Mar 2017
Newsletter
Obion County Chamber of Commerce
Young Professionals of Obion County interest meeting will be tonight, March 2nd, at 6:00pm. Join us in the bar area at Los Portales in Union City to discuss this new group that targets the younger demographics in our area, ages 21-35. 


  Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse
111 Oxford St, Martin, TN 38237

Obion County Prevention Coalition
1700 N. Gibb St, Union City, TN 38261

Trudy's Kids Cafe
306 S. 1st Street, Union City, TN 38261


Small Business Spotlight: Union City Carpet Center
Almost 45 years of providing flooring to Union City and the surrounding area
 
In May of 1971, Woodrow Hardesty moved from Blytheville, Arkansas with his wife, Doris, and children, Rhonda, Debbie, and Woody, to Union City.  After 25 years as a superintendent for Myers Bakers, he hoped that working with his brother installing carpet for Wade's Furniture and Moser and Jones Furniture stores would provide a stable standard of living for himself and his family.

            Encouraged by his success at installing, he opened his own flooring store in April of 1972 on Division Street, later moving Union City Carpet Center to its present location on Perkins Street in December of 1973.

            From day one of the opening of Union City Carpet Center, Debbie and Woody worked in the store part time after school hours and on Saturdays.  Upon graduation from Union City High School, Debbie began working more part-time hours at the store helping her Dad, and Woody did the same, but learning the art of installing. Woody left Union City in 1984 to work for Queen Carpets as a sales representative in Columbia, South Carolina.  He has since left the sales area of flooring, and has returned to installing all different types of flooring and still resides in Columbia. Upon Mr. Hardesty's passing in 1987, Debbie bought the business from her mother, and has been the sole proprietor since that time.  

We proudly offer carpet choices from these leading manufacturers;  Shaw, Mohawk, Southwind, and Dreamweaver.  Our resilient flooring lines come from Mannington, Congoleum, and Tarkett.  The hardwood selections include products from Bruce, Columbia (made in the USA), Mannington, and Mohawk.  Luxury Vinyl Tile (lvt) has been redesigned to a "snaplock" method of installation, and we have lines from Tarkett, Mannington, and Mohawk.  Laminate flooring has been around for a few years, and this product has improved greatly since its inception.  We have this type of flooring from Mohawk, Quick-Step, and Columbia. 

For several years, Union City Carpet Center has offered custom binding for area rugs, and just recently gotten a new area rug display. We would encourage customers to check our prices and selection, with some rugs suitable for outdoor use.  We have a wide selection of cleaning products for maintaining your valuable floors and also are a retailer for the original E Z Moves furniture slides.
Debbie Ams, her husband Trent Ams, and employee Janet Adams are proud to offer solutions to all your flooring needs, and would like to thank each of our customers for their patronage.  
Business Matters
Our February Business Matters had over 50 attendees! Thank you to Union City Electric for sponsoring and for the great presentation on fiber coming to our area. 
Twin Oaks Ribbon Cutting
Congratulations to Twin Oaks for opening another location in Union City! We are proud of your growth and look forward to having you in Obion County! 

Align Chiropractic Ribbon Cutting
We were happy to celebrate with Align Chiropractic in welcoming Dr. Katy Kempton to their practice. Visit them at 1003 East Reelfoot Ave. in Union City!






Any Chamber member interested in receiving the hospital's cafeteria menu weekly may contact Emily Medley, food and nutrition services director, at [email protected].  
In This Issue
2017  Tennessee Vacation Guide

Check out this years Tennessee Vacation Guide here
Complete tourism information is at your fingertips with comprehensive road maps, contact information and detailed facts about state attractions!
2017-2018 Tennessee Municipal Guide

Check out this years Tennessee Municipal Guide here
Municipal Publishing, LLC is proud to present the2017-2018 Tennessee Municipal Guide. Please find your complimentary copy via the enclosed link. Feel free to forward this link to any and all interested parties. You are also welcome to post this guide on your website and/or social media and share it with your community.
Archived Obion County Chamber of Commerce Newsletters
TN Chamber & Economic Development
 Annual Meeting
The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with TCCE and TEDC, hosted a record crowd of business leaders, local chamber executives, and economic development professionals from across the state in its largest-ever annual meeting on February 15th. 

