October Newsletter - Week 1

Recap

This week we had Stephanie Wells, Director of the Anderson County Tourism Council. She has been a county employee for 17 years. The Council has a 20-member board, including the County Mayor and two Commissioners, and answers to the County Commission. Their goal is to market Anderson County as best as they can.

The economic impact of tourism in Anderson County has increased 6% over the past five years to now total $120,670,000. In 2016, each household in Anderson County saved $331.90 in taxes because of tourism. These economic impact numbers represent direct business receipts, which lead to sales tax, excise tax, property tax, payroll taxes, and gas tax. The tourism businesses include attractions, lodging, restaurants, transportation, unique retail, general retail, entertainment, and recreation. These all contribute to their annual budget, which began as $5,000 and has since increased to $150,000. However, 90% of their funding comes directly from hotel tax revenue alone. Total hotel tax revenue among Anderson County, Oak Ridge and Rocky Top, for the FY 2017 equaled $983,315. That’s because each hotel in Anderson County pays an average of $42,139 in property tax per year, which in turn, allows Anderson County to earn 121.72% return on their investment.

Stephanie also mentioned other interesting items as well. The Council has gone to all digital advertising and eliminated print all together, except for the 30,000 brochures they print per year. Windrock Mountain continues to develop its 74,000 acres and now sells over 100,000 permits per year. Norris Lake continues to develop its 36,000 acres as well, which further contributes to the continued economic growth and revenue base for our county.

Membership

We had a good crowd this week and appreciate Vicki filling in for Bill while he was out and Ronnie taking great notes! We also had the following visitors:

Ron Eslinger brought Nicole Webber. She is a visiting Equine Hypnotist from Hanover, Germany.
ET brought Mike Holloway with the school system.
Stephen Cupp with Senior Helpers joined us as a guest of Jonathan Sharp.

Items of Interest

Our next Rotary Social will be on Friday, October 27, 2017 at the Museum of Appalachia. The cost has not yet been determined. Please let Bill know if you think you will be able to attend.

Please keep our fellow Rotarian, John Gamble in your thoughts and prayers. John was recently hospitalized with liver problems, but continues to improve. The family is asking to please delay visits at this time until they can fully transition him back home for continued care.

Tom is asking for volunteers for the Annual Street Painting Festival at the Roane State Community College Oak Ridge Campus. Please see him if you are interested in helping.

Bill is also asking for volunteers to help at the Museum of Appalachia Festival on October 6-8. If you are available to work, please contact Kate at (865)494-0519.

If anyone is interested in going on the District Conference Cruise this year, it is time to secure your spot! The cruise is April 6-9, 2018 and travels to Nassau and CocoCay. Deposits are due by October 16th to secure the best rate. More information is attached for your review.

Upcoming Speakers

October 10

Bob Gibson - Retired FBI agent

October 17

Lewis Ridenour – ORPD and DOE Security Liaison Director

October 24

Ernie Newberry – USS Ronald Reagan

October 31

Don Honeycutt – ‘Oak Ridge Then and Now’

Rotary Club Officers

Bill Gallaher
President

Vicki Violette
President-Elect

Ronnie Fox
Past President

Jerry Schlandt
Secretary

Mike Shrader
Treasurer

Gary Coleman
Foundation Chair

Tom Connolly
Youth Service Chair

ET Stamey
Membership Director

Bear Stephenson
Membership Director

Leighann Green
Public Relations Director

Clinton Rotary Club
Meeting Address: 101 S. Hicks Street Clinton, Tennessee 37716
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 524 Clinton, Tennessee 37717