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Our View
Forming
alliances
There’s a curious dynamic going on. It has to do
with local Rappahannock businesses banding
together and promoting themselves.
This evening there is a meeting of the Rappahannock Business Alliance. It was formerly known as the Sperryville Business Alliance but at one of their last meetings a name change was suggested and adopted.
They have recently created a very comprehensive booklet listing predominantly Sperryville businesses but including lots of products and services that some^ one coming to Rappahannock would enjoy reading about. It also contains lots of advertising from local businesses and it is well designed and printed.
They’ve been at this for nearly a year and this booklet is the product of a lot of hard work and dollars. It looks good.
In the Town of Washington, another group has been meeting for several months. They are the Washington Hospitality and Visitors Association.
They’ve elected officers, have a set of by-laws, a web site and have collected membership dues from nearly 20 businesses in and around the Town of Washington.
They’re planning events - most notably the first “Christmas in Little Washington.”
Both groups profess to the same goals of promoting their businesses, encouraging tourism and protecting the historic qualities of their unique places.
Some members of the Washington group are a bit concerned that the Sperryville Business Alliance has elected to change its name. Using “Rappahannock” implies an inclusiveness that not all members necessarily agree with.
It implies an umbrella organization that doesn’t currently really exist.
Rappahannock County has several fire and rescue units. They are ail out to help people but each is individually financed by what means they are able to do. They each have their own unique character and certainly their own name.
They don’t pool their money. They don’t pool their resources although they will help each other out if needed.
Rappahannock County also supports at least three different festivals and parades. Sperryville has a parade. Flint Hill has a parade. Amissville has a parade.
They are all supported and all of them raise money for their specific areas.
So, what about these business groups?
There’s no law governing how they structure themselves or what they call themselves.
For now, both of these groups are meeting, hoping to garner new members, planning events and looking to improve things for local businesses and tourism.
Strategically they’re probably pretty much on the same page but tactically what they choose to call themselves is probably they’re own business.
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