This year's summit, the 105 th  of its kind, featured a speaking lineup of high-profile elected officials and state government leaders, including remarks from Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally and Governor Bill Haslam.  During the lunchtime programming, Gov. Haslam spoke to the Chamber's 500 attendees on the need to maintain Tennessee's business-friendly climate and preserve our upward economic growth by modernizing and enhancing our state's transportation infrastructure, reforming our tax code for manufacturers to be more competitive with our regional neighbors, and maintaining our emphasis on improving educational outcomes and workforce development efforts.

Membership Director Awarded Scholarship
Our Membership Director, Lauren Bennett, was recently awarded a scholarship from the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce Executives Board of Directors to attend TCCE Institute this March. Below she is pictured with TN Chamber President, 

TN Business Owner & Iranian Immigrant Invests, Shows the Economic Impact of Immigrant Population
 
UNION CITY, TN--- During a press conference on Tuesday, approximately twenty business and community leaders and elected officials joined Darius and Susan Mir, Iranian immigrants and local business owners of Made In America Seating, a seating manufacturing company based in Union City, Tennessee, to hear his personal story and call for comprehensive immigration reform.
 
An Iranian immigrant, Darius Mir moved to the United States in 1983 and has since leveraged his businesses to give back to the country which he now calls home-- by bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
 
"Moving into a society that speaks a different language and has a different culture was an extremely big deal for my family," Mr. Mir said. "But we decided to emigrate, and did so very happily because we knew we were going to be entering a country that would give us countless opportunities to prosper."
 
In an effort to give back to this country, Mir and Made In America Seating have invested in a 100,000-square-foot, state of the art facility in Union City to help reshore 500 manufacturing jobs to Union City. Mir hosted a facilities tour after the press conference.
 
Event attendees included Ivy  Rogers, Dyersburg Field Representative for Congressman David Kustoff; Nick Kistenmacher, Memphis Field Representative for Senator Bob Corker; Chris Connolly, Memphis Field Representative for Senator Lamar Alexander; Benny McGuire, Obion County Mayor; Chuck Marquis, Economic Development for Tennessee Valley Authority; and Lindsay Frilling, CEO of the Obion County Joint Economic Development Council.


 
Mir's Tuesday event was part of a series of "Map the Impact" events held across the country that day to release new data from the New American Economy (NAE) quantifying the economic impact of immigrants in states, cities and districts across the country.
 
The new data shows that in Tennessee's 8th District:

     There are 23,518 foreign-born residents who make up 3.3% percent of the area's population.

     Immigrants paid $224.8M in and local taxes and held $733.4M in spending power in 2014.

     Immigrants are 67.7% percent more likely to be entrepreneurs than the native population, and there are 1,531 immigrant entrepreneurs in Tennessee's 8th District.

     Immigrants own 6,065 homes and help to build the area's housing wealth. 

     Immigrants make up 7.1% percent of the arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services industry, 6.3% percent of the construction industry, and 6.0% of the agriculture industry, and more.

 
Visit Map the Impact for state, city, and district information that will help leaders grasp the influence of immigrants in America.
 
More information can be found at www.NewAmericanEconomy.org 

###

About Made In America Seating

Founded in 2013, Made in America (MIA) Seating Corporation, sister company of 9to5 Seating, is an office seating manufacturer based in Union City, Tennessee. By utilizing state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, MIA has successfully outfitted over 1,300 furniture dealers in the United States with an investment of $39.5 million in its Union City operations.

Videos/Images:



Commercial Bank and Trust Company
Promotes Local Lender
 
UNION CITY, TN- Commercial Bank and Trust Company announces a promotion in the bank's Union City operations. Jody Kizer, formerly Vice President and Loan Officer, has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Senior Credit Officer of Commercial Bank and Trust Company's Union City Market.
 
