Empowering Local Businesses

Kathryn Jenkins and Megan Reyes followed different paths to Murphy in Cherokee County. Kathryn came from Georgia to run a downtown outfitter store with her husband. Megan moved to town from Colorado in 2015 to consult on workforce and economic development. But the pair clicked when they met, each seeking ways to empower business owners in their community.

They collaborated on soft skills training for business owners and on summits about marketing and leadership. Among the projects they tackled was one of Kathryn’s longstanding priorities—the establishment of a downtown business association. The organization would serve to facilitate economic development through events and other activities that draw people into downtown Murphy. The idea was met with enthusiasm by a crop of downtown business owners.

I’m all about leadership. I teach it, learn it, swim in it. I can’t get enough.

“They were like, ‘Yes, let’s do this, but we need some help getting it off the ground,’” Kathryn recalls.

After weeks of meeting with the pair, the business owners began to formalize their work and the Murphy Business Association was born. In 2018, it hosted the first Murphy Spring Festival, complete with live music and a beer garden downtown. Last December it held the inaugural Very Murphy Christmas celebration. Nearly one thousand locals and tourists attended the event.

“They were able to pull off things that have never been possible before,” Kathryn says. “It was unheard of. It was a dream that I had that I felt passionate about, but it was truly a team effort, and I’m so delighted that it got off the ground.