Mine is, no doubt, one of the greatest jobs in the world. What other profession puts you continually in the most interesting of situations and then lets you share them with the whole city. Getting to serve you, the reader and the community at large by bringing what’s behind the scenes to life on these pages. Whether its covering an event like the Nautical Mile or on the sidelines of a UT football game, it is fun to be a part of bringing our readers interesting information.

But lately, it seems like everything is changing and not all for the best. You can’t open the paper or turn on the TV without hearing yet another economic horror story. Accordingly, we should all be concerned about the future of our community’s business owners.  As their customers spend less in fear of the economic downturn the business owners are forced to cut back as well. Their loss of sales equates to lost jobs. Our local businesses are an incredibly important part of the local economic fabric. In times like these their financial health is more important than ever.

Reading that Warren Buffet had committed to making a five billion dollar investment in Goldman makes you realize that people in the private sector can make a difference. And while no one I know can make that much of a difference, we all can make some difference if we set our minds to it.

Yes, I am tired of hearing just how bad it is, or how bad it’s going to be, from big media. It seems like some people just can’t help but take any opportunity to create a panic. Paint that picture clearly and often, do it in a way that can’t be ignored and soon enough you have even the most die hard skeptics
believing what you say is inevitable.

My opinion, for what it’s worth, don’t drink the Kool aid. Everyone here at Cityview is sick and tired of the status quo and we have resolved to do something about it. It’s time we all come together and work to make our community better during a difficult economic climate.

That brings us to what we can do to help our local economy survive this economic challenge. Number one on the list of most local business owners is keeping your dollars local. Their question is always the same, why do people buy online when you can get the same deal right here. By all means check online to see what you should be paying, but then call around and see if you can get the same price locally.

You can be a savvy consumer, but it’s important to give local merchants the opportunity to earn your business. To not do so could make for a very scruffy looking little city. I mean just imagine if we had to buy everything online. No cute little shops with those special treasures you would never find online.

Take the Knoxville Soap and Candle Factory as an example. I don’t know about your computer, but mine didn’t come with the aroma card. Whether you buy anything or not, stopping by and having Jodi show you the latest in custom soaps and candles is worth the trip.

Or imagine you are off to buy the perfect engagement ring for that special love in your life. If you’re not already a diamond expert then who are you going to trust: the local jeweler who shops at the same grocery store you do, sits a few pews away each Sunday at church or some foreign gem merchant you will never know (and if they screw you will never be found by any law enforcement agency on the planet). Case in point. Take Howard Lamon for example. His goal is to be the best custom jeweler in the southeast. If the quality is the same I would be willing to bet my own money that Lamon Jeweler’s will be head and shoulders above anything you can find online for the same price.

Stroll across the street and you will be amazed at the level of customer service at Men of Measure. I might have never gone in were it not for my job (I am a meager 6’). I sat at the counter for the longest the first time, fascinated by the interaction between the customers and the staff. The service was nothing short of exemplary. The customers are typically so pleased they hang around and swap stories after completing their business. Certainly no online shopping experience has ever left me feeling this good.

My trips into a few of the local chiropractors left me wondering why I had not been in before. The quality of the people could only be described as phenomenal. Scott Brown is respected by patients and staff alike for the care he puts into his work. He walks into the room and you can really feel how much he cares about the patients. He offers services like spinal traction similar to VAX-D® at a fraction of the cost because as he tells me it’s just the right thing to do and that makes me proud to be his friend. Another great chiropractor story is Dr. Pete at Exodus Chiropractic. Just stop in any day and sit in the waiting room for a few minutes. Ask any of the people coming in for treatment what they think and you will be as amazed as I was. Maybe you will run into 7 year old Keenan O’Leary, and he can tell you his amazing story of being able to stop taking 7 medicines and get of the couch and live his life.

All of these people make it astonishingly clear to me that we need to keep our focus on our neighbors and our community. What a boring little town we would be without all of the people who dedicate their time to making our city a better place. So next time you start to pull out your credit card to buy something online, stop and think if you can get it locally. You just might be surprised to see how hard our local merchants will work to earn your business.

Nathan Sparks