The Community Development Council met at the Macon County Cooperative Extension on Aug. 3 to talk about the last few months of activities, but unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is still very much in their way.
The council representatives present at the meeting decided to cancel their annual awards banquet for the second year in a row. Award winners will still get their awards in the mail, but there won’t be a celebratory gathering to bring them together. Council president Jerry Sutton feels it’s the responsible choice because of a recent resurgence in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths all around the country.
“The situation today is about as bad as it was this time last year,” Sutton said.
Community Clubs have been a mainstay all over Macon County for decades but keeping up membership in the 21st century has only gotten harder with every passing year. Club leaders say there’s more demand for their community members’ attention than ever, making it harder to recruit regular attendees for meetings, much less officers to oversee activities. Add in the pandemic, which has led to numerous program cancelations over the last year and a half, and some community clubs are shrinking at even more worrying rates.
“We’ve had a couple of meetings, but we’ve only had about six or seven people, and those are mostly my family,” said Robin Scott of Cullasaja community. “We’re just having a hard time getting back after COVID.”
That doesn’t mean that the clubs have fallen completely dormant, as dedicated members are still finding ways to make a positive impact. Clark’s Chapel is building a series of flower beds to beautify their area, Cowee has hosted talks with their fire chief and officials from Angel Medical Center, Cullasaja has made their meeting space available for family and community gatherings and Nantahala is feeding their school volleyball team before games this season. Holly Springs recently lost multiple officers, but club members are determined to find replacements and keep the club active.
“Our last meeting, we just kind of put it out there to the people who were there if they wanted the club to continue,” Janie Sutton of Holly Springs said. “They did.”
The Macon County Fair remains a high priority for the council as well. After last year’s event was canceled for the first time in the fair’s history (aside from the youth livestock show, which went on in a modified format and saw high public interest), organizers are hoping for a big comeback in 2021. Members of the fair board expect that county residents and visitors will be able to enjoy the fair in person just like in a normal year.
“Everything about the fair is going to be mostly the same as it was in, say, 2019,” Macon County Cooperative Extension Director Christine Bredenkamp said.
Community clubs have experienced plenty of setbacks in the past. While COVID-19 is still a daunting obstacle even after all these months, the council feels that what comes next will just be a matter of the resiliency among Macon County citizens – they could all use a little extra help.
“We’ve had some good years, we’ve had some bad years, we’ve had some lean years, we’ve had some very strong years,” Sutton said. “We have struggles every year now.”
To learn more about your local community club, contact them directly or call the Macon County Cooperative Extension at 828-349-2046 for more information.