The Power of Small Business in Community

By: Angie Stryker

Lake Wedowee Life magazine wants to celebrate the power of small business to transform our community for the good. Who employs our citizens? Small businesses. Who donates to every little league team, pageant, marching band, fundraiser? Small businesses. Who coordinates events with other businesses to ensure that people are out shopping and dining to keep our establishments thriving? Small businesses. They truly are the heart and soul of our community.

This issue we wished to spotlight a few of the business who have jumped into the deep end of entrepreneurship and started this summer in the Wedowee area:

Health and Wellness as well as a love for the outdoors seems to be the focus for some of our newest business owners. Wedowee is proud recipient of these wonderful humans who want to share their love and passion with us.

Camp's Getaway Gear and Outdoors

"We want everyone, no matter what their income level, to be able to have access to and enjoy the outdoor." - Eric Camp.

Eric Camp grew up coming to Lake Wedowee, like so many who now reside here full time. He always came with friends who had boats or land. When they had the chance to move here three years ago, they looked around the lake and quickly found that those homes were out of their price range. Jessica, his wife, does medical coding and Eric is a paramedic. Instead they bought a house in town, right off of highway 48. As many "coincidences" in Eric's life, he found that the locals referred to the home he was buying as the Camp House. The former owners were Camps as well, no relation. They knew then it was meant to be.

When you spend time with the Camps, you will laugh. There will be bad jokes and good jokes and just a lot of laughter. These are people who love life. These are people who want other people to be able to enjoy the water, no matter who they are or what they can afford. Eric believes in making water access available to all, on all levels.

Camp's Getaway offers pontoon rentals, and even offers pontoon rides. You can rent kayaks. They will even bring them to you! You can rent them for 2-4 hours, half days and full days. They have 15 to 20 kayaks and 2 pontoons boats for rent at the moment. They even rent paddle boards if you want to give that a try.

One of the fan favorites has been the group kayaks in the river or in the lake with glow in the dark paddle experiences. People rave about the fun they have on the water with Eric and the crew.

Find them on Facebook or www.campsgetawaygearandoutdoors.com.

The Wildflowers Outdoor Co.

"Standup paddle boarding is where I feel most alive and the most free. That has to be shared." - Angie Stryker

I used to paddleboard with my yoga studio in the lake at Stone Mountain, Georgia. I loved it and considered getting my own board. On a whim I bought a raffle ticket from the studio to win a BOGA yoga board with custom art. I was in an airport in Denver when they raffle went live on Facebook. I was announced as the winner and had to keep my screams down in the airport! The board is definitely a prized possession that I store on the wall in my living room.

Doing yoga on the board is the ultimate workout - your mind, your body, heart and soul. Not only are you building your core muscles by standing up and paddling, but being able to stretch and move while being on the water further takes that core to another level. The best part though, is the end of the yoga session, where we lay on our backs on our boards, our fingertips in the water, in sheer delight. We quiet our minds, connect with he sounds of nature and then soak up a devotion about gratitude or beauty or nature. The sun is warming your skin while it is setting, the water is lapping the board and your toes, the breeze is gently rocking the board and your body, your mind is at ease, and you just feel an immense sense of love.

The women who have joined our weekly class have become not just friends but a source of community in a place where you might feel really vulnerable. As a male friend of mine said, "You have women, in bathing suits, trying new positions and opening themselves to something new and then you stand over them and pronounce their beauty? That's amazing, Angie." One of our regulars actually thanked me the other day saying, thank you for caring for our bodies."

It's an honor to spend time on the water with these clients who have turned into my friends.

Fellow business owners in town have been my biggest cheerleaders in this process. I'm so thankful for all the women who have surrounded me with immense support and love.

Find me at www.soulbodyheartmind.com or @the.wildflowers.yall on Instagram or Facebook.

Beginners are very welcome! We will teach you, you can do this!

Rocky Branch CBD

"God, if this is what you want from us then please let us prosper and grow and let us help the people we can." - Terri Lovvorn.

What happens when you experience a personal illness or injury and have the power to grow and create your own medicine? Just ask Terri and Richard Lovvorn. That is the genesis of their little store on Main Street.

Over three years ago, the couple created a pain cream with THC that has given her quite a bit of relief. It felt only right to make it for others. That is what started their newest journey together. Terri and Richard set out to not only grow their own plants on their farm in Woodland, but to harvest them, send them off to be processed and then turn that harvest into products that give great relief to the community. And they have done just that.

Their pain cream, Elite Pain Creme, gave so much relief to so many, that they had to expand and grow. The pharmacies in Woodland and Lineville started carrying it after customers came in raving about this new product.

They now have something that will help with chronic pain, migraines, street, anxiety, blood pressure, acne, and even bug bites. They can help with sleep, cognitive side effects of Alzheimer's, arthritis and even give some cancer relief. They say they aren't a cure-all but are all about giving a better quality of life.

She says, "There is lots of potential - not healing, God is the #1 healer, we are just helping people along the way."

With selling products at shows for years, they decided to open their own store, right here in Wedowee.

It was surprising to find out just how strict the state is about their farm, product, and process. They have very strict guidelines that they have to follow and are tested and audited annually. If they even have so much as one plant in a different area of the farm, a fly by will notify the state and they will be visited by the authorities. They are breaking barriers and hoping to change the stigma of THC in products. The Lovvorns are super knowledgeable and very accountable to the state. Drop in for a visit with any questions that you may have.

Find them at www.rockybranchcbd.com or at 117 S. Main Street in Wedowee. A portion of the proceeds from Rocky Branch CBD goes to St. Jude Children's Hospital.

A friendly PSA about our local businesses:

Be sure to not only support our local business owners who are trained experts in their fields, but also be aware of someone else offering the same thing who isn't licensed or insured. If someone offers you a great deal for a ride on Facebook, or a chance to try something they made for cheap, chances are those people haven't been trained, and they most likely don't have insurance or the license to be taking your business. Choose wisely and support your local business owners.