CLAYTON -- James Lipscomb was born and raised in Clayton. He has served on the town council and has been an active member of the Clayton Chamber of Commerce for 22 years. Now he is taking on the role of chamber president for 2012.
"My dad had a hardware store on Main Street and my mom has had a daycare here since 1963," Lipscomb said. "In some ways I've been a member of the chamber my whole life."
Lipscomb married his high school sweetheart, Valerie, and together they have four children. "I hope my children will see my involvement in the community and it will become important to them, too," Lipscomb said.
Lipscomb and his business partner, Barry Woodard, are owners of Home Towne Realty. They have also worked together to co-chair the Harvest Festival since 1991. "The Harvest Festival had been around for years," Lipscomb said. "When Barry and I took it over we were able to help grow it to what it is today by adding amusement companies, street vendors and more entertainment." The Harvest Festival is the chamber's largest annual fundraiser.
In his years working with the Harvest Festival Lipscomb added additional days to the event, including gospel music on Sunday and teen activities on Friday night.
This year he hopes to add more diversity to the event to appeal to Clayton's Latino citizens.
"The more inclusive we can be, the better for the community," he said.
Inclusiveness in the Harvest Festival extends to promoting more inclusiveness in the chamber. "The make-up of the chamber has changed a lot over the years," Lipscomb said. "It's not a 'good-ole-boy' network." He went on to mention the diverse backgrounds of the members; from long-time Clayton residents to new members of the community. "We want to use everyone's ideas to help businesses succeed in Clayton."
Another goal for Lipscomb at the chamber is business advocacy. He plans to work with business owners to identify obstacles and change town and county ordinances to make doing business easier in Clayton.
He cited an example of a local store that only serves ice cream. Because of town ordinances the ice cream shop was required to put in the same commercial level grease trap as restaurants serving fried foods. "It didn't make sense for the ice cream store to have to invest in something they would never use," Lipscomb said. He and the chamber were able to act as intermediaries between the business and the town to satisfy everyone's needs.
"I want Clayton's business owners to know that we are here to for them," Lipscomb said. "We want to get the best policies and ordinances in place so Clayton can continue to be perceived as a good place to do business.
Finally, Lipscomb plans to implement a new program to handle the chamber's on-line presence. "We want to use on-line features to get up-to-date information out about Clayton," Lipscomb said.
"The chamber can help not only the individual business, but the overall business climate in town," he continued. "The chamber needs to play a positive role in developing both business and quality of life issues in Clayton."
Lipscomb succeeds Detria Blount as the chamber president.
