Chris Collins named a Junior Chamber Scholarship Recipient

Chris Collins, Tishomingo Public School

Senior Junior Chamber members may submit an essay for consideration by the Economic Development Committee of the JCCC for a scholarship. Junior Chamber members meet every other month and do team building or learn about local points of interest and hear about various careers. This year they met with Wanda Gray, INCA Community Services; Joanne Ryan, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge; and Kenny Power, Johnston County EMS. They learned about what chambers of commerce do and why they are important to their communities. Their time was cut a bit short due to the pandemic, but that didn’t stop them from completing a sock drive and donating more than 500 pairs of socks to The Promise Room and a family shelter, participating in various Chamber events, and collectively volunteering almost 200 hours in Johnston County.

Chris Collins is a $250 scholarship recipient that has been accepted to Tarleton State University and wrote the following essay:

“Coretta Scott King once said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” I believe that the Chamber of Commerce best exemplifies this quote. I think that the Chamber is important because it helps keep local businesses alive and contributes to the community.

Chambers of Commerce are essential for the community because they work with small local businesses and help them prosper. The Chamber of commerce works with local businesses by promoting their products or services within the local community and visitors. The Chamber also helps them by providing networking opportunities and other events to benefit local business owners. In a way, the Chamber acts as a business partner for local business owners. Not only does this help business, but it also gives back to the community by improving the local area.

When the Chamber of Commerce promotes local business, the money spent there stays within the community. The income that the city receives will then be spent on improving the town. These improvements could be repairing roads, installing new traffic safety systems, or building handicap alternatives. The Chamber raises additional funds for these projects by lobbying representatives for charitable donations on behalf of the community. My time in the Jr. Chamber of commerce has taught me all this and more.

From my time in the Johnston County Junior Chamber Of Commerce, I have learned that team cooperation is essential to community improvement. By watching a Johnston County Chamber of Commerce meeting, I was able to witness an extraordinary level of detailed planning and teamwork by the Chamber. The amount of work and planning that goes into a single month was awe-inspiring to me, within the Jr. Chamber of Commerce I found that during community service and other events unless the entire group cooperated with each, nothing would get done. Often, we would have to discuss how we would reach our goals and lay a plan out for ourselves. Making the connection between these two groups, it was clear to me that cooperation is vital to achieving a team’s goal.

The Chamber is vital to keeping local businesses alive and contributing to the community. Local businesses work with the Chamber to bring in business and provide networking opportunities. The town looks towards the Chamber to help build the economy and create city events. The Chamber of commerce has also taught me lessons in teamwork and working to improve the community around us.”

We are so proud of you, Chris!