Highland County Chamber of Commerce director, 'Marvin the Moose' encourage community to shop local

Highland County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jamie Wheeler met with Highland County commissioners Brad Roades, Terry Britton and David Daniels at their Wednesday, Nov. 5 meeting to discuss several upcoming opportunities to shop local this holiday season. 

Wheeler — who was joined by representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, Grow! Highland County, Hillsboro Uptown Business Association (HUBA) and Highland County Economic Development — encouraged the community to support locally owned businesses, especially in the coming weeks of holiday shopping. 

“A stronger economy helps us with the tax base, helps build our community, and overall, just makes Highland County a great place to live, work and play,” Wheeler said.

As noted by Wheeler, HUBA, Main Street Greenfield and other organizations have several upcoming events planned in November, which is Small Business Month, as well as December in honor of Christmas. The Chamber is also promoting visits to a number of local Chamber businesses through their annual “Moose on the Loose” campaign, featuring Marvin the Moose (who was also in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting). 

According to Wheeler, “Running through December 19, Marvin, the Chamber moose, will trek across Highland County visiting Chamber-member businesses to celebrate supporting local. The Moose on the Loose – Support Local Campaign’s goal is to encourage the community to take advantage of the products and resources right here in Highland County.

“The Chamber will publish a calendar showing where Marvin will be each week day from November 3 through December 19. The public is invited to stop by, snap a photo with Marvin, and explore each host business. Many locations will offer one-day specials and giveaways while Marvin is on site. The calendar will be available at www.thehighlandchamber.com and on the Chamber’s social media channels.”

This is the third year for Marvin’s visits to local businesses, with this year’s campaign including a new opportunity to win prizes. Using the Goosechase app — which the Visitors Bureau utilized for a successful summer scavenger hunt this year — patrons of local businesses can track their visits with Marvin for a chance to win a prize pack.

“He has 33 businesses to stop and see along his travels,” Wheeler said. “He started up in Leesburg. He'll visit a variety in Hillsboro, Greenfield and everywhere in between.

“You can follow along on Marvin’s adventures on Goosechase. The mission for each day drops every morning for he's wherever he's supposed to be, and you can go take a picture, and that gets you entered in a drawing. That prize basket will be probably well over $300 because every business is contributing to it, so it’s just a fun way to support local this holiday season.”

For Small Business Saturday, which will be observed Nov. 29, Wheeler said the Chamber will be providing tote bags and other items from American Express to local businesses. According to American Express, “Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses and communities across the country and is part of the larger Shop Small Movement. Founded by American Express in 2010, this day is celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in the U.S. Since it started in 2010, consumers have reported spending an estimated $200 billion at small businesses on the day.”

The community is encouraged to shop at local businesses throughout the county on Nov. 29, with special events also planned for Nov. 21 (Pink Friday) and Nov. 27 (Midnight Madness) in Hillsboro. Greenfield will be hosting their Christkindlmarkt Dec. 6, which will include shopping as well as a cookie walk and holiday parade.

Other upcoming holiday events include the uptown Christmas tree lighting Dec. 5 and Christmas parade Dec. 6 in Hillsboro, Wheeler said.

Roades thanked Wheeler for the updates as well as for her work on other recent activities, such as the STEEL (Strengthening Together Experienced and Emerging Leaders) Conference that took place Oct. 29.

“We had 245 people in the Patriot Center last Wednesday for the STEEL Conference,” Wheeler said. “It was pretty incredible. We're still trying to wrap that up and get our heads wrapped around it. 

“We also announced this week that. Dr. Temple Grandin is the keynote speaker for the Ag [Is Everyone’s Business] event on March 6, 2026, again at the Patriot Center.”

Daniels told Wheeler, “Good job on getting her here,” as Wheeler said they have already had people attempt to buy tickets for the event to see Grandin. Tickets will go on sale in January, Wheeler said.

Britton added that he “appreciates” the hard work Wheeler has put in for the Chamber.

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