Happy New Year!
January 2020
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A Letter from Our President
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Dear Chamber Members, Prospective Members, and Business Owners,
We have officially turned the calendar, left a decade behind us, and are pressing into what some have coined the “roaring 20’s”. I sincerely hope each of you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year filled with family and friends making memories to be cherished for years to come!
The purpose of this letter is to provide chamber members, prospective members, and business owners with a snapshot of the happenings at the Obion County Chamber of Commerce. To say 2019 was a busy year is an understatement. Here are a few highlights from the past year:
· 325 Connections with our Local Business and Industry
· 20 Inquiries from Industries Looking to Move Business to Obion County
· 25 New Chamber Members
· 20 Ribbon Cuttings and Member Anniversary Celebrations
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15 Successful Member Events (VIBE, After Hours, Banquet, Golf Tournament)
· 5 Tourism Meetings (Hosted 2 NW TN Tourism Events with Commissioner Ezell)
We also regularly participated in legislative meetings to advocate for a pro-business climate and helped to host the inaugural UTM Ag Expo and Food Processing Event featuring Ag Commissioner Hatcher, Congressman Kustoff, and Union City’s own Stephen Vaden. These are just a few of the highlights, and we look forward to continuing and expanding these in 2020.
Destination Obion County…Just look around and see the developments within Obion County. Discovery Park of America continues to inspire others to See Beyond. Reelfoot Lake continues to be a regional draw for tourists, avid hunters and fishermen, and even locals looking for great local cuisine. White Squirrel Winery continues to grow and offers events to attract visitors. The construction of new hotels in town are coming to fruition.
All these, and many more, are reasons for us to brag about our county and to promote others to come visit. Tourism plays a large part in Obion County and translates to tax dollars for our community. So, please take time to spread the excitement about Obion County and let’s set new records for the number of visitors who experience Obion County for themselves. Together, we can make a difference!!
The Obion County Chamber continues to work alongside the Joint Economic Development Corporation with strategic moves to ensure Obion County continues to have the availability and ability to attract future employers to Obion County. These moves are targeted at small businesses as well as big industry. Things are moving in the right direction for Obion County, and we will soon be able to provide specific details after some final details are finalized.
As the 2019-2020 Chamber President, I want to personally thank each our members, ambassadors, local businesses, and prospective members throughout the county. Obion County is truly a great place to live, work, raise a family, visit, and/or retire. This does not happen because of luck. This happens because people in Obion County have a genuine interest in making Obion County the very best it can be! And for that, I extend my sincere appreciation to each of you. Let’s continue doing great things and make 2020 a great year!!
King regards,
Donnie Walton
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Welcome New Chamber Members!
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Blackwell Automotive
Jeremy Blackwell, Owner
1504 S 1st Street
Union City, TN 38261
(731) 446-3446
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Pepsi
MidAmerica
Mike Etheridge, Paris Area Manager
55 Culley Drive
Paris, TN 38242
(731) 819-6449
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2020 TN Vacation Guide Available
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The Tennessee Vacation Guide, with THREE new covers. *Inside content is the same.
2020 Tennessee Vacation Guide Announcement
Designed to inspire travel, the magazine-style guide highlights Tennessee’s scenic beauty, urban cities, small towns, music, history, world-class museums, creative spirit and culinary excellence. The Franklin, Tennessee-based Journal Communications, Inc. produces the guide, which is distributed to nearly 500,000 visitors annually.
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Frilling Attends Authentic Leadership Course at Harvard Kennedy School
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As a graduate of DRA's Delta Leadership Institute, Lindsay Frilling was afforded the opportunity to apply to participate in an Authentic Leadership course at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA. Frilling said, "It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that required a tremendous amount of self-reflection in order to use our past experiences to shape our own leadership style."
Click here
for the full press release.
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Representative Mark White Visits NW TN
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State Representative Mark White met with officials from NW TN at the Development District in December to discuss community and economic development initiatives as well as issues counties are facing. Those present were, John Bucy, Executive Director Development District, Milan Mayor Bill Beasley, Caroll County Commissioner Lori Nolen, Rep. White, Lindsay Frilling, CEO OCJEDC, Weakley County Mayor Jake Bynum.
