“December is the time for remembering the past and reaching toward the future.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
As we close out 2024, we want to take a moment to recap some of the projects and events in which the Chamber of Commerce was involved. Many of these events would not have been possible without assistance from our community partners. The chamber was able to host and assist with the following events: an Economic Summit, Stuart Spooktacular, Hometown Christmas, Festival of Lights, and Lunch with Community Leaders. We hosted five ribbon cuttings for new businesses, won “Best Magazine Guide” again for our Patrick County magazine – a partnership with Tourism. We hosted community coffee talks across the county, continued promotion of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program, the Pick Up Patrick Campaign, presented at the Mid-Atlantic Farmers Market Conference, and was part of a county contingent that participated in the Appalachian Gateway Communities Initiative. The chamber also attended several meetings, luncheons and workshops as a representative of Patrick County.
The office is already preparing for 2025. We are securing several Lunch and Learn programs that will benefit both our newly established businesses as well as our long-standing ones. We are working on the advertising and content selection for the Spring 2025 Patrick County Magazine, as well as our 2025 Membership drive. If you have not joined the chamber, I hope that you will consider it for the coming year. Our members are what drive our organization. We are also looking forward to multiple ribbon cuttings that will be happening in the first part of the year. And of course, promoting all the wonderful events that happen in Patrick County during the year and beyond. From January to May, the Chamber will be part of a learning cohort with the Richmond Federal Reserve’s Community Investment Training. This training will help us gain knowledge for designing and presenting more attractive grant proposals.
I do want to take a moment to say “Thank you” to all the organizations and individuals who partner with the Chamber of Commerce. Again, without your partnership and support, the events that the Chamber spearheads or assists with would not be possible. A “Thank you” to all of our members, who without the chamber would not be an organization that is here to assist residents, visitors and businesses. The community is our business, and we have worked all year to bolster that community through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, attending the Healthy Patrick County meetings, contacting our local, regional, state and federal representatives regarding the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Secret Santa program, and many more.
I hope everyone can enjoy the holidays and have some much-needed rest time.
(Adcock is the executive director of the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce)
