Being a “little” older, I guess I grew up supporting local. It wasn’t something we thought about back in the day. Consumers just didn’t travel in the ’70s and ’80s like we do today, and of course, we didn’t have Internet back then. When I was growing up my father ran a small business and I remember he always purchased his vehicles locally, even though some of his friends shopped in the cities and encouraged him to do the same, but I don’t recall he ever did. I think we’re seeing some of the benefits of supporting local in our community, there have been more small businesses popping up in the last 3, 4 years than I remember in quite some time and some have even been brave enough to start up during COVID! I believe that people thinking of starting a business have noticed the way local consumers have embraced other small businesses and been encouraged to go for it!

Supporting local brings new products and services in our communities, and recently people come to our communities as well because of the unique local elements we have built over the years, which is a win for sure! This community is extremely generous when people are in need, local fundraising efforts for the hospital, underprivileged families at Christmas time are just a few examples of charities that have experienced record support in recent years and many of the new businesses are contributing to these because that’s what you can do as an entrepreneur. It’s been said over and over because it’s so true: local businesses are the fabric of our communities and the more we support them, the more everyone wins.