Has the RSBA Abandoned Radcliff? 

The Radcliff Small Business Alliance has lost its way. It must return to its founding mission, undergo serious reform, or close its doors.

TW Shortt 
Co-founder, Radcliff Small Business Alliance 

The RSBA was created after the former Radcliff Chamber of Commerce was absorbed into a countywide chamber. At the time, critics warned that Radcliff and the northern end of Hardin County would lose their local business voice. They were assured that nothing would change. 

They were wrong. 

The RSBA grew out of Radcliff First, a local initiative organized during Mayor J.J. Duvall’s administration. When the alliance was announced, the meeting drew a packed house because Radcliff business owners wanted an organization focused on them. 

For years, the RSBA stayed close to that mission. It promoted businesses, encouraged networking, recognized entrepreneurs, and gave local owners a voice. 

Today, that mission appears buried beneath committees, fundraising, scholarships, grants, galas, donor events, charitable programs, and internal administration. The organization has approximately 12 committees, yet one of the most basic duties of a local business alliance—welcoming new businesses—has nearly disappeared. 

Ribbon cuttings in Radcliff are now rare. A true small business alliance should know when a business opens, welcome the owner, promote the opening, connect the business with customers, and celebrate local investment. 

Instead, the RSBA has even conducted seminars and workshops in Elizabethtown. Elizabethtown has its own institutions and deserves support, but an organization carrying Radcliff’s name should not divert its limited time, money, and volunteers away from Radcliff. 

Every RSBA committee, event, and dollar should be judged by one question: 

How does this directly help Radcliff’s small businesses? 

If the answer is unclear, the activity does not belong to the center of the organization. 

The RSBA cannot continue using Radcliff’s name and its founders’ credibility while abandoning the purpose for which it was created. It must either put Radcliff businesses first—or admit that it is no longer a small-business alliance. 

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