Jeff Hamm launches Banner Elk Living to spotlight High Country businesses

Jeff Hamm has launched Banner Elk Living, a hyper-local media platform for Banner Elk and the North Carolina High Country that promotes local businesses, tourism and real estate. The free-to-feature model aims to help the region recover and give visitors a trusted guide after Hurricane Helene damaged Avery County.

Why it matters: - Banner Elk Living is designed to send attention, visitors and potential investment back to Banner Elk and the surrounding High Country. - The platform gives independent small businesses free exposure through editorial features, video and photography. - The launch ties media coverage to local recovery after Hurricane Helene damaged homes, roads and water and sewer infrastructure across Avery County. - Readers can subscribe to the monthly newsletter at bannerelkliving.com.

What happened: - Jeff Hamm, a digital content producer and real estate broker, launched Banner Elk Living on July 7, 2026. - Hamm built the platform for Banner Elk, N.C., and the North Carolina High Country. - The new brand brings together a website, blog, podcast, YouTube channel, Facebook and Instagram accounts, and a monthly newsletter. - Hamm said the mission is to tell Banner Elk’s story and highlight the small businesses that define the town.

The details: - Banner Elk Living organizes coverage around three content pillars: Food & Drink, Real Estate and Banner Elk Life. - Food & Drink focuses on local restaurants, bars and cafés. - Real Estate includes home tours and neighborhood features, including The Lodges at Eagles Nest. - Banner Elk Life covers outdoor activities, galleries, shopping and local events. - The platform does not charge local small businesses for coverage. - Travelers, families considering a move and buyers in the second-home and vacation-rental market are the intended audience. - Hamm is also a licensed North Carolina real estate broker with Elevate Land & Realty. - Hamm specializes in luxury homes in Banner Elk and has particular expertise in The Lodges at Eagles Nest, a master-planned, gated community spanning roughly 3,000 acres of Blue Ridge ridgeline. - Hamm is a Certified Marketing Specialist for luxury homes and has more than 20 years in customer service and marketing.

Between the lines: - Banner Elk Living extends Hamm’s existing local media playbook from Lake Norman to the mountains. - The model blends local journalism-style content with real estate marketing, which can help attract both visitors and buyers. - The free-feature approach may make the platform more appealing to small independent businesses that often cannot pay for promotion. - Hamm created The Best of LKN in 2020, and that platform now reaches more than 150,000 locals and visitors each month. - The Best of LKN has more than 144,000 podcast downloads, more than 710,000 website visitors, over 1 million YouTube views and a network of 400-plus local businesses. - Hamm runs Banner Elk Living personally, including podcast hosting, article writing and much of the photography and video production.

What's next: - Banner Elk Living will continue publishing across its website and social channels as it builds a local audience. - The newsletter will serve as a recurring distribution channel for coverage and business features. - Hamm’s real estate work through Elevate Land & Realty is likely to remain closely connected to the platform’s mountain-living and luxury-home coverage.

The bottom line: - Banner Elk Living is a media-and-marketing play aimed at rebuilding local momentum by promoting Banner Elk’s businesses, lifestyle and real estate market without charging the small businesses it features.