Cherokee Tribune
By Ashley Fuller
1-22-09

Environmental awareness and mentoring for new businesses are among the top priorities for the incoming chairman of the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce board. Nathan Brandon of Canton, administrator of Cameron Hall Assisted Living in Canton, on Saturday will accept the gavel from current Chairwoman Dale Morrissey.   The chamber’s 38th Annual Meeting is at 7 p.m. at the new Northside Hospital-Cherokee Conference Center in Canton. The evening also will include the presentation of the prestigious First Citizen award and chamber Volunteer of the Year honor as well as the introduction of new and outgoing board members.

Brandon, 57, said he wants to “carry on the momentum” Mrs. Morrissey was able to maintain during her term in terms of economic growth, especially with the economic challenges facing business now.

To help fledgling businesses, he said the chamber will be encouraging participation in its Resource Services from Valuable Professionals (RSVP) program. Last year, the chamber signed up professionals willing to volunteer to mentor new business owners.  “It may be even more necessary this year,” Brandon said of the need for new businesses to seek expert advice. “They can talk to someone who has been through that before and can ask how to do it.”

Another new initiative from the chamber, Going Green, is designed to help businesses become more environmentally friendly.   “It is about being a good steward of the local environment,” Brandon said.   The chamber this year also will continue its focus on adding new members while retaining current ones.

In 2008, the chamber welcomed 228 new members, down from 241 new members the previous year. The chamber included 1,112 total members at the end of last year, down slightly from 1,148 members the previous year.

There also was a drop in the number of Shop Cherokee dollars sold last year. The gift certificates can be redeemed at a long list of local businesses. The chamber issued $103,700 in Shop Cherokee dollars last year, as compared to $111,530 in 2007.  Mrs. Morrissey, a branch manager for First Cherokee State Bank, said she found her time as board chairwoman to be “very rewarding.”

“I have built lots of friendships and relationships,” she said, noting she plans to stay active with the chamber and this year, in addition to serving as past chairwoman, she will lead the finance committee. She said chamber members in the past year continued to stay involved in supporting each other and the community.   “It is a very reliable group,” she said. “It is satisfying to know that you can call on a chamber member and it gets done.”
Mrs. Morrissey added she was happy to see more than 200 new chamber members join in the past year.

“In a slow economy, I felt like that was an accomplishment,” she said.   Other accomplishments she noted include the development of the RSVP program and the chamber’s online job leads and the groundbreaking for the new Canton campus for Chattahoochee (Appalachian) Technical College.