In this Issue of Hey Cherokee County…

✅ Andrews Looks to Build Its Economic Future From Within

✅ Tri-County Community College to Host Free College Credit Information Session

Cherokee County Events

August 13th

August 15th

August 18th

August 20th

August 22nd

August 26th

September 10th

September 16th-19th

September 26th

October 31st

November 21st

Publisher’s Note: This is Part 3 of a three-part series based on an interview with Pam Hartley, a lead volunteer with Andrews Vision who also works statewide on education and workforce.

For decades, the default vision for economic revival in small Appalachian towns has been the same: land a big employer. A factory. A distribution center. Something with a large footprint and a lot of jobs attached to it.

Pam Hartley, who works statewide on education and workforce, isn't dismissive of that possibility — but she's clear-eyed about where real, lasting economic growth actually comes from.

"We sometimes think about it like 30 or 40 years ago and say ‘when's our next big factory coming in’ — and that might happen," she said. "But that's not where the jobs and growth are. It's about small business."

The vision Hartley describes is one where the community is in the driver's seat. Not relying solely on outside investment for economic growth. Instead building its future from the inside out  — growing its own businesses, developing its own workforce, and shaping its own economy on its own terms. 

"We've got a lot of folks with great ideas and with sort of kitchen table businesses," she said. "You can even see it when we have our great festivals in Andrews, when we've got all the vendors on the street. We've got so many talented people who are starting small businesses out of their back porch, kitchen, garage. How can we help folks take that to the next level and build our businesses homegrown right here?"

Hartley believes one concept worth exploring starts with the festival vendors already lining Andrews' streets. That could mean taking those booth businesses, moving the willing ones into shared Main Street space, backing them with coaching and financing, and building them up until they're ready for a storefront of their own. 

"Sometimes we look like vanilla yogurt...We're kind of all working off our own islands,” Hartley said. “But all you gotta do is stir us up. The fruit’s on the bottom. Just stir us up, get us connected, and then we can start working together."

And when Andrews businesses row in the same direction — knowing each other, supporting each other, lifting each other up — "then we've got more available to all these folks who are coming down from the hills into this beautiful valley to spend more time with us, spend more money with us, and all these people who are coming through the four lane in truly one of the most beautiful views in the entire Southeast,” she said. 

This isn't just philosophy. There is actual, structural work underway. 

The Town of Andrews has partnered with the North Carolina Department of Commerce's Office of Rural Planning to create something Andrews hasn't had in a long time: a formal, community-driven economic development plan. A steering committee of about 12 community members has already been meeting, working alongside the state to map out where Andrews is strong, where the gaps are, and where the community wants to go.

The group recently conducted a SWOT analysis — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats — and what's come back so far doesn't surprise Hartley much.

Strengths: the small business community, the sense of community, and what she calls "a feeling of optimism and good energy around town." 

Weaknesses: the empty buildings that line parts of Andrews — which she's also quick to name as an opportunity — and a disconnect in understanding the mix of year-round and seasonal residents well enough to plan around both. 

Opportunities: filling those empty buildings, and leaning into the natural landscape. 

And the threat: the pattern of making plans and then not following through. 

Hartley said that concern came directly from the steering committee's discussion about lessons learned from previous planning efforts. "We've had some cycles of coming up with plans and then not following through with consistency over longer periods of time," she said. "If we did that this time, folks would really be disillusioned and we would miss a big opportunity as a community."

Click here to take an anonymous community survey and have a real say in what Andrews looks like in the future.

Tri-County Community College will host a Career & College Promise Information Session on Tuesday, August 18, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Crisp Building on the college’s main campus.

The Career & College Promise program allows eligible high school students to take college courses tuition-free while still enrolled in high school. Students can pursue career and technical education programs that provide hands-on workforce training or earn college credits that may transfer toward a four-year degree.

The program is open to eligible public school and homeschool students and can help participants save both time and money as they prepare for college or a future career.

Students and parents attending the information session will have an opportunity to learn about available pathways, eligibility requirements and how the program works, as well as ask questions about getting started.

Click the image below to read the original announcement.

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