News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Highlands Economic Partnership is looking to connect with minority owned businesses in the area to improve representation both internally and in the community.
Communications Director Allison Boshears said representing minority groups is something they want to improve at. While also reassessing the way Putnam county is marketed. Boshears said the goal is creating an Inclusion Council and getting them together for a strategy session in January.
“We want to look at… maybe our hiring, our marketing campaigns… are they inclusive?” Boshears said. “We want to look at minority owned businesses and see how we can better support them, are we meeting them where they are to give them the resources they need?”
Boshears said community leaders at Tennessee Tech, Flowserve and Impact Cookeville are helping to bring minority businesses into the council. She said the plan is to keep the council together and staying tuned in to minority and minority business needs.
“We’re gonna kind of go through and hit the high points… We want to go through and have an internal session and an external session,” Boshears said. “We’re going to meet quarterly or every other month depending upon their schedules.”
Boshears said there is a lot for the community to gain from minority businesses succeeding. However, she said even if these businesses are not interested in joining the chamber, they should reach out.
Boshears said someone will come to them and see how their business can be highlighted.
“People always say we’re in the business of business, and we want to represent them and do well for them,” Boshears said. “We cannot do that until we listen to them, until we see if there are any issues they might have… Until we see their obstacles that maybe we weren’t aware of.”
She said anyone with a minority business should reach out to the Highlands team at 931-526-2211. Boshears said minority owned businesses do not have to be members of the Putnam County-Cookeville Chamber of Commerce to get connected.
