Press Release

For Immediate Release

The Clay County Chamber of Commerce Office Moved to Downtown Lineville, Alabama

On Tuesday, June 22, 2010, the Clay County Chamber of Commerce held a conference at the Randolph Properties office across from the Historic Lineville Theater to make a special announcement.

The Chamber Board of Directors announced to officials present from the City of Ashland, City of Lineville and Clay County Commission that the Chamber is moving its office to the building owned by Randolph Properties located at 88855 Hwy 9, Lineville, AL 36266.

The Chamber’s previous office was located at the Clay County Farmer’s Market since 1991. Chamber Executive Director Mary Patchunka-Smith said “I’ve been with the Chamber for 3 plus years and one of the biggest projects we’ve been working on is to get our office out of the Farmer’s Market. We needed more room and better exposure The Farmer’s Market is not easy to find and some believe not very inviting for folks that are visiting our county or wanting to do business here. We have been seeking a new location for years and it did not matter to the Chamber Board which city we would locate a new office. Matt Hooton, owner of Randolph Properties, came through for us. He has agreed to lease the office for the next 3 years. The Chamber will only have to pay the utilities.”

Mary assured everyone that even though the Chamber Office will now be located in Lineville, Chamber business will still be conducted in the same manner it has always been. “We are here to help everyone in Ashland, Lineville and Clay County.” She continued, “The entire Chamber Board is so excited about having this beautiful office for the Clay County Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber would like to thank Matt Hooton for his generosity.”

The Chamber is now in the process of finding a location to open a satellite office in Ashland.

At the conference, Chamber President Kathy Pinkston spoke about the Chamber and the many projects it has been working on for Clay County. Pinkston announced that the Chamber membership has grown to 154 members, with members located from Gadsden, AL to St. Cloud, FL. She also reported the Chamber Website has continued to grow its visitor count and page views, month after month, and is currently receiving over 35,000 page views per month. Pinkston also announced The Alabama Birding Trails coming to Clay County with five different sites within the county: At each city park in Ashland and Lineville, the Watershed, Clay County Lake and Lake Chinabee.

One Chamber project in particular, The Clay County Life magazine which launched in April 2010 has been a huge success for Clay County and Chamber members. The 2010 Edition was the first Quality of Life magazine for Clay County.

Another project in the works is helping to bring Broadband Internet service to Clay County, which hopefully will be made possible through the joint efforts of the Chamber and the Clay County Commission.

For your convenience, the Clay County Chamber of Commerce has a brochure rack in the Clay County Court House in Ashland with brochures, maps, telephone books, the Clay County Life Magazine and more.

Lineville, Ashland and the Clay County Chamber are all on Facebook with Fan Pages. In addition, the Alabama Dept. of Tourism has assigned Mary as the Administrator of the City of Ashland and Lineville Facebook pages to continue to promote these beautiful and wonderful cities of Clay County to the millions who visit and use Facebook.

Reminder …. The Chamber Annual Meeting is scheduled for October 28th at 12:00 at Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. Training Facility located on Hwy 77 South of Ashland. Governor Bob Riley is the Guest Speaker.

Present at the meeting was: Clay County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mary Patchunka-Smith, Clay County Chamber Board of Directors President Kathy Pinkston, 1st Vice President Brad Strother, Secretary / Treasurer Jeanette Carroll, Billy Robertson, Mike Coleman and Baron Sandlin, City of Ashland Mayor Larry Fetner, City Council Member Becky Boddie, City of Lineville Mayor Roy Adamson City Council Members Carolyn Smith, David Proctor, Mamie Truman, Johnny Appleby and the Clay County Commissioner Chairmen Ricky Burney and Kevin Kiser.

The Chamber is already working on the 2011 edition and if your business is interested in being a part of this great life style publication, contact the Chamber’s Executive Director, Mary Patchunka-Smith at 256-396-2828 or by email to claychamber@centurytel.net.  If you would like a copy of Clay County Life Magazine, request one by contacting Mary.

Dear Fellow Chamber of Commerce Executives and State Business Leaders:

As we write this to you, we are into the twenty-first day of dealing with one of the most important environmental and economic challenges that our area and our state have faced in many years.

On April 20th, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oildrilling platform approximately fifty miles into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. Tragically, eleven members of the rig’s crew were killed that night in the horrific accident.

The potential environmental impact of this accident is unprecedented and the economic challenges that it could bring to our area are equally enormous. Yet, we who live and work on the Gulf Coast have been confronted with and have successfully responded to difficult challenges before.

With your help and assistance, we will rise to this occasion, as well. No one knows when or if the oil that is leaking from the site of the undersea well will reach our Gulf Coast beaches and back bays. Clearly, the immediate need is to shut off the oil at the source, and we believe at this time that all that can be done is being done to achieve this critical objective. Currently, our beaches are clean and there is no clear evidence of oil or oil by-products reaching our shores.

Our local elected officials and business leaders have come together as a team like never before. They are working closely with Governor Bob Riley, members of his Cabinet, officials from the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to ensure that the public health is maintained and protected.

Massive amounts of work have been done to attempt to keep the oil off our beaches and out of sensitive areas such as Mobile Bay, while at the same time maintaining important economic engines such as the Port of Mobile and the Alabama State Docks that act as an essential economic artery for businesses throughout our state.

Our local and state officials are also working closely with our federal officials, including Congressman Jo Bonner and Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, to ensure that all available resources are brought to bear and provided to local and state responders.

Our greatest challenge, at this point, is the potential impact that this oil spill may have on our local economy and, potentially, on the economy of the state of Alabama. In Baldwin County, there are more than 40,500 tourism-related jobs with $2.3 billion in travel-related expenditures. In Mobile, there are more than 15,700 jobs with $820 million in travel-related expenditures.

