Leadership and Industry Day for Leadership Campbell County

Woodson’s Mall was one of the many stops on Thursday for the Leadership Team

Leadership Campbell County class members look at the family portraits of the Woodson family while listening to Woodson’s Cash Stores owner Rob Woodson speak on Thursday. Robert Higginbotham and others with Leadership Campbell County look at the Woodson family portraits of Rob Woodson, his grandfather, Pop Woodson, and father and mother, Robert Woodson, Jr., and Ethel Woodson (left to right).

By Charlotte Underwood 

 LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Thursday was a full day of learning about the area’s business and industry for this year’s Leadership Campbell County group. 

After leaving LaFollette, the first stop of the day was for the Chamber Coffee held at Powell-Clinch Utility in Rocky Top, along with a presentation from the operations leader.

Other business tours on Thursday included TELOS Global LLC in Caryville, along with Pyro Shows in LaFollette and Common Ground Coffee Shop.

Smith-Ace Hardware and Woodson’s Mall were tour stops as well. 

A walking tour of Woodson’s Mall was a highlight of the day as many people don’t realize just how many businesses are located inside the mall. 

Leadership Campbell County class members toured Woodson’s Mall on Thursday as part of their Business and Industry Day. They are pictured at Be.you.tiful Med Spa.

The Leadership Campbell County class heard from Woodson’s Cash Stores owner Rob Woodson.

 Woodson shared with the group that the mall currently has 40 tenants in it, making for a thriving and active business area.

“We have a lot of good people in the shopping center offering a lot of different services; we have everything from retail to doctor’s offices and other services,” Woodson said.

Woodson’s Cash Stores owner Rob Woodson speaks to the Leadership Campbell County class on Thursday as part of their day learning about the business and industry in Campbell County.

He said that over the years, LaFollette and Campbell County had been “very good” to the Woodson family for “many many years.”

In fact, it was 105 years ago that the Woodson family “got in the grocery business.”

“We’ve enjoyed being part of the community, it’s a great community to live in,” Woodson said.

He recalled many good years at the business, including the “great celebrations at Christmas when Santa used to jump out of an airplane.”

Over the years, the mall has housed everything from Roane State Community College to a Mr. Gatty’s Pizza place, Save-a-Lot and many others.

The longest tenant in the mall is the “Back Door Bar and Grill”, according to Woodson, who shared the story of how the business was started in 1983 basically as a “private club” by himself and three friends, before opening to the public.

He spoke about how Food City moving in “revitalized the mall and helped bring it back” as well as the amazing variety of businesses that are now located in the mall, which was thriving.

Woodson’s Cash Stores General Manager Becky Aiken said she felt that was because it is still locally owned and operated.

“One of the things that helps us locally is that we are still locally owned and that is very appealing to a lot of our tenants, especially our smaller tenants who know that we are both here on a daily basis; we really do try to take care of everyone here,” Aiken said.

Before the close of the session, Woodson also touched on tourism and how it plays a huge role in the economy of the area and that Campbell County’s industry was growing.

“Tourism is a big factor in our community, and they bring a lot of money into the community, and everyone should support the tourism effort,” Woodson said. He also said that the industry corridor in Campbell County up along I-75 “should really take off and grow.” (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 07/19/2024-6AM)