News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Putnam County’s 90 ribbon cuttings in 2023 are by far the county’s most ever in a single year.
Cookeville/Putnam County Chamber Membership Manager Natalie Saxon-Adams said the 75 ribbon cuttings last year was the previous record. Saxon-Adams said while the events can serve as celebrations of important milestones for a business, most of them have been grand openings.
“It’s just showing the growth of the community really,” Saxon-Adams said. “There are a lot of things that people have been wanting to come to Cookeville, whether it be entertainment or services that haven’t been offered in the past that are now here.”
She said the ribbon cuttings are great free exposure to help jump-start a new business. The influx of new businesses brings in tourism from across the state and even internationally, she said.
“Tourism dollars actually go straight toward our property taxes here, so the more tourism we get, the lower our property taxes are,” Saxon-Adams said.
Saxon-Adams said she projects even more growth in the future following the record year. She said buildings are going up in Cookeville seemingly every day with commercial space available. She also said there is ample space for businesses to expand and for new businesses to set up shop in Baxter, Monterey, and Algood.
Saxon-Adams said the chamber invites some 150 people to each event. She said they are great opportunities for people to network and shake hands with Putnam County’s leaders.
“It’s a really great way to get to know some of those people and to network,” Saxon-Adams said. “We also post all of our ribbon cuttings. We post them to the Chamber website and then those get posted by our ambassadors, by the companies, and they even get shared by the elected officials who have a great reach on their social media.”
Saxon-Adams said business owners can call the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce to schedule their own ribbon cutting ceremony.
