The Pike County Chamber of Commerce has established a committee specifically for the owners of businesses along U.S. Highway 231. That’s a great thing for the community.

The committee will only meet quarterly, at least right now, but the meetings will give businesses on the biggest road through Troy a chance to collaborate and find ways to entice more and more people to shop here.

The Chamber already has a committee for downtown businesses and Brundidge has the Brundidge Business Association (BBA) for businesses in their area.

Now the businesses along one of the most crucial inroads in Pike County have a way to communicate too.

The importance of the highway can’t be overstated for Pike County. If downtown is the “heart of the city” as it is so often called, then 231 is the lifeblood. There’s a reason that the majority of businesses in the city are located somewhere along the highway and the group looks to continue to grow as areas are being developed for future commercial use.

Given that integral relationship with economic development of the city, it’s imperative that those businesses have a way to communicate and market the image of Troy.

Tuesday, those in attendance heard from Troy Parks and Recreation Director Dan Smith and Troy Athletics Assistant Director Kyle George. Their presentations simply gave the business representatives a heads up about their upcoming events to give the businesses an opportunity to plan for visitors coming in.

Smith talked about upcoming tournaments while George talked about upcoming sporting events. These things may seem simple, but businesses being on the same page about upcoming event dates is a huge advantage.

If all the businesses are on board with what’s going on in the city and around the county, they can better plan to accommodate those guests.

Those guests bring an influx of sales tax dollars to the city when they come- assuming they spend their money while they’re here. The easiest way to do that is to draw their attention to the many businesses that they’ll be driving past on the way to the events.

The committee won’t just prepare businesses to attract customers on the fly either. They can prepare to reach customers beforehand so they’re already prepared to spend money when they get here.

That’s a win for the businesses and a win for our local economy. The more our businesses, no matter where they’re located, can communicate and coordinate to increase revenue for themselves and the city, the more economic development will happen in Pike County.