We were poised for an excellent tourism season in 2010, with a potential increase in tourism activity, rental bookings and a resultant positive economic impact for our region and the state as a whole. Now, we are suffering from a large number of cancelled reservations and a general slowdown in our economy, just as the critical summer tourism season is set to begin.

Our local officials are working with Governor Riley, State of Alabama Tourism Department Director Lee Sentell, Gulf Shores Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Herb Malone, and others to develop an advertising campaign to help impress on our guests and visitors that our beaches are clean and that we are open for business.

There are several things you can do to help us. First, keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We know that Divine providence and intervention can give us strength, courage and wisdom to deal with all challenges in life, including these. Second, please let your business friends and colleagues know about the important role that our area plays in the vital tourism economy in our state. Tourism generates thousands of jobs throughout Alabama and billions of dollars in positive economic impact. Baldwin and Mobile counties account for over 35% of the overall tourism economy of our state.

Finally, and most importantly, come and visit! Encourage your friends, family and business colleagues to do the same. We need you to come here and enjoy our Gulf Coast now more than ever!

Our beaches are clean; the restaurants are open and packed with fresh seafood; local fishing guides are ready to hit the Gulf and back bays; the pools are sparkling, and the weather is sunny and warm. You won’t find friendlier faces or more gracious and appreciative hosts than you will at our Alabama Gulf Coast right now.

We say, “our Alabama Gulf Coast” for a reason. We are lucky to live down here, but the Alabama Gulf Coast belongs to all of us. It is a resource and a blessing that God has given every Alabamian. With your help and support, and with His guidance, we will get through this challenge and continue to be an economic resource and a source of pleasure and recreation for generations of Alabamians to come.

We thank you for your time and support. Please call on us if you have questions or suggestions on how we can work together to deal with these challenges.

Sincerely,

Linda Whitlock
President and CEO, Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce

Donna Watts
President and CEO, South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce

The 4th Annual Clay County Music & Arts Festival is set for Saturday, May 15th from 10 am until dark.  This annual festival, sponsored by the Clay County Chamber of Commerce, rotates between Lineville and Ashland, Alabama. This year’s event will take place on the Historic Square of Ashland.

Excellent musical talent from around the area and the county is already lined up – download list below. You will not be disappointed!

Now is the time for Sponsors and Vendors to get on board. Use the links below to download applications and registration forms. There is also a booth diagram so vendors can choose the booth they want. Don’t wait … get your booth early. When we held the festival in Ashland in 2008, we sold out fast. Check back here often as we will be updating our progress in the weeks and months to come.

Download Sponsor Application – [Download not found]

Download Vendor Registration – [Download not found]

Download Booth Layout Map – [Download not found]

Download Musical Lineup – [Download not found]

And thanks to the many, many local businesses and Chamber members who advertised on the map.  Without your support, this project would not have been possible.

Chamber Business After Hours

Tuesday, April 13th from 5 to 6 pm. Hosted by RBC Bank of Ashland. Event held at the bank office in Ashland. Refreshments served and chance for Door Prizes for attendess.

The Clay County Chamber of Commerce welcomes Clay County’s Newest Chamber Business Member. Always Covered Clothing had their Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Friday, March 19th at 12:00 pm. 

Visit them at Hwy 49 North, Lineville, across from Clay Times Journal news office.

Chamber of Commerce 2010 Annual Prayer Breakfast
Keynote Speaker Lee Sentell
Thursday, April 29th from 7 to 8 a.m.
At Mellow Valley Christian Academy

Tickets for the 2010 annual Prayer Breakfast are on sale now. $10.00 ~ Members – $15.00 ~ Non-Members. Seating is limited so order your tickets today. Location: Mellow Valley Christian Academy.  Contact the Chamber for tickets or download the Order Form Here – [Download not found]

Our Keynote Speaker is Lee Sentell, Alabama Tourism Director. Lee is formally a Clay County resident and has been involved in tourism promotion for more than 25 years. He was director of marketing at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center during the first 10 years of Space Camp. Since Gov. Bob Riley appointed him as tourism director in 2003, Alabama’s tourism industry has grown by 45 percent to $9.3 billion in expenditures a year.

Under his leadership, Alabama’s tourism agency has been selected as the best in the South for three of the past four years. The Year of Alabama Food and Year of Alabama Arts campaigns received numerous national awards including ones for the best state promotion. Other campaigns have celebrated gardens, outdoors, and sports. 2009 celebrated The Year of Alabama History and the 2010 campaign focuses on The Year of Small Towns and Downtowns.

He currently serves on the boards of the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

It has been said that you can never go home again.  Not so, because the Lineville High School Aggies are returning home for the day.  On the afternoon of June 12, 2010 from 1 to 5 pm,  all LHS classes from years 1960 – 1967 plus those from later classes who are members of the LHS Alumni Web Site, are being invited to join the Class of ’66 for an afternoon of great fun.  The return is called “Blast From The Past”.  If you are interested in organizing your class to attend “The Blast” then please visit the website Lineville High School Alumni website at http://lhsaggies.com/ and then click on June Blast in the main menu bar.

There is a link to downloadable document with all details – top left – right under the Ram head.

See ya there!

Make plans now to attend the March 2010 Clay County Chamber of Commerce After Hours Event on March 18th from 5 to 6 pm.

Sponsored by one of our newest members, Business Systems, Inc.  Attend and learn more about BSI and network with other Chamber members. Plus, have a chance to win a Savin B&W Laser Printer. Must be present to be eligible for this great door prize.

This event will be held at the Clay Automotive Dealership located on Hwy 9 in Lineville.