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Adult Leadership Obion County
Serves at Soul Food Cafe
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OCJEDC Chairman Art Spark, Union City Manager Kathy Dillon, Discovery Park CEO Scott Williams, and OCJEDC CEO Lindsay Frilling met with TN Department of Transporation at a meeting set up by their lobbying firm Butler Snow in mid-December. Commissioner Clay Bright and his team took time to discuss the progress and plans for I-69 in Obion County. The team was given excellent news about the project with approved wording below:
"The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 included two high-priority corridors that would later become parts of I-69. Corridor 18 from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Memphis, Tennessee, via Evansville, Indiana runs behind Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tenn. As you can see, much of the work has been completed, including exit ramps on each side of the park. The section you see here that runs alongside Discovery Park from a little northwest of the former Wingfoot Golf Course to Reelfoot Avenue was the first of three projects (the middle project) that encompass the I-69 loop around Union City. The section to the southwest down to US 51 was the second section. Both of these segments have been completed up to final grading (ready for paving). Currently in the construction phase is the section a little northwest of the former Wingfoot Golf Course to US-45 & US 51 about halfway to Fulton. We anticipate that all three segments will be completed and paved by fall of 2023. This will open the entire Union City loop. The remainder of the project including the exchange in Fulton, Kentucky and the section south of Union City all the way to Dyersburg are currently in various phases of development."
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December's Very Important Business Event
(V.I.B.E)
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Thank you to all who attended our December V.I.B.E.! Chad Davis with Davis Wealth Services presents "How
can YOU serve your community?"
Chad quizzed the group on community facts and figures, giving insight into how each and everyone one of us impact community economic development, improving our quality of life.
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January VIBE:
Income taxes - The hardest thing in the world to understand!
Phillip Creswell, Partner, ATA
When: Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Time: 7:45 AM - 9:00 AM
Location: Obion County Public Library
Breakfast and Coffee Provided!
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"The goal of V.I.B.E is to present valuable content to
business owners and the community"
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Charlene Burpo
Twin Oaks Technology
Director of Sales/Marketing
(731) 281-1210
charlene.burpo@twinoakstech.com
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Areas
of Expertise:
Professional and customer relations, business management, and event planning. I work with many community organizations and enjoy helping with the betterment of Obion County and West Tennessee.
Other Interests:
I love travelling, seeing new places and meeting new people. I also enjoy staying active. I like to run and do CrossFit. I enjoy spending quality time with my family and friends. We were recently blessed with our first granddaughter. She is so much fun and I try to spend as much time with her as possible.
Why did you join the Chamber?
I have seen so many wonderful things that our Obion County Chamber does for its members and I want to be a part of helping our community grow. We are very fortunate in Obion County to have a Chamber that truly wants its members to succeed.
Why do you serve on the Board of Directors?
I am grateful to have been asked to serve as a board member for the Chamber. I am passionate about helping others grow and succeed both personally and professionally. We have many great things going on here in our county and I am excited to be a part of the future growth.
What is the Chamber's role in the business community?
We are very well represented by our Chamber. The Chamber helps to unify the different businesses and companies in our county. It acts as a common ground for networking and showcasing our county and its businesses, in order to help grow the community.
What piece of advice would you give a business that is thinking about joining the Chamber?
The advice I would give to a business considering joining the Chamber is… do it, become active with the Chamber. Try to attend as many things going on as possible. Get to know other members. If you get involved with the Chamber and its Members you will benefit from your membership. You will build new personal and professional relationships. Stay positive and speak positive about Obion County. If we don’t, who will? This is our community and positivity can be contagious!
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Downtown Union City Survey Results Presented
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Main Street Union City surveyed area residents on how they perceive Downtown Union City as it is today and what they would like to see it become. Respondents also voiced their favorite downtown businesses, typical shopping hours, shopping days, and businesses they would like to see downtown. Stay tuned as the Chamber and Main Street have partnered to cast a vision for downtown by assembling a team to create master plan for downtown growth and enhancement!
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Businesses respondents would like to see downtown:
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1. Pub/Restaurant (35%)
2. Brewery (30%)
3. Fine Dining (28%)
4. Bookstore (27%)
5. Coffee/bakery (26%)
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40% of Respondents Shop AFTER 5:00pm
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45% of Respondents Shop on Saturday
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