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These remarks were shared during the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce’s annual membership meeting Thursday night, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I don’t have to tell you, but I will, that thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic the last two years have been some of the most challenging in the entire history of planet Earth, much less in Cherokee County. While some businesses have indeed thrived, many others have struggled – and some didn’t make it at all. That’s a tragedy.
Yet, as I look through the camera and into our community tonight, I can tell you there is plenty of good news to talk about right here at home. And since I prefer to deal in actual facts instead of anecdotes and misinformation, here are some numbers well worth sharing.
For starters, the latest North Carolina statistics show the jobless rate in Cherokee County was only 4 percent in September, with just 424 local residents receiving unemployment benefits. That number was 7.4 percent only one year ago and shows how far we’ve come in a relatively short time.
While the biggest challenge for a lot of businesses is simply finding good associates capable of doing a good job, Tri-County Community College is starting several new programs to help give folks new careers.
Sales tax revenues are a good indicator of how well the local economy is doing. After collecting $8.6 million in sales taxes in the 2020 fiscal year, the county collected $10.4 million in 2021, an 8.3 percent increase.
Since last year’s amount was more than a half-million dollars above the 2019 fiscal year, despite the pandemic hitting us hard in March of 2020, the overall trend line is very positive. The county overall is collecting more than twice as much in sales taxes today as it was 10 years ago.
Tourism is a key part of the county’s economy, and occupancy taxes – which are collected from visitors during short-term stays – reached $687,923 in the 2021 fiscal year, a 6.1 percent increase from 2020. Despite the pandemic, national forest fires and blockages in the gorges on both sides of us in recent years, occupancy taxes have increased every fiscal year since 2013, when only $157,053 came in.
That means the Cherokee County Tourist Development Authority has more than four times as many resources today to help highlight the area, market local events and put heads in beds, which leads to even more people spending money in local shops, stores and restaurants.
Keep in mind that while our friends at Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel don’t collect occupancy nor sales taxes on tribal land, the rest of the area obviously has benefitted from the overflow of traffic since the casino opened in 2015. However, that’s only one reason for the growth that has taken place. In the post-COVID world, many people are looking for a simpler, laid-back lifestyle in a more rural community, which happen to be things we can offer in abundance here.
The Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce has played a pivotal role in these positive developments by helping local businesses in a wide variety of ways. All it takes is one call to find out how the good folks in the office can help you.
Remember that the chamber is a local, nonprofit and charitable organization that is only as good and relevant as the people who serve with it. If you own a local business, if you’re involved with a business, if you own property in the area or if you just care about the place we call home, becoming a member of the chamber – and helping your community – should be as natural a thing as getting up in the morning and going to work.
We know many challenges remain for those of us in business, as I’m right there with you. The great unknowns of rising prices for building supplies, fuel and other necessities mean it’s more difficult to plan for the future.
However, the businesses that work hard, are determined to make it and come out on the other side will be the well equipped to have more success in the future. This is not the time to stay inside and complain, but to get out there and work hard to ensure your business succeeds.
While it may seem like there’s a first time for everything, Cherokee County has survived pandemics before. We’ve definitely gone through economic recessions before. And we are making it through this time – together.
All of us in the county are far stronger when we are united than we ever will be divided. Good things are on the horizon, and you’re invited – and encouraged – to be a part of it. May God bless us all as we attempt to build an even better community to live and work in.