State of the county: Chamber president shares successes, hopes for 2020
Part II
Here at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, we constantly update our contacts on development already happening in the county, whether it’s new rooftops, progress on the bridges, traffic issues or general growth.
We aggressively recruit, and while we aren’t the only ones responsible for growth in the county — our county and city officials have been hard at work, too — we are proud to have had a hand in it.
We believe in Anderson County, and we love to talk about it. That’s why we travel all over the country to spread the word to developers, franchisers and consultants that Anderson County is the place to be.
In the last edition, we discussed retail and development. This time, we’ll look at housing, entertainment and recreation.
Housing
We’ve also seen the beginnings of two brand new subdivisions in the county this year — one behind Walgreens, and another off of Sinking Springs Road. There’s also been a lot of residential growth off of Miller Road and at Patriot Place in South Clinton.
As we get more rooftops, the Chamber is able to use those numbers to draw more businesses to the county.
You want a sit-down restaurant? You need more rooftops.
Most national restaurants and retail businesses need to have a minimum number of homes in the area in order to have a successful business. It’s not the only factor, but it’s a pretty big one.
The impact to the county will be increased sales tax and property tax collections as our growth continues to be incredible countywide.
Entertainment and recreation
In 2019, we held our first long-table dinner with a Gatsby theme on Market Street in Clinton. It was an incredible success, with 220 people in attendance.
Looking forward to 2020, we hope to offer tiered-pricing tickets to the general public, so that everyone can enjoy this wonderful event.
While we set out to offer a two-day antique festival last year, we didn’t expect it to be quite as successful as it was.
We normally have a Friday night kick-off party, and this year we had record-setting attendance.
The Hollingsworth Foundation announced the plans for Aspire Park this year, which is something we are very excited about. If everything goes according to plan, that will add value to the lives of Anderson County residents, and will also draw more people and potentially more businesses to the area.
The inclusive park in South Clinton was also a major success for the county.
Goals for 2020:
• Expand the Gatsby event possibly to include public participation.
• Host our first Purses and Pearls event.
• Partner with more downtown merchants on events.
• Continue to expand the antique festival.
• Continue to expand the golf tournament.
We appreciate the support of our community so much. We can’t wait to see what the year holds.
