Cherokee County NC Blog

The US Small Business Administration will host an SBA Community Express loan program workshop on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at Tri-County Community College.

For more information, call 828-225-1844.

Come celebrate Independence Day in downtown Murphy, NC and in Konehete Park on Wednesday, July 4, 2007.

Events will be held all day from 8:00 am until after dark when you can watch the Grand Finale Fireworks Show!

You’ll find tasty food and refreshing drinks for sale, and your family can enjoy a full day of activities. Arts and crafts will be on sale by our talented artists and you can purchase perfect gifts for friends and family - or for yourself!

Activities Schedule

8:00 am: 5K run in the park

9:00 am: Men’s softball tournament

10:00 am: Dog show and parade

11:00 am: Fishing tournament in the park

12:00 noon: Peanut drop in the park

12:00 noon: Car show (from noon until 5:00 pm)

1:00 pm: Wheels and Walking Kids Parade

2:00 pm: Float parade starts at L&N Depot

All day: Live music on two stages, food booths, arts and crafts booths, field games.

After dark: Grand Finale Fireworks Show (rain date for fireworks only is July 5)

Stage 1

3:00 pm - 3:40 pm: Barbershop Quartet

3:40 pm - 4:00 pm: Ryan Dockery

4:15 pm - 4:45 pm: Dance Classics

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Bowery Boys Blues Band

6:15 pm - 6:45 pm: Tim the Magician and Butterfly the Clown

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm: Bowery Boys Blues Band

Stage 2

3:15 pm - 3:45 pm: Enchanted Valley Squares (Hiawassee, Georgia), Murphy Rounds (Dance)

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Sanctified

5:15 pm - 5:45 pm: Dance Classics

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Effigy

Sponsors

Stars and Stripes Sponsors

Curtis Signs

The Cherokee Scout

Firecracker Sponsors

The Cherokee Sentinel

Smoky Mountain Trophies

Tripps Outback

Sparkler Sponsors

Benchmark Realty and Construction

Carolina Buggies and Custom Golf Carts

Cricket Hollow Design

Indian Hills Spring Water

KIA of Murphy

WNC Visitor Center

Bring a lawn chair and enjoy the fun!

Call Marie at 828-835-8821 for more information.

Organized by The Business Women of Murphy, the Cherokee County Recreation Department and Town of Murphy.

Events and times are subject to change without notice.

The Business Women of Murphy, in conjunction with the Cherokee County Recreation Department and Town of Murphy, are organizing a Fourth of July Hometown Celebration that will begin at 8:00 am with a 5K run and end with a spectacular fireworks display at 10:00 pm.

A dog show and parade, organized by Lisa DiCuffa, will take place downtown, followed by a kids “wheels and walking” parade and a float parade.

Other events will take place at Konehete Park, including a fishing tournament, field games, live music on two stages, a men’s softball tournament, car show, peanut drop, food booths, and, of course, the grand finale - a fireworks show.

The Business Women of Murphy are looking for corporate sponsors, crafters, and food vendors who would like to take part in this fun family event.

Crafters should call Linda Bamfield at 828-361-6848.

Food vendors should call Bonnie Kotchenreuther at 828-361-1027.

Scout troops, 4-H, or any organization or club that wants to march or have a float in the parade may call Linda Hurd, parade organizer, at 828-361-3707.

Anyone interested in participating in a “pick up” marching band and has his or her own instrument may call Hurd for details.

Contacts for other events include: 5K run: Jeff Keen at 828-835-7200; dog parade: Lisa DiCuffa at 828-361-6060; kids and float parade and car show: Linda Hurd at 828-837-3374; other general information: Marie Speigel at 828-835-8821.

Corporate sponsorships are available in the following increments: Stars and Stripes: $1,000, Firecracker: $500, Sparkler: $250. For more information, call Tammi Johnson at 828-361-6930.

The second annual Bluegrass to Blues Festival will be held on June 2, 2007 in scenic Andrews, North Carolina.

The festival starts at 10:00 am and will showcase more than twenty bands performing on five stages throughout town. Groups will come from all over the Southeast and the Bluegrass to Blues Festival is gaining the reputation of showcasing a variety of excellent new musicians from all genres including blues, country, pop, rock, bluegrass, and gospel.

In addition to the music, visitors to the festival can look forward to a variety of food and local mountain craft vendors.

The festival will appeal to visitors of all ages.

The event is sponsored by local businesses and the town government and is organized by John Hensley of the Andrews Merchants and Business Association.

Celebrating Smoky Mountain Culture for a century, the Andrews Valley will be the place to be on June 2nd 2007. So get out of the city for the weekend, bring the kids and spend a magical day in the mountains you won’t forget.

For more information, contact the Andrews Merchant Business Association at 828-557-1704.

“Funding Secrets to Start, Expand, or Buy a Business,” a free workshop, will be presented on 5/21/07 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM in the Patterson Building at the Tri-County Community College’s main campus in Murphy.

The instructor is volunteer SCORE business counselor Jerry Chautin. He has over 30-years business lending and commercial real estate financing experience. You can e-mail him for details at JKChautin@aol.com.

Pre-registration is required and space is limited. Please call Cecelia Crawford at 828-835-4318 to reserve your place.

