Vision 20/25

Member Value

The Chamber has evolved through the years, adapting to changes both in leadership and the economy. However, one thing remains consistent—our mission to bring value to members.  Our strong alliance with city, county, educational, and service organizations fosters collaboration to address business issues within our community. By providing members with tools and resources needed to succeed, we become vested partners in their progress. These resources come in many different forms from access to information, people, and organizations, to valuable educational opportunities.  Following are some programs and benefits we provide:

• Free Marketing Tools —Through the Chamber’s member management software, every member has access to free marketing tools including a community calendar, a job posting tool, a press release tool, and a hot deals tool to reach the more than 400k website visitors and 100k plus social media audience—at no extra charge!
• Visitor Center—This beautiful Center is the heart of the Chamber and allows us to represent our community and members with local art and crafts, member brochures, and information to the more than 15K visitors that come through the doors annually. The Visitor Center is the result of a four-year capital campaign and provides a beautiful meeting space for members and the community.
• B2B Networking—The Chamber supports and promotes several free networking groups for business owners including, McDowell Marketing Masterminds, McDowell Toastmasters, and McDowell Young Professionals. We also have regular Business After Hours and our Fresh Brewed Ideas morning coffee sessions.
• McDowell Business & Industry Center—A successful business incubator located on the campus of McDowell Technical Community College. Working with the college and area business, the Chamber facilitated the center, which now operates as the Small Business Center.
• Workplace Wellness—A Chamber-led initiative involving research on the importance of wellness in the workplace that led to the creation of a full-time community workplace Wellness Advisor that assists companies and businesses with establishing and maintaining wellness programs and policies. Its success led to recognition from the state as well as the Center for Disease Control.
• Educational Workshops—The Chamber hosts regular business-focused workshops, panel presentations, and lectures from experts across all industries to provide free and low-cost educational opportunities to members.
• LINC & CARP—Linc and Carp serve as our community leadership programs that introduce adults (Linc) and middle-school students (Carp) to the bevy of opportunities and growth-projects within our county. These courses highlight local career pathways and opportunities to our students while educating our residents on the important sectors that define local economic, civic, and public life.
• Shop Local Campaign—The Chamber runs an ongoing Shop Local Campaign using several different media including the Chamber website, social media channels, billboards, and newspapers.
• McDowell Tourism Development—Established in 1986 as a permanent, full-time program dedicated to advertising and promotions for McDowell County, it developed into its own organization working closely with the city, county and the Chamber to promote the area.
• Marketing Opportunities—The Chamber offers several sponsorship opportunities throughout the year for specific events and general annual options.
• Business Resources—We search out and establish relationships and partnerships with local, regional, and national, business-focused organizations to expand the resource pool for our members.  Our working relationships include: (but are not limited to)
  • Small Business Administration
  • National Chamber of Commerce
  • Carolina Small Business Association
  • SCORE
  • Mountain Bizworks
  • The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
  • North Carolina’s Small Business Technology Center
  • Marion Business Association
  • NC Rural Center
  • VEDIC
  • McDowell Technical Community College Small Business Center
  • Isothermal Community College Small Business Center
  • The Women’s Business Center of North Carolina

Economic Sustainability

Once a busy manufacturing town, the changing face of commerce challenged our community and we met that challenge head on! Our revitalization reveals the innovation in manufacturing and education, showcases the determined spirit of the entrepreneur, and the commitment of a community to its present and its future.

Situated between the bustling mountain cities of Asheville and Hickory, local leaders recognize the growth potential of McDowell, but they also exercise great respect for the very qualities that made the area so attractive to residents, companies, and entrepreneurs. McDowell is uniquely positioned amid 67,000 acres of undisturbed forest land and the tranquil waters of Lake James—offering more than 150 square miles of dense, forested shoreline. McDowell is also home to parts of America’s first officially designated wilderness area, Linville Gorge Wilderness Area that features 11,786 acres around the Linville River. Our natural resources are one of our greatest assets and we are committed to protecting it for all to enjoy.

Main Street and beyond offer an energetic and growing retail sector, a budding agri-tourism industry, and a range of events and activities in which to partake. We are a community that pulls together, creates connections, works to eliminate roadblocks and cheers new businesses on to success. Below are some of our initiatives that have contributed to the economic sustainability of our county:

• McDowell County Visitor Center— The Chamber conducted a four-year capital campaign raising funds to construct the Visitor Center along US 221 corridor. The Center welcomes more than 15,000 visitors a year sharing information on our businesses and our community.
• Shop Local Campaign—This ongoing marketing campaign includes advertising, promotion, networking, and consumer awareness of our local businesses.
• McDowell Tourism Development—Launched by the chamber in 1986, this initiative now is a permanent, full-time program dedicated to promotion and marketing of our county as a great place to live, work, and play.
• Mountain Glory Festival—Annual event in October that highlights the handicrafts, music, art, and other attributes of the mountain region, now run by the city of Marion.
• Keep McDowell Beautiful—Founded in 1984 as McDowell Clean County System, the program now operates as a community supported beautification, environmental education, recycling, and conservation effort.
• Broadband Expansion Project—An ongoing effort to bring more high-speed internet service to McDowell County residents, students, and existing and prospective businesses. New towers are being acquired to help obtain approximately 80% coverage of the county.
• Heritage Grant Program—This initiative provides financial support to local nonprofits that create and/or administer programs that enhance public understanding of and participation in the county’s cultural assets.
• McDowell House Preservation—The Chamber is actively involved in the preservation and restoration of the McDowell House.
• Fonta Flora Trail Initiative—Located in Western North Carolina, the Fonta Flora State Trail will connect Morganton to Asheville with hiking and biking trails along the water, through the mountains and into downtowns.

Advocacy

We at the Chamber understand that a collective voice is far more effective than a single utterance. The needs of our business community drive our work and are at the core of our mission statement.

One of our strongest assets is our ability to bring the right people to the table. We actively engage in the community to nurture symbiotic relationships that benefit our business community.  Below are

some of our initiatives that have contributed to the economic sustainability of our county:

• McDowell Tourism Development— On behalf of our business members, the Chamber worked with local governments to develop an organization dedicated to the promotion of our county to businesses and visitors. The MTD now operates at Blue Ridge Traveler and works together with the Chamber in that effort.
• Lake James State Park—Beautiful Lake James State Park, which features a swim beach, water activities, miles of hiking, biking, or running trails, was a hard-won advocacy effort by the Chamber in concert with Burke County and regional legislators that started in 1986. Along with boating, swimming and fishing in the beautiful, clear waters of the 6,812-acre lake, there are 25 miles of trails, 15 of which are open to mountain biking.
• Inter-Basin Transfer—The Chamber was successful in leading the opposition to an effort that would have transferred 36 million gallons of water per day from Lake James to Concord-Kannapolis area.
• Heritage Grant Program—This ongoing program provides financial support to local nonprofits that create and /or administer programs that enhance public understanding of and participation in the county’s cultural assets.
• McDowell House Preservation—The Chamber is actively involved in the preservation and restoration of the McDowell House and works to facilitate its use as a local heritage treasure and economic asset.
• Legislative Agenda—The Chamber works to represent its member’s interest in legislation that directly affects them. We actively support and advocate locally and regionally for business-friendly policies.