Happy Birthday to theCO!

Hey, West Tennessee! Guess what? theCO is officially one year old, and we’re celebrating with Birthday Week! It has been an outstanding year for all of our members and their businesses. To begin, I’d like to first introduce myself. My name is Dan Drogosh, and I am the Media and Facilities Manager here at theCO. I work really hard to keep things running efficiently. I also take the time to get to know each and every member to ensure that they receive the full benefit of their membership.

Hello Jackson: Surf's Up Shaved Ice

Is there anything better than an ice-cold dessert on a blazing hot summer day? No. No there isn’t. Luckily, Jackson has the perfect locally-owned business to get that hits-the-spot cold treat you need: Surf’s Up Shaved Ice! I grew up eating snow cones that are coarse with larger chunks of ice. I remember the very first time I had the softer shaved ice variety, which has more of a snow texture. I was in Hawaii on the North Shore and went to a local place called Matsumoto.

Reconnecting with Your Agrarian Roots

The connection between agriculture and West Tennessee is as old as the last ice age. When the glaciers retreated and the sea whose northern reaches brushed the southern edge of our state dried, what remained in the land between two of the great rivers of our nation was a fertile alluvial plain that stretches from the line of hills bordering the Tennessee River all the way to the Mississippi River.

Jennifer Hooper: Mastering Mary Kay & Motherhood

For more than ten years, Jennifer Hooper taught music to K-12 students and directed choirs at various Jackson schools. But about a year ago, she left that position. After graduating from Union University, Jennifer got pregnant with her first son, Riley, during her first year of teaching. Having always been a full-time working mother, she struggled balancing her work and home life for years.

In the Manner of Bees: A Field Day with Jackson Area Beekeepers

Summertime means that bees are out and about pollinating our crops and private gardens and the untamed lots where wildflowers grow. They work hard to collect pollen and nectar, they communicate by dance, and they feed from the honey stored in their delicately crafted honeycomb. As they go about this routine, they can provoke a variety of reactions from people.