An idea from Barry McCoin for consideration and discussion:
What if the vehicles had 'banners' or soap lettering down the sides documenting how much each owner spent at Tellico by year.
I have records and could clearly show how much I spent in Murphy businesses by year for a decade. The Murphy mayor may be in favor of closing Tellico; but if the business owners in Murphy see ~100 vehicles driving through town detailing the hundreds of dollars spent in Murphy by each truck, these business owners may educate the mayor on the value of a buck and especially the value from a few hundred thousand bucks to the community.
Without even pulling the details from the records, I know I spend over $500 with Murphy businesses the week of GSMTR each year. If I had more opportunties to visit Tellico, my total would be higher. Spread a spectrum of experiences over a large and diverse base of visitors to Tellico, the total amount we spend in Murphy can not be ignored by any of the civic or business leaders in Murphy.