(Clyde NC)

(Baltimore, MD) HandMade in America and Haywood Community College partner with the Arts Business Institute (ABI) to present an art business boot camp March 3-5, 2006 in Clyde, North Carolina. Returning for a fourth consecutive year, Haywood ABI brings fresh faculty and a new perspective this year.

Nancy Markoe will lead the weekend with an inspiring keynote address, sharing her lessons learned as a successful art potter and American craft gallery owner. Says Markoe, “Like most artists, I never intended to own a gallery. I was focused on the day-to-day of making. Now that I have walked a mile in gallery owner shoes, I know things I never knew as an artist traveling the show circuit. I hope to help Haywood attendees open their eyes to a new connection between making great work and passionately selling to collectors.”

Other weekend workshop faculty include glass artist and author, Milon Townsend; web expert, Mark Zelis; American Craft Council exhibitor, Luann Udell; and Carol Summers, planner of the HandMade in America Guidebooks series.

Haywood ABI registration cost of $150 includes morning and afternoon meals, workshop materials, a full notebook of handouts and source material, and discounts for sponsoring supplier programs and services. Limited scholarships are available. Those who register early will be paired with a mentor for a free, one-on-one business counseling session.

Established in 1994, HandMade in America works in partnership with more than 20 local, regional and state organizations to support the creation of traditional and contemporary crafts in the region, to protect natural resources and to promote community development. To learn more about HandMade in America, call 828.252.0121, email bettyhurst@handmadeinamerica.org, or go online to www.handmadeinamerica.org.

Haywood Community College is located on the college campus in Clyde, NC, just a few miles west of Asheville and right at the edge of the Smoky Mountains. It was begun in recognition of the strong heritage of craft in the region. The college wants to create a place where students can learn the basics of their craft media as well as how to transform that craft into a business. To learn more about Haywood Community College, call 828.627.2821 or go online to www.haywood.edu/index.php.

Arts Business Institute (ABI) is an independent non-profit organization serving the educational needs of individual artists through traveling workshops across the U.S. and Canada. To learn more about ABI workshops or to register, call 1.800.224.5106, email alishavincent@comcast.net, or go online to www.artsbusinessinstitute.org.

(Cherokee County NC)

If you own a business, you already know that all businesses need new customers.

Two months ago, a new online service was introduced with the purpose of making it easy for merchants and business owners to offer special discount offers to attract new customers (or reward existing customers).

Not only is it easy to do, but it costs absolutely nothing to register your business and create your special offers.

You, as a business owner or manager, can decide what kind of offer you want to make. You can offer a percentage discount on the next purchase. Offer a special price or a freebie. Buy one, get one free. Buy one, get another at half price. Buy lunch and get a free beverage. $500 off at closing when you buy a new home.

Whatever kind of offer that works for both you and your customers or clients.

You know all about these kinds of offers.

So do your customers and potential customers.

And your competition.

What’s the catch?

There isn’t one.

You can advertise for free and set all the conditions of the offer. All we ask is that you pay a bounty for each coupon that is redeemed by a paying customer. And, to top it off, you decide how much you’re willing to pay for that customer to redeem the coupon. It’s entirely up to you. You advertise free and pay only for results.

How much are you willing to pay to acquire a new customer?

How much are you willing to pay to get new business from your existing customers?

What is the lifetime value of a new customer for your business? How much are you paying to acquire a customer now?

Are you willing to try something new where you control the offer and the amount you’re willing to pay, and to pay only when someone actually purchases from you?

You don’t have to pay for advertising and hope it works.

You don’t have to pay when someone clicks your advertising link.

You pay only when someone actually redeems your coupon and makes a purchase from you. Guaranteed results.

When you create an offer, won’t you think about making your expiration date at least a year from now? That way, more people will get a chance to try your offer, you’ll have less administrative efforts in renewing the offer, our affiliates

(thousands of them) will have an easier time promoting your offer, and we’ll all save time and effort in promoting your business.

Of course, if an expiration date a year from now doesn’t suit you or your offer, you’re free to set the offer and the expiration date to exactly what you want. That’s one of the beauties of this new service.

We’re working hard to promote you.

I’m asking you to give us a try.

If it doesn’t result in new business for you, it won’t cost you a penny - just a few minutes of your time.

I’m also asking you to make an offer that is exclusive to our service.

How many people promote your coupon when you advertise in your newspaper?

We are ready to actively promote your offer. Since you’re saving money by not paying for advertising that doesn’t work, we’d like to ask you to make a offer that is better than your usual offer. You’ll benefit and so will your new customers.

I want to promote your business.

If you go to ShowYourCoupon.com you can see our service in action.

To register your business and start creating your special offers, go to merchant-info.showyourcoupon.com and sign up for free.

I’ll syndicate your coupon at SyndicateYourAd.com and to other websites, weblogs, and other venues - all at no extra cost to you.

Try us, please.

You have nothing to lose, and the potential of attracting new paying customers at a cost you set.

Remember, no customers, no cost.

Register your business for free and make your offer to new prospective customers.

I want your business and I’m willing to work to help you promote your business and make more sales.

Your coupon will be actively promoted at SyndicateYourAd.com and many other sites that are fed from that weblog.

Sign up today.

(This service does not accept offers for business opportunities. We are happy, however, to help you promote your products and services.)

Thank you, and I look forward to promoting your business.

I hope you have a wonderful 2006.

John L. Dilbeck
Dilbeck Marketing
Murphy, NC