and visibility for each of our organizations.” T e Chamber supported CRI’s
Downtown Dollars Program and showed up at their Gnarly Hops and Barley Fest. CRI attends the chamber’s largest summer event, CulpeperFest. “T ere's a lot of communication and
collaboration to bring those together,” Say said.
He and Chamber Director of
Programming and Operations Amy Frazier are in constant contact with Jenkins and CRI Special Events Coordinator Candice Hayes. Since 2016, they’ve joined forces for
Shop Small – a fall event highlighting the small local businesses in Culpeper. “I want people to know how special our
downtown is,” Jenkins said. CRI tailors the program to the local
business community and the Chamber helps spread the word. “We each take a chunk and we help pay
down the prices for the small businesses to purchase (advertising) in the Culpeper Times,” Say said. “T ere are so many unique opportunities in Culpeper and Shop Small is just a part of that to help highlight and
promote them.” T e support for the small business
community extends beyond the Shop Small season throughout the entire year. In September 2021, they collaboratively
organized a downtown job fair to fuel the local workforce. T e Chamber has a Small Business
Council that’s looking for members to represent that community. T e CRI committees are always thinking up new projects to support local businesses. T e Small Business Development Center “will help you get your business plan together, fi gure out your fi nancials, (and) let you know if there are any low-interest loan rates available,” Say explained. Even existing businesses welcome new
shops. “If there is a new business opening, the
existing ones always come out in force to help and support… T e businesses know what it's like and know what it's been like when they've started,” Say said. Village Frameworks and Gallery
Owners Lou and Skip Price have been in the community for more than 30 years, and they still attend shop ribbon cuttings.
“T ere are a lot of niche businesses, but
they all work together and promote each other,” Say said. T e Chamber offi cially voted in
November 2022 to form a new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council in order to promote a diverse business community. “It helps promote Culpeper and that is
our overall goal – promote the economic development of Culpeper,” Say said. “Culpeper is all about collaboration,
community, communication and caring,” Say said, borrowing from Pastor Brad Hales of Reformation Lutheran Church. “T at's what you want to see in
a downtown district. You want to see the businesses working together, collaborating and helping one another,” Jenkins added. “Our downtown is such an asset
to our community. It’s the heart of our community,” Jenkins said. “When (people) shop small, they shop local, they're supporting their friends and neighbors.” Everyone is invested in the small
business community of Culpeper because they are the indicator of Culpeper’s future. If they are thriving, so is Culpeper.
Virginia
2023 COMMUNITY GUIDE + BUSINESS DIRECTORY
WORK HARD. PLAY HaRD.
The Culpeper Times is proud to partner with the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce each year to publish and produce their annual community guide.
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CULPEPERCHAMBER.COM CULPEPER CHAMBER COMMUNITY GUIDE | 33
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