As fall is quickly approaching, families and friends are gathering for a variety of reasons. If your family is anything like mine, somehow we always end up playing some sort of family game, often a relay race. One relay race that sticks out in my mind is the three-legged race. While, relay races are not my strong point for a variety of reasons, when thinking of a three-legged race, one must realize we have to work together in order to achieve the goal of crossing that finish line.

This week, a word that has been reverberating throughout many of my conversations is “partnerships.” Such as with a three-legged relay race, through partnerships much can be accomplished in order to achieve a goal.

There is no doubt about it, there are many influential current and future partnerships throughout Sampson County in order to achieve economic growth and prosperity. The Chamber is honored to be involved in a variety of partnerships throughout the county, such as our involvement with the Clinton Main Street Program, NC Step, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, only to name a few.

Christmas in the City is a partnership between Clinton Main Street Program, Sampson County History Museum, Sampson County Art Council, Sampson Community Theater, Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Chamber. We are very excited to present the “A Dickens Christmas in the City” event on Thursday, Nov. 29. The evening will be filled with hay rides, carriage rides, strolling Dickens carolers, a reception at the History Museum and silent auction, gingerbread decorating, and more. For this event, all of the proceeds are given as a gift to the Sampson County History Museum and the Sampson Community Theatre. As with a three-legged relay race, through these partnerships, we are able to accomplish our goal of coordinating such an event as well as giving back to two local community assets.

As many of you may remember from past Chamber Chats, the Chamber is involved in both the North Carolina Small Town Economic Prosperity (NC STEP) committees for the Town of Garland and the Town of Roseboro. Both Garland and Roseboro were awarded the NC Step Grant and have begun the process to achieve NC Step’s primary goal as stated from the NC Step website, “NC STEP supports the economic recovery and revitalization of North Carolina’s small towns through a combination of technical assistance, educational opportunities and grant making. In carrying out the program, the center gleans infor­mation vital to the development of public policies that support long-term investment in small towns.” This past week as I was in the Town of Garland, we reviewed the economic and demographic scan and began a community assessment in order to list the community’s assets and resources for sustaining and growing the Garland economy and also the limiting factors. Throughout this process, a variety of partnerships will be vital in order for both towns to achieve their economic plan and vision.

While the partnerships continue throughout Sampson County, we must remember how important those partnerships are. Just as with the three-legged race, we need to work together in order to achieve our goal. To learn more about the Clinton-Sampson Chamber’s goal and our members, visit the website at www.clintonsampsonchamber.org or give us a call at 910.592.6177. We look forward to the continued partnerships throughout the county.