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
