When a Community Comes Together

AND THE WINNER IS

Ripley, Tennessee!

“Among an avalanche of awesome entries, one nomination stood out:  Ripley, Tenn. - this year’s winner of our Small Town, Bright Lights contest.  When news broke last spring that Ripley’s local hospital was shutting its doors due to financial strain, the community banded together to save their hospital themselves.  So, we banded together to bring Ripley all the magic of the holiday season -”

Maker’s Mark

In the last 10 years, over 130 rural hospitals across America have closed.  In West Tennessee, there are six on the list.  Six hospitals.  That’s entire counties that have to drive many miles to get to a hospital, not even taking into account those of us who have to bypass the local hospital because our insurance says we have to.  When did we get this way?  Some sources say it’s because of the Affordable Care Act.  And it does unfairly affect the Rural areas.  But what are we going to do about it?  Lauderdale Community Hospital was on the ‘expect to close’ list in early 2020.  It had been struggling to maintain, and then COVID hit.  The difference is they were surrounded by a community who was determined to figure out a way NOT to lose their hospital.  Now, on their facebook page, you see the words, ‘Always Open’.  That says a lot, and it’s a testament to the community members who put their heads together, and worked hard to secure grants and funding for their community hospital.

 “A BIG thank you to Senator Ed Jackson, State Representative Chris Hurt, Mayor Gaines and Mayor Pavletic for working hard to secure grants for our community hospital! We appreciate your continued dedication to Lauderdale Community Hospital!” the hospital posted on their Facebook page. It didn’t stop with those leaders, it was everyone, everyone who willed their hospital to survive, each and every community member, employees and administrators of the hospitals, and former patients who would not give up.  That’s what a community who is committed to their people does.  That’s what Ripley and Lauderdale County did.
On May 19th, Gov. Bill Lee announced the final distribution of $10 million in Small and Rural Hospital Readiness Grants to support smaller hospitals.  “Our small and rural hospitals play a critical role in their communities, providing both necessary care to patients and good-paying jobs to residents, and we’re proud to support these hospitals through such unprecedented times,” said Gov. Lee.  “We’ll continue to work with hospitals across our state, and with the federal government to ensure hospitals have the resources they need to maintain operations and serve their communities well.”  That grant gave the hospital $500,000.

Now, Lauderdale Community Hospital is committed to “providing high-quality medical care in a friendly hospital environment.” They are a 25-bed critical access hospital, distinguished by high patient satisfaction ratings. Services include Emergency, Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab, Sleep Center, Surgery Services, Radiology, Laboratory, Physical Rehabilitation, Acute Care, Respiratory Therapy and Skilled Nursing and Rehab (Swing Bed). 

Because of the community, and all of the work they did to pull the ‘saving of a hospital’ together, like rallying around the employees to make sure they got paid over many months thanks to Craig Fitzhugh with Bank of Ripley working with the owners of the hospital to make sure the staff was paid, making sure the employees were fed at work, they truly had something to celebrate, and the folks at Maker's Mark thought so, too.

Maker’s Mark:

Sometimes the best (and brightest) things come in small packages. That’s why we’re looking for one remarkable small town to deck out with dazzling holiday lights galore. Nominate your beloved small town by sharing a photo of the town and what makes it truly special with the hashtag #MakeItRemarkable. Don’t forget to tag @makersmark and include the town name and state so we can find you on the map! Get the trees and tumblers ready — Maker’s is coming to Main Street. Rules: smalltownbrightlights.com/rules

Craig Fitzhugh, current Mayor of Ripley, ran across the contest above on social media and decided to enter Ripley in the contest.  “The hardest part was getting it down to such a small amount of words, 180 characters, not words,” he told us.  “But they told us we were the most remarkable small town in America!”  

“In about an hour, we’ll be cranked up.”  We met with Lee Johnston, of Ripley Development Corporation, who was helping to coordinate with the staff from Maker’s Mark as they created a truly magical downtown light show extravaganza. He introduced us to the folks with Maker’s Mark, “It’s been a long time coming, it feels like we’ve been working on it for months instead of weeks.” Ben Rackle, from one of the ad agencies that work with Maker’s Mark walked us through their journey to get to Ripley, “We were brainstorming to come up with an idea to end the year on a positive note.  Maker’s Mark is from a small town in Kentucky, Starry Hill Farms, in Loretto, KY.  The hometown feel is so important to the family, and it is still a family owned business.  We had 650 entrants to the contest, and we were really moved by the entry that Ripley submitted. It wasn’t just that the hospital was saved, it was the fact that it was the townspeople who saved it.”  He continued, obviously moved by Ripley’s story, “It’s people… it’s people like the Kissell’s we were talking about, [Kissell’s Kitchen] sending food to people who can’t go to work, that kind of stuff, it means so much to people across the country to know that we are taking care of each other, instead of waiting for the big boss to do it.  We’re psyched that we get to be here.  Everyone thanks us for being here, and we’re like, what’d we do?  This is a celebration of what Ripley did.”

Makers Mark has been around for 70 years, 7 generations.  “This is a way for them to celebrate small town roots, it’s someplace real to go to for the holidays.  Rob Samuels, grandson of the founders, and managing director of the company, called Craig Fitzhugh, personally, through a zoom call to let him know that Ripley had won.  It’s the little things that have made Maker’s Mark a company to be reckoned with, starting at the beginning. Margie Samuels, one of the founders, was the brainstorm behind the wax seal, the shape of the bottle, they notice the small things that make things special.” Rackle continued,  “It’s said that Margie is the reason most folks buy their first bottle of Maker's Mark and Bill Samuels is the reason they buy their second. The shape of the bottle, look of the label, signature red wax topper and even the name itself are all thanks to Margie.”  While Makers Mark is a national brand, every bottle is still hand-dipped.  There will never be a day that it's not done by hand.  They, as a company, notice the small things, and that’s one reason why we’re here at Ripley.”

“We had to build a lot of this stuff [infrastructure of lights] before we even knew where we were going with it, that was a little hard.” he continued, “The dollars spent on the decorations came in at $100,000.  From the heart of Maker’s Mark, to the heart of Ripley, TN, they are sharing smiles and a way to end the year with a smile.”  While the tree that normally graced the square was still there, Maker’s Mark added so much more.  Even a tree on the other side of the square with a top made from the red lights that mimicked the red seal on the bottles of Maker’s Mark, again, the attention to details.  For the opening event, Maker’s Mark even brought in an ice sculptor, as a surprise, to commemorate it. They wanted to really do something special. And it was live in 5….4….3….2...1