The Best of Both Worlds

Written By: Stephanie Edwards - Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce | Issue: 2021/08 – August | Photograph By: Susan Renfro

Colleen Kerrigan, owner of
The Business Spot – with locations in Cashiers and Highlands – wears her love of the sister communities. 

The communities of Cashiers and Highlands are great complements to one another.  

Although unique in our own rights, we are unified in an unwavering commitment to maintaining the high quality of life residents and visitors enjoy on our high-elevation mountain Plateau.

Some may not realize that the two communities are different in their governance structures. 

Cashiers is unincorporated; Highlands is a municipality with its own mayor and board of commissioners. Although only 11 miles apart, Cashiers is located in Jackson County, whose seat is 25 miles away in Sylva and Highlands is in Macon County, whose seat is 19 miles away in Franklin.

In one area, tourism destination marketing is done by the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority, in partnership with the Cashiers Area Chamber, which operates the Cashiers Visitor Center. In the other, the combined efforts are coordinated by the Highlands Chamber. The tourism experience is similar but varied such as the “cottage shopping” “here and there” around the Cashiers Crossroads compared to Highlands’ pedestrian-friendly Main Street. 

While differences provide valuable distinctions for each community, there are many commonalities across the Plateau that make us stronger together. We share geography, topography, related history and cultural interests. We have a critical local healthcare asset in the state-of-the-art hospital facility of Highlands Cashiers Hospital. And a new Blue Ridge Health primary care facility recently opened on the hospital campus, which is conveniently located between Cashiers and Highlands. There are mutual aid agreements in place between our respective fire and rescue departments.  Many of our nonprofit organizations’ outreach extend beyond a single community. A great example of Plateau volunteers and cross-county agencies working together was the very successful local response to the national Covid-19 crisis.

Both Cashiers and Highlands are seeing increased year-round living and second-vacation homeownership. As a result, we are both facing challenges of growth, expanding our micro-economies and supporting new businesses while at the same time protecting the unique and unified character of our communities and the pristine natural resources that surround us.

And, though separate business leagues, our respective Chambers work together under strong board leadership to support robust memberships. 

Highlands President Kaye McHan and Cashiers Executive Director Stephanie Edwards and their staff colleagues, Thomas Taulbee (Cashiers), and Beverly Pittman and Jerry Moore (Highlands), are unified in their collective vision of a bright and prosperous future for all Plateau stakeholders.