Welcome to Dickson Greeters Message to all Dickson County newcomers: When Helen or Joan Rial knock on your home door, be excited. You are about to receive a bag full of gifts and lots of information about the county. The two women make up Welcome to Dickson Greeters and they love making new friends.“We just try to make them feel comfortable and at home,” Helen Rial said. “We take a little bit different approach because we’re answering to ourselves and to the merchants.” Former operators of Dickson’s Welcome Wagon, the Rials had to wait a year due to a contractual agreement with the national company before they could begin the Welcome to Dickson Greeters in 1999. “I just thought that’s what made it special was the home personal visits,” said Helen Rial, who operated the local Welcome Wagon for nearly 25 years. “We decided to start our own thing going into the homes like we used to. We try to make it a little more personal. It’s just local, it’s just Dickson County.” The Rials provide county information in the form of maps, pamphlets, a Dickson County Fact Book and other giveaways. “We say it’s like a neighbor visiting a neighbor, it’s not like we’re giving a commercial,” Helen said. “It doesn’t take that long but of course we both are talkers so we have a tendency to get off track a lot. Joan said the majority of newcomers are excited to see her or her mother-in-law because the visits provide so much information – and coupons/gift cards. “We have a civic packet too that we give out that has voting registration forms, a map of Dickson County, anything about anything in the area.” Helen said. “Anything that is nonprofit that is a public thing we put in our civic packet.” Newcomers are given invitation cards from local merchants for free gifts. Helen said she has plenty of contacts that let her know when newcomers arrive in the area. “We have no problems getting names,” she said. Helen said transplants from bigger cities are “amazed” by the visits. “For the people who are total strangers, especially if they’ve come from a big city…they are just so thrilled,” she said. For more information, call Joan Rial at 441-3341 or Helen Rial at 446-2226.
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Joan Rial, left, and her mother-in-law, Helen Rial, established the Welcome to Dickson Greeters. The Rials welcome new county residents with a visit and gifts from local businesses. SUBMITTED PHOTO
THE DICKSON HERALD FACT BOOK