EUTAWVILLE - Dozens of Eutawville area merchants filled the Parish House Tea Room on Jan. 5 for the first meeting of the new year of the newly forming Eutawville Merchants Association.

For a town that has never had a stoplight and whose population holds steady around 344, Eutawville boasts nearly 50 area businesses - most of which were represented at an informally called meeting on Dec. 8 with Jeff Barnes, co-owner of the Alpine, as host.

Leading the formation of the Merchants Association are Barnes and Johntell White, Serenity Nail Spa owner and operator.

While the December meeting served as a "meet and greet" opportunity for business owners, the Jan. 5 dialogue, moderated by Barnes and Nutt, resulted in the formation of a committee to come up with nominations of officers of the organization.

"We don't want to rush into it; we want to do this thing the right way," Barnes said.

Volunteering to serve on the nominating committee were James Nutt of C&J Trading Post, Steve Hill of Miracle Marine and Donna Smith of The Brick Barn.

Merchants will submit nominations to the committee by Jan. 19, and the nominating committee will present the results at next month's meeting.

Barnes said the Eutawville Merchants Association must have officers in place before the organization can apply for its official charter and 501(c) status. He said the association will be a community-minded organization that will promote Eutawville area businesses and the betterment of the community.

Although the group has not yet established its by-laws or rules of operation, which will be done once the organization elects officers, Barnes suggested that the "boundaries" of eligible Eutawville Merchants Association voting membership should include those within the Eutawville mailing address. However, he recommended providing non-voting "associate memberships" to interested individuals or merchants outside of the town's mailing address. The organization will formally decide on membership dues, eligibility and other basic requirements at a future meeting.

Also at last week's meeting, James and Cindy Nutt, owners of C&J Trading Post, presented ideas they observed on the Honea Path Merchants Association Web site. They said the Web site featured information about the town's history, a listing of restaurants and additional businesses listed alphabetically. The Nutts and other merchants agreed the Eutawville Merchants Association may benefit by following a similar model.

Eutawville native Tom Connor was on hand to introduce his Web site - eutawvillesc.com - to merchants, offering free listings consisting of a photo of the business as well as its address and phone number. Merchants in attendance expressed a collective interest in Connor's Web site.

Many of the business owners spoke enthusiastically about the formation of the association, expressing eagerness to participate in future meetings and community events.

"It's a situation where, as a team, we can do this," Shellie Snell of the Kart Shak and Wild Oasis said.

All Eutawville area merchants are encouraged to attend the organization's next meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2 at Chef's Choice Backdoor Café.

T&D Correspondent Martha Rose Brown can be reached by e-mail at marfawose@aol.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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