presidents desk

From the President’s Desk (October 2021)

Shop Early; Shop Local

presidents desk

As the fall season is upon us, we know many of our member business and industries are experiencing unprecedented logistical issues dealing with overseas deliveries. There is no overnight solution for this and I fully expect this to have a long term impact on all of our business and industry.

As a consumer, it is important to start your Christmas shopping early this year and do your shopping locally. Last minute shopping this year likely won’t be very rewarding and will likely lead to frustration, last minute online orders, and vastly overpaying for what you should have purchased early. Gift cards to local merchants are always in stock and support our local community and education system through local sales tax collections.

A worldwide logistical solution will come at a cost for all of us, either in time or increased costs but it is important we push through this and continue to support our local business and manufacturing companies. If you can’t support financially, one of the best ways of support is by encouraging your friends and family that aren’t in the work force to give work a try. Hamblen County is blessed with plenty of available jobs. Maybe instead importing goods for purchase, we need to focus on importing workers.
Keep an eye out for news coming out of the Make Morristown Home committee of the Chamber of Commerce for more news on these efforts!