For those of you who don’t know, I’m the co-founder of the NEA Gamers Guild, a free club that promotes unplugging and coming together around a table with family and friends to play games together. Through the guild I organize many community events, including monthly library game days, tournaments, learn to play events, and an annual charity gaming convention to raise money for The Children’s Shelter.
I mention this, because a lot of what we do would be so much harder without the support of one local business in particular! Gamers’ Haven and its owner Jonathan Meacham is a classic success story in small business. Jonathan went from some one who did every last job by himself in a tiny 1,500 sqft retail space to some one who employs multiple employees in a huge retail space with open gaming tables for those who want to meet up and play games together.
Kier Heyl and Jonathan Meacham in front of some store shelves.
Gamers’ Haven exemplifies the type of community involvement I love. Not only do they give back to the community regularly through charitable donations, but they also provide a place where members of the community can come together, and organize their own gaming events and get togethers.
Gamers’ Haven sign in front of their store.
The Haven as many locals have come to call it has become a staple 3rd space in Jonesboro. It’s a place to come together as a community and spend time with each other outside of home and work. It’s the type of space I’d love to see more of in our city!
I asked Jonathan about the challenges he faced while opening/running his business, and where Jonesboro has helped him to succeed. He talked about having run businesses in the past in smaller towns, and how especially in a niche market like board games, the larger population of Jonesboro has made it much easier to keep his doors open while he was still getting on his feet. He also expressed how he wished it would be easier to find all the resources, paperwork, etc. that a business needs, and clear guidance on where that needs to be turned in.
These kinds of conversations are why I have these meetings. You need to be able to understand the challenges people are facing in our city before you can turn around and correct them. In the near future I’ll be reaching out to not just other businesses, but also the Chamber of Commerce, and local resources like the Delta Center for Economic Development to find out what more we can do to support businesses in Jonesboro. I believe supporting our local businesses is one of the most important things I can do not only as a member of the city council, but as a member of our community!
Gamers coming together to participate in a tournament.
Shelves filled with gaming goodness!
Some folks playing miniature war games together.
