The month of October is filled with a variety of health-related awareness: Breast Cancer Awareness Month, American Pharmacist Month, National Chiropractic Health Month, National Dental Hygiene Month, and National Physical Therapy Month, among others. We are blessed to have such a strong medical facility that is eager to serve its neighbors and friends in Sampson County and surrounding communities.

As I continue on my journey to meet each member to personally thank them for their support of the Chamber, this past week I wanted to focus on learning more about our health-related businesses within Sampson County. As the Chamber continues to look at the big picture, vision, if you will, we must first take a moment to learn more about each piece of the puzzle that plays a large role in ensuring the vision is complete.

As I mentioned, October is Pharmacist Month so I spoke with a few of our members that serve the pharmacy needs of residents in Sampson County, and I asked them what their challenges are and what they bring to Sampson County to ensure we are all “working together for total community development.” From a Chamber of Commerce perspective, I believe it is important to know what our member’s biggest challenges are and how the Chamber can assist or offer resources to assist with these challenges.

Susan Ross from Roseboro Pharmacy, located in downtown Roseboro, stated their biggest challenge is “getting people to shop locally in Roseboro when they are very used to leaving town; they forget about the local commodities that are new to the area.” We continued to discuss what Roseboro Pharmacy brings to the Town of Roseboro as she stated “we are bringing back to Roseboro the neighborhood pharmacist, the one that knows your name and knows your story.”

I continued to explore these two questions with Clinton Drug Company as I spoke with Steve Bass, who acknowledged their biggest challenge as “over the past 10 years, we have seen great impact on our customers from the aspect of dealing with the insurance companies. From the variety of rules and regulations set forth, this affects how we, as the pharmacy provider, interact with our customers.” Bass continued by noting his family business “brings a personal touch to their customers in Sampson County with fast and friendly service.”

Lastly, I was able to speak with Jimmy Matthews from Matthews Health Mart in Clinton. He began by stating, “with each challenge comes opportunities.” Their current challenge is that “many customers are being sought after to do mail order for their medications, which would reduce the customer base and pharmacy’s ability to reinvest in the community.” When speaking to Mr. Matthews, I asked what Matthews Health Mart brings to Sampson County and the community. He stated they “hope to bring a partnership between other medical providers in helping patients understand and appreciate the value of their medicines they have ordered.” He continues, “to encourage his customers to comply with the instructions of the medication and ensure they know the benefits of taking their medication properly.” Matthews continued “as a business, we reinvest into the community and we believe it is important to reinvest our profits into the community by employing locals, using local services, and also in the community as a whole, through schools and other charitable organizations; each ensuring Sampson County is a great place to live.”

Again, it is important for the Chamber of Commerce to know and understand the challenges that our members face, and I believe that through our membership of over 350 businesses and organizations, we can make a difference and help with challenges. However, I often wonder, what if every person, every business, and every organization within the county knew of each other’s continuous challenges and each strives to be in partnership to assist with each challenge… just imagine how much more we could accomplish and the potential for economic growth.

What is your business or organization bringing forth in order to help complete the vision of Sampson County? What are your business or organization’s challenges and how can the Clinton-Sampson Chamber of Commerce be of assistance? How can you be a part to assist with economic growth in Sampson County? To learn more about the Clinton-Sampson Chamber’s mission and our members, visit www.clintonsampsonchamber.org or give us a call at 910-592-6177. We look forward to “working together for total community development” with your business or organization!