The Reality of Loving Where You Live

The irony of any answer but YES when asked this question is this:

Your response has a direct impact on what the answer to that question really IS.

If you're answer is YES, and you go on to list your town's assets (Coffey County has SO MANY), you've just influenced another person's perception of your town or your county.

Maybe that person is a future resident. Maybe they're a future business owner. Maybe they'll stay in town longer because you mentioned an attraction or retail shop that they now want to visit. Maybe they'll eat supper or lunch at a local restaurant because you recommended it, or because they stayed long enough to need food.

Maybe they'll visit again in the future. Maybe they'll tell a friend. Maybe they'll bring their family. Maybe they'll decide that YOUR town and YOUR county are the place to be. Maybe they'll get excited, get involved, and start a community group or volunteer. Maybe they'll be your child's new teacher. Maybe they'll open that store, that restaurant or that service center your town NEEDS.

Prepared to say any of the following?

- There's nothing to do here.

- I hate it here.

- We don't have anything worth mentioning.

Please don't.

All of those possibilities I listed above? All of those amazing maybes? POOF. You've probably just crushed them all. You've let your town down, and you've impacted your life and those around you in a negative way.

As one of the people working to boost and inspire business owners and make our county the best it can be, I URGE you to be prepared with a different response. A positive response.

Here are some ideas:

- We have awesome school systems.

- We have so many amenities, like a recreation center, community pools, a hospital, shopping and services.

- We have really cool architecture and so many murals. We were even doing murals before they got so popular!

- We have industry here.

- Our towns are so safe.

- We have amazing parks and public spaces.

- Our library system is outstanding.

- Our communities put on so many free events!

... and if you need more, trust me, the list goes on.

The Chamber has created Visit Coffey County branding in partnership with the Coffey County Tourism Board. If you interact with visitors to our county but aren't sure what to say, please reach out so we can bring you our simple, one-page guides to provide to visitors.

How you interact with and talk about where you live does have an impact. Will your conversations lead to opportunities, or will your conversations hurt your community?

It's your decision, and we hope you feel empowered to tell others how GREAT this place is.

Because it is. And because talking about all of the great things only leads to better opportunities for us all.