Laurette Leagon, president/CEO of the Yadkin Valley Chamber of Commerce Dobson Division, gives a presentation to business people who came out for a Meet and Greet at The Depot Thursday night.
Bonnie Shropshire of Working Graphics, in Dobson, and was the first-ever chair of the Dobson Division. She welcomed the crowd to the gathering.
“I am honored to be the first-ever chair of the Dobson Division of the chamber. I have been on the job for 16 months, will finish my term in June of this year and then hand over the reins to Sheila Jones, our chair-elect from Mountain Valley Hospice,” Shropshire said.
Her focus has been to bring Dobson businesses together.
“We can accomplish much more collectively than we can individually to grow the economic base of our town,” Shropshire said.
President/CEO of the Yadkin Valley Chamber of Commerce Laurette Leagon was the main speaker at the event.
“One thing I believe that is very important for our Dobson Division to do is to offer opportunities such as this Meet and Greet so businesses can connect with other businesses in the community. A long-standing motto in the chamber industry is to do business with chamber members first. We are working very hard to implement new and innovative ideas to stimulate growth in the business sector of our community,” Leagon said.
One such project is the upcoming Surry Old-Time Fiddlers Convention, which will be March 26 and 27 on the campus of Surry Community College. This convention is a collaboration between the Yadkin Valley Chamber-Dobson Division, the Dobson Tourism Development Authority, the Surry County Tourism Development Authority and Surry Community College.
Leagon said the chamber represents and speaks on behalf of the Dobson business community in various organizations and partnerships such as Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, Cascade Highlands, Golden LEAF, N.C. Rural Center, the Piedmont Triad Chambers of Commerce, the Rural Transportation Organization, Surry LEAD, Tourism Partnership of Surry County, and any other regional or state entity whose mission would serve to benefit businesses in Dobson.
“As we look to the future growth of Dobson, I would like to see us work with the town on implementing the Streetscape plan for the downtown district and maybe even develop a façade grant program. I think we have the opportunity to advance agri-tourism and develop better relationships between farmers and businesses in the Dobson area,” Leagon said.
She and N.C. Cooperative Extension Director Bryan Cave have had several conversations on how they can accomplish that goal and she even attended a workshop in Asheville that focused on a farm-to-table program which partners farmers with area restaurants so that they can serve locally grown foods, she said.
“Your Yadkin Valley Chamber Dobson Division is also a strong advocate for the wine industry. That, combined with our natural resources provide the perfect mix to advance tourism in the area,” Leagon said.
She thanked the members of the Yadkin Valley Chamber Dobson Division for the hours they have volunteered to the organization and for the funding they provided.
For more information on the Yadkin Valley Chamber Dobson Division, call 526-1111 or check out www.yadkinvalley.org.
Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.
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