Tim Shanks, Community President of Commercial Bank and Trust Company, expressed abundant confidence in Jody regarding his new position. " Jody brings 22 years banking experience to his new role, including credit administration.  We are experiencing strong steady growth in Union City and Jody's experience will serve our bank well as we continue that growth into the future.  We are delighted he is part of our banking family."
 
Prior to joining CBTC, Mr. Kizer served as Northwest Regional President and Loan Administrator for First Citizens National Bank where his primary responsibilities included business development, creating and implementing operating budgets, regional loan portfolio management, risk identification and management, managing lending teams and chairing various credit committees. 
 
Mr. Kizer is married to his high school sweetheart, the former Tracey Towater, a Nurse Practitioner in Union City.  They have two children, Emily who attends the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Pierce, a sophomore at Union City High School.
 
Commercial Bank and Trust Company was chartered in 1877. The bank has operations in Jackson, Memphis, Paris, and Union City, TN. In Union City, the bank has offices at 127 South First Street and at 815 East Reelfoot Avenue.
 
For more information on Commercial Bank and Trust Company, visit www.cbtcnet.com

  Miss TN Visits Obion County
Miss Tennessee, Grace Burgess, came to visit us at the Obion County Public Library! We had an awesome story time with Grace and loved being able to wear red for heart health! 



SFEA Honors Regional Festivals at 14Th Annual Conference 2017 Kaleidoscope Award Winners Recognized
 
ATLANTA, Ga. - The best and brightest were spotlighted this week at the Southeast Festivals and Events Association's Kaleidoscope Awards, in Lexington, KY on February 21st.  The ceremony was held in conjunction with the 14th Annual SFEA Conference. Top festivals and events throughout the southeast were recognized for their outstanding contribution to the events industry.
 
"The quality of submissions continues to increase each year making it more difficult for the judges to select the winners," noted Brenda Pierce, executive director for SFEA.  "Of course, to 'win gold,' becomes all the sweeter when there is additional competition and the recognition a festival receives for winning is priceless." 
 
The name "kaleidoscope" was selected due to the colors in the logo image that represent the many different elements and facets within festivals and events.  A call for entries was posted last fall and all southeast festivals and events were encouraged to participate.  A panel of experts in event planning, marketing and tourism spent an entire day reviewing the entries from five states. The judges looked for originality, creativity, media impact, volunteer programs, and the overall impact to the community. The categories, in which one can win recognition, are also diverse, ranging from Best Marketing Campaign to Best T-Shirt to Best Festival or Event. 
 
The Kaleidoscope Awards were sponsored by Classic Tents & Events, Norcross, GA and Pit Stop Sanitation Services, Marietta, GA. Classic Tents' representative Karen Alcock and Pit Stop representative Terri Wigley presented the awards to the winners.
 
The Southeast Festivals & Events Association (SFEA) is a 501 (c) 6 membership based organization comprised of festival and event planners, venues, and industry service providers. SFEA was founded in 2009 to strengthen the festival and event industry throughout the southeast United States by hosting educational sessions, networking opportunities, award recognition, and additional events throughout the year; thus, allowing for continued professional growth within the festivals and events industry. Membership is open to those in the festivals and events industry as well as those wanting to get their start and learn more about this exciting profession. 

Wise Staffing
Wise Staffing Group, headquartered in Mississippi, is a full service human resource company specializing in direct hire, temporary short term/long term and temp to hire services with an emphasis on providing excellent customer service.

We've been in business since 1987 and we have 30 locations located throughout the US. We have offices all throughout the state of TN reaching out as far as Maryville along with AL, KY, SC, AR, MS, and GA. We also have a Medical Staffing Agency located in OH and WV. 

We have grown successfully in Union City located on West Main St. and we always reach out to our surrounding company's and/or upcoming businesses to ensure we bring to them the services we provide to our clients. We stay competitive with our percentages and take pride in providing the most appropriate and invested individuals.

List Your Available Commercial Property With Us

 

Let us help you spread the word about your available commercial property by listing it at www.obioncounty.org. If you have commercial property you would like to list, please contact Lindsay Frilling at [email protected].