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Your Chambers’
Annual Fund Raiser
Oct 14, 2017
“Clean It Up, Green It Up” County-Wide Clean-Up - May 6th. PLEASE be one of the 500 volunteers participating on May 6
th, from 9:00 am until noon. Volunteers are needed for Palatka, East Palatka, Crescent City, Melrose,
Bardin, Interlachen, Satsuma, Fruitland, Bostwick, and Welaka. Keep Putnam Beautiful will supply the grabbers, gloves, trash bags, shovels, vests, and water. Please wear closed toed shoes. Let’s work together as a community to reverse the damage of litter pollution and keep our county clean and lovely, as it should be. Sign up online at www.keepputnambeautiful.org, register by phone at 386-325-9598, or via e-mail at [email protected]. Students can also receive volunteer service hours.
Local State of Emergency Declared. Putnam County has been declared a local State of Emergency and Burn Bans are in effect. This order will remain in effect until the extreme fire conditions improve. Any open burning creates unacceptable risks for accidental or careless ignition of dry vegetation. WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU! No outdoor burning. No sale or use of fireworks. No use of flares. No matches or cigarettes are to be thrown from vehicles. No parking vehicles with catalytic converters in high grassy areas. Barbecue/cooking equipment used to prepare food is permitted but must be monitored. Arson is a crime. Report suspicious activity by calling 911. Do not approach the scene but try to get a description of the person, vehicle and tag # if it is safe to do so.
The Changing Face of Retail. In the past five years, advancements in technology have transformed how people shop, how retailers sell, and the roles of every employee in the retail industry. In a recent USA Today article, Sears and J.C. Penney were listed as two of the nine retailers closing the most stores. That is not news for us locally as we have seen the closure of K-mart, and now J.C. Penney is set to close in July. Industry experts suggest that both retailers are following the wrong strategy and are stuck between discount retailers and high-end retailers such as Macy’s which has successfully reduced long term debt & increased sales by focusing on high-end clientele. In addition, online shopping has made retail buying much more convenient for busy shoppers and younger buyers, and retailers must be quick to adapt to the buying public. In Putnam County, the good news is that our retail sales have increased significantly over previous years. Our local consumers are spending more so local retailers need to capture sales, and residents need to support them and make their purchases locally when possible. Trends indicate more changes to e-commerce are coming with same-day delivery of products, and even grocery items are coming into the mix. How long before e-commerce starts to affect the bottom line of grocery chains as well? Our local large retailers (big box stores) will need to market and sell globally to compete. A RetailDIVE feature article by Jason Ankeny outlined trends that will disrupt and define retail. These trends include:
1. Big box closures and consolidations will continue.
2. Malls will continue to mutate and are increasingly distressed. The modern-day mall stretches beyond retail, entertainment, hospitality and housing: Healthcare is also a major component. While urgent care clinics are longtime strip mall staples, full-scale medical facilities are moving into more traditional malls as landlords take steps to diversify their tenant base just as we have seen locally with the VA Palatka Clinic in the Palatka Mall.
3. Voice-activated shopping will make noise. Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant platform looms large among the breakout technologies of 2016, and will have a dramatic impact on the retailer’s bottom line.
4. Wal-Mart will continue its extreme makeover. Even as Amazon’s reach and influence continue growing, Wal-Mart has made it clear it will not simply roll over and play dead. The world’s largest retailer took a series of bold steps in 2016 to boost its e -commerce fortunes and compete more
effectively with Amazon. Look for Wal-Mart to continue taking decisive steps to reinvent its business to accommodate the demands of more lucrative millennial shoppers — and that could spell trouble for competitors beyond Amazon.
5. Online and offline will continue to blur. If customers don't think in terms of channels, retailers shouldn't either. Customer experience will change for the better, as consumers will have the option of coming across a piece of clothing on Instagram, checking it out on the brand’s website, walking into the brick-and-mortar store to touch and feel the product, and then easily purchasing it on their mobile phone later.”
6. Retailers will get to know their customers much better. Whether or not businesses are able to provide convenient, personalized experiences to their customers will ultimately be what seals their fates. On the plus side, our retailers already know their customers — that’s the beauty of small town living.
7. E-commerce will continue crossing borders. Look for e-commerce to continue making the world a smaller place in 2017. Brands and retailers who are able to deliver beyond borders are winning e-commerce.
Experts say to expect more trouble and turmoil for legacy retailers in 2017. But stay on the lookout for savvy merchants to leverage their physical stores in new, compelling ways, and watch for technology to continue to disrupt virtually every facet of the shopping experience — in stores, online, and in between.
Hamby Construction & Roofing
Construction / Roofing
Putnam County Courier Journal
Newspaper
Q.I.R. Investments Shopping Centers
St Johns Realty & Management
Real Estate
The Oaks Golf Club Golf Course / Recreation
Now - May 12
✓ Graduate Exhibition @ FL School of the Arts, Palatka
May 4 - 7 & 11 - 14
✓ Les Miserables, presented by P.H.S. Theatre Dept @ C.L. Overturf 6th Grade Center, Palatka
May 5 - 25
✓ Gallery Opening & Show by Doreen Hardie @ Larimer Arts Center, Palatka
May 6
✓ Mug Race @ St Johns River/Riverfront, Palatka
✓ Clean It Up, Green It Up--County-Wide Clean-up @ various locations throughout Putnam County
✓ Relay for Life & Car Show @ Putnam County Fairgrounds, East Palatka
May 10 - 14
✓ River City Players presents: Getting Sara Married @ Larimer Arts Center, Palatka
May 15
✓ Saturday Nite Live @ Larimer Arts Center, Palatka
May 20
✓ Wolfson Children’s Hospital Bass Tournament @ Riverfront Park, Palatka
May 23
✓ Gardening for Wildlife: Pollinators & their Plants @ Ag Center, East Palatka
May 25 - June 26
✓ Graduate Exhibition @ FL School of the Arts, Palatka
May 26 - 29
✓ Annual Blue Crab Festival @ Riverfront Park/ Downtown Palatka
Upcoming Events
July 20th Sponsored by:
Putnam County Shrine Club
Congratulations to… The City of Palatka! Fitch Ratings, one of the “Big Three” nationally recognized statistical credit rating agencies, has upgraded the City of Palatka, Florida Municipal Loan Council (FMLC) Revenue Bonds, Series 2010A, to “A+” from “A-”. In addition, Fitch has upgraded the Long-Term Default Rating for the City of Palatka to “A+” from “A-”.
We Have Jobs! Local businesses have added hundreds of jobs in Putnam County this year and currently unemployment is at 5.4%. The county’s total current workforce is 28,644 which means we have
1,547 unemployed residents in the county. A search on EmployFlorida.com reveals 474 open positions in a 10-mile radius of Palatka, and over 700 open jobs in a 25-mile radius. These positions consist of engineering, medical, agriculture, professional services, retail, skilled and unskilled labor, equipment operators, hospitality, and more. The numbers indicate two things: a significant skills gap in the workforce, and some of those classified as being actively seeking employment are not truly seeking employment. If the current unemployed filled the open positions, our unemployment rate would be 3.5%. If you know anyone looking for a job, send
them to www.employflorida.com to see what jobs are available.
May 2017
May 18th Sponsored by:
Crestwood Nursing Center
For information or to add a community event, visit www.putnamcountychamber.com
This publication is provided by: Putnam County Chamber of Commerce
1100 Reid St, Palatka, FL 32177 (386) 328-1503
www.putnamcountychamber.com
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