Chamber to distribute information on county

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard

Chamber of Commerce president Lea Chrisawn with the “quality of life” brochure which will be used to encourage individuals, such as retirees, to relocate in Warren County. (Charles W. Johnson photo)

Warren County is the place to be, according to the local Chamber of Commerce which is working to get the word out to individuals who are interested in relocating, for whatever reason, to consider the area as a place to call home. In fact, the Chamber has put together a brochure in an effort to call attention to all the things Warren County has to offer.

Whether it be retirees or someone who wants to escape the hustle and bustle of urban areas for the more laid back environs of rural life, Warren County has what they need, according to Chamber president Lea Chrisawn, and the brochure is designed to provide a colorful and informative look at Warren County.

“This is called our ‘quality of life’ book,” said Chrisawn. “This is the book that we send out to anyone who is interested in relocating.”

The brochure, which was created in collaboration with a company called CommunityLink, was professionally designed and printed on slick paper in a magazine format. It includes information on homes and real estate, education, recreation and tourism, health care, government, business and industry, culture and entertainment, local churches and religious institutions, along with a variety of facts and figures on the community in general.

Chrisawn said the Chamber will be sending out relocation packets during the year, and hopes to receive names of prospects from a variety of sources.

“When people are interested in relocating, we want to put our best foot forward,” Chrisawn said, “and we have a really good looking magazine here.”

One of the things Chrisawn is most proud of is the variety of full color photos in the brochure, many of which were taken by local photography enthusiast, and E911 Board chairman, Mark Gribble.

“We have some beautiful pictures of the area,” Chrisawn said. “Mark Gribble and I spent about a week together taking pictures of places that we knew and that we wanted to be a part of our book.”

Though the magazine is devoted to providing information for individuals who might like to move to the area, and not necessarily to industry or retail, it does contain a wealth of information that might be interesting to those who not only want to relocate, but may be interested in starting a retirement business or some other enterprise.

The brochure was paid for with funds from local business who purchased ads for the publication, and Chrisawn said the Chamber was pleased with the response and support from the community.

“It didn’t cost us anything,” Chrisawn said. “Everything was paid through the advertisers, and we are very grateful to those who have spent so much money on full-page ads.”

According to Chrisawn there will be several methods for obtaining names of prospects.

“Edwin Partin, who everybody knows is such a great promoter of our area, is going to chair our Committee for Relocation,” Chrisawn said.

Partin has already come up with some ideas, including promotions where people submit names and are then entered in a drawing for prizes.

In any case, Chrisawn feels the brochure will do a lot to draw retirees and others to the county.

“We’re just hoping that people will look at this and say, ‘Wow, this is a community that I would like to be a part of,” Chrisawn said.