News

Campbell County Rolls Out AEP5 Results

L to R: Elaine Schatline-Behr and Jo Anne McCloud Myers of Postmark LaFollette, TN Arts Director of Folklife Bradley Hanson, Executive Director of TN Arts Commission Anne Pope, Karen Cumorich of Postmark LaFollette, and South Campbell County Rotary Club President Debbie Farmer Samples.

By Carol White, Associate Director of Operations –

On Tuesday, August 22, Executive Director Anne Pope and Folklife Director Bradley Hanson presented the Campbell County, East Tennessee Development District and State Arts and Economic Prosperity 5 (AEP5) results to the Campbell County Rotary Club, as part of the statewide rollout of the study results.

Campbell County Mayor E. L. Morton commented that the study would be a great resource in helping to integrate the arts into the county’s recreation and adventure tourism plan.

After the presentation, community leaders gave Pope and Hanson a tour of Postmark LaFollette. The Campbell County Historical Society received an FY16 Creative Placemaking grant to repurpose the historic former LaFollette post office facility as an arts and culture center, exhibit space and performance venue.

Pope congratulated Campbell County for the enormous impact local volunteers had in supporting vibrant and distinctive local arts and culture activities including the Louie Bluie Festival and Postmark LaFollette. During 2015, 198 volunteers donated a total of 16,243 hours to the county’s participating nonprofit arts and cultural organizations. This represents a donation of time with an estimated aggregate value of $382,685.

The AEP5 results show that Campbell County generates $545,633 in total economic activity—$108,671 by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations and an additional $436,962 in event-related spending by their audiences.

The Campbell County Historical Society led local efforts to collect 790 surveys from audiences attending events at the participating local nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, and also coordinated financial and program data collection from the organizations.

The study reported that there were 19,015 nonprofit arts and culture attendees in Campbell County in 2015, 75 percent whom were residents. Of the nonresident survey respondents, 80 percent indicated that the primary purpose of their visit to Campbell County was “specifically to attend this arts/cultural event.” Nonresident attendees spent an average of 90 percent more per person than local attendees ($35.79 vs. $18.80) as a result of their attendance to cultural events.

Campbell County’s participating nonprofit arts and cultural organizations included Campbell County Artist Association; Campbell County Historical Society; Campbell Culture Coalition; Christian Academy of Campbell County; City of LaFollette; Community Health of East Tennessee; and Friends of the Cumberland Trail.