By Tara Bitzan, Executive Director, Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce

   Usually it's when the holiday season descends upon us that we hear the plea to "shop local." Many communities market their shop local campaigns very heavily at that time of year. But shopping local isn't just for the holidays - it should be top-of-mind focus year-round. And the shop local concept isn't just for retail; it is just as important for service businesses. 
   Blogger Cinda Baxter founded the 3/50 Project, which strives to "save the brick and mortars our nation is built on." Baxter challenges people to commit to 3/50 by choosing three local independently owned businesses that they would miss if they disappeared, and spend $50 per month at any of these businesses. 
   It makes you see things differently when you think about your favorite three businesses right here in our community, and imagine them closing. Of course you alone can't keep them afloat, but you do have an impact.
   According to U.S. Labor Department statistics, if half of all employed people spent $50 each month at locally owned independent businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue. 
   Baxter's focus is of course independently owned, because in most cases the business employs local residents and spends money here. For every $100 spent in locally-owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain store in the community, $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes here. 
   And again, this concept isn't just for retail. It is for service businesses as well. Money spent with local restaurants, theaters, contractors, dry cleaners, salons, etc. has the same impact.
   Here's why doing business locally matters:

• When you spend money with a local business, much of that revenue stays local. The owner and employees of that business are local, and in turn do business with other local people. The money stays right here, where it helps to build a strong, vibrant community.
• The above concept filters through to local nonprofits. In a strong business community, nonprofits also thrive. You may not directly donate to a certain nonprofit, but it's likely if you do business locally, you have a direct impact on more money finding its way to help the work of local nonprofits, which of course also makes a community stronger. 
• If business is strong, local businesses can offer more jobs and/or higher wages, add services or products, and give customers expanded options. 

   The lakes area is unique, in that is has a strong business base in a variety of sectors - from service industries to retail stores to manufacturing. Local industrial parks are bustling, as is our I-94 corridor and downtown. You don't see many empty storefronts here. But it will take those of us who live here and work here to keep it that way. We are a strong tourist destination - but tourists aren't enough to keep our stores open, and tourists aren't the ones who will keep most of our service businesses in business. 

Do your part to keep the community thriving and "do business" locally year-round.

Brenton, LLC is a family focused company that supports employee growth and development. Kaitie Kluver, Marketing Specialist at Brenton, LLC shares why Brenton chose to join the Chamber and how membership has benefited its employees. Kaitie also shares what she loves (and doesn't love) about living in the Alexandria area. 

   Alexandria is currently experiencing some pretty exciting times.
   The local economy is strong. We have a strong business community that represents a vast array of services and products. We have a strong education system, a strong healthcare system, quality law enforcement entities, active nonprofit and service organizations, and so much more. 
   Our downtown is vibrant, when many historic downtowns across the state are struggling to survive. 
   That's not to say we don't have our challenges - lack of workforce, lack of affordable housing options, lack of daycare availability and a struggling mall are some of the biggest problems plaguing our area right now. But they are the same issues that many other communities are facing. 
   The exciting thing is that we have identified our issues, and many different entities are working to try to come up with answers to those problems. I truly believe that if we continue to work together we are going to come up with some solutions that will make our community shine even brighter.
   The Alexandria Chamber's current strategic plan focus areas revolve around collaborations, operational excellence, satisfied members and strategic programming. All of these are about building relationships, which is what the Chamber focused on doing in 2017. These focus areas are also about striving for excellence, which is the Chamber's 2018 theme and vision. 
   In 2017 we worked to establish and strengthen relationships throughout the community that would better position us to be a unified community. The goal was to get the community's various entities working in harmony toward the same goals instead of duplicating services or working in parallel fashion. 
   By pooling resources, knowledge and strategic thinking, we knew we could be more efficient and better stewards for our community.     We're excited about the progress made in 2017.
   This year we are building upon those relationships to strive for excellence - within the Chamber and throughout the community. Our goal within the Chamber is to bring all of our services and programming to a level of excellence. But we want that for our entire community as well. We've got a lot of good things going on here, and we are hoping everyone will join forces to bring that good to the level of great.

Greg Bowen, owner of Brophy Lake Resort, shares more about his resort and what makes it unique! Though it was hard to pick just one story, we had Greg share a fun guest experience about a girl and her frog.