by Ryan Egly
September was a month of laying groundwork.
There were plenty of visible moments across Lawrence County, but much of our work happened behind the scenes: meeting with existing industries, working recruitment projects, developing our workforce, supporting small businesses, and preparing for a very busy fall.
Not every month produces a major announcement. Sometimes progress looks like meetings, site visits, conversations, and partnerships that put us in a better position for what comes next. September had plenty of that.
Welcoming Our Newest Chamber Members
We were proud to welcome several new businesses to the Chamber in September:
- Orton Realty Group
- RDC Business Services, LLC
- Amish Country Flea Market
- Tobacco and Liquor For Less
- Volunteer Welding Supply
- White Crest Software LLC
- Cloud 9 Realty
- Cloud 9 Salon and Spa
- Southern TN Weather
Every new member strengthens the network of businesses and organizations supporting one another across Lawrence County. We appreciate their investment in the Chamber and look forward to working with each of them.
September also gave us plenty of opportunities to connect with our existing members. The Shelter hosted our September Chamber Coffee, bringing another great crowd together for networking and conversation. Our team continued visiting businesses throughout the county as well, giving us a chance to listen, learn what our members are experiencing, and identify ways we can be a better partner.
Economic Development: Doing the Work
September was an active month on the economic development front.
Ben and I continued our existing-industry outreach with visits to Blickman Industries, Southern Craft Manufacturing, and Lumber Liquidators, with more planned in the weeks ahead. These visits give us an opportunity to get inside our local operations, talk directly with company leadership, and better understand both their opportunities and challenges.
Our visit with Lumber Liquidators was especially timely as the company prepares to celebrate its new warehouse and distribution center in Lawrence County. We’ll officially cut the ribbon on the new facility on Tuesday, October 13 at 1:00 p.m., and I hope you’ll join us as we celebrate this significant investment in our community.
I say this often, but our existing businesses are some of our best economic development prospects. When a company already operating here decides to invest additional capital, add jobs, or expand its footprint, that says something important about its experience doing business in Lawrence County.
At the same time, we continued working several recruitment projects representing significant potential investment and job creation. Not every conversation becomes a project, and not every project becomes an announcement, but maintaining a strong pipeline is an important part of the work.
Connecting Education to Careers
Workforce development remained a major focus throughout September.
The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry brought Be Pro Be Proud to Lawrence County High School, giving students hands-on exposure to skilled trades and technical careers. Our team also continued working with Lawrence County Schools on manufacturing-focused career materials, student industry tours, and other ways to connect young people with opportunities available right here at home.
That work carried directly into our Manufacturing Breakfast, where Ben Barnett and Hope Brown discussed the Career & Technical Education programs available through our local schools and how we can better connect those programs with the needs of local employers.
For the first time, we also presented two awards recognizing companies making an impact on Lawrence County’s manufacturing economy: the Economic Anchor Award to Flexco Products and the Workforce Catalyst Award to North Military Manufacturing.
Manufacturing remains one of Lawrence County’s greatest economic strengths. Connecting students with those careers and employers with the talent they need will remain a major priority for us.
Tourism Is Economic Development
September also gave us an opportunity to take a closer look at the growing impact of tourism in Lawrence County, and the numbers tell a pretty compelling story.
Visitors spent $33.6 million in Lawrence County in 2025, generating $3.46 million in state and local tax revenue. That visitor spending saved the average Lawrence County household approximately $204 in taxes. Since 2018, visitor spending in Lawrence County has increased 38.7%, well ahead of the national growth rate of 22%.
We welcomed an estimated 94,000 overnight visitors and 156,000 day visitors last year. Getting more visitors to stay overnight is particularly important. An overnight visitor spends an average of $329, compared with $115 for a day visitor, approximately 186% more.
We are also seeing those outside dollars show up across our local economy. Approximately 26% of credit card spending in Lawrence County comes from non-residents.
And the momentum is continuing in 2026. Through July, lodging-related state sales tax collections were up 28%, eating and drinking collections were up 8%, and overall leisure and hospitality collections were up 9%.
Those numbers provided a great backdrop for our September Leadership Lawrence program focused on History, Tourism & Agriculture. Participants spent the day exploring the people, places, businesses, and attractions that help tell Lawrence County’s story while learning more about their economic impact.
Tourism is economic development. When someone earns their money somewhere else and spends it here, those dollars support our hotels, restaurants, retailers, attractions, events, and the people who work in them. We have made a lot of progress, but there is still plenty of opportunity ahead.
Supporting Small Business and Entrepreneurship
September also brought the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Conference: Build for More to Columbia State Community College’s Lawrence Campus in partnership with Jubilee Trading Company. The event brought entrepreneurs and business leaders together around faith, leadership, and building businesses with purpose.
We also celebrated Vine Hall with a ribbon cutting, another opportunity to recognize local entrepreneurship and investment in Lawrence County.
Looking Beyond County Lines
Some of our work in September also took us beyond Lawrence County.
We continued working with regional partners on the South Central Tennessee Defense Corridor, an effort to better position our region for aerospace and defense investment by showcasing our manufacturing capabilities, workforce, available sites, and proximity to major defense assets.
We also remained engaged in discussions about proposed changes to Tennessee’s workforce development system. Local workforce boards provide an important connection between employers, workers, educators, and state resources, and we believe maintaining strong local input is important as the state considers its future structure.
Sometimes advocating for Lawrence County means working on a project here at home. Other times, it means making sure Lawrence County has a seat at the table when decisions are being made elsewhere.
Eat. Play. Shop. Local.
September also marked the launch of our 2026 Shop Local campaign, built around a simple message: Eat. Play. Shop. Local.
As we head toward the holiday season, we’re encouraging residents to think about where their dollars go. Local businesses employ our neighbors, support our schools and nonprofits, sponsor our teams and events, and are often the first to step up when our community needs something.
Every additional dollar we keep circulating in Lawrence County supports the businesses and families that call this community home.
A Busy Fall Ahead
On October 1, we begin work under a $60,000 USDA Rural Business Development Grant focused on implementing our capital plan and economic development marketing strategy. We spent September preparing the procurement process so we can get that work underway quickly.
October will bring more industry tours and celebrations, Leadership Lawrence Economic Development Day, the Lumber Liquidators ribbon cutting, and one of our biggest nights of the year.
On Friday, October 16, we’ll gather in Downtown Lawrenceburg for the Chamber’s Annual Membership Meeting. We’ll recognize some incredible businesses and community leaders, celebrate another year of progress, and spend an evening with many of the people who make this work possible.
September may not have been defined by one big headline, and that’s okay. A lot of this work happens between the announcements. It’s the meetings, relationships, planning, and follow-through that eventually give us something worth celebrating.
Thank you for supporting the Chamber, our members, and the many people working to move Lawrence County forward.
About the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce / Visit Lawrenceburg
The Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce champions economic opportunity and community vitality by supporting local businesses, workforce development, and quality-of-life initiatives. Visit Lawrenceburg, the Chamber’s destination marketing effort, promotes Lawrence County’s attractions, events, and experiences to drive tourism, visitor spending, and long-term community growth.
Media Contact
Destiny Gobble, Communications & Hospitality Coordinator
destiny@lawcotn.com