County, Features

Shift 10 percent of your holiday shopping to local retail

Buying local has multiple positive impacts on the community
By Katelin Cook
Special to the Herald Times
RBC I During the holiday season shop local campaigns can be found nearly everywhere. But the true question always comes back to: What does shopping local mean for me and my community. How much benefit does that really bring to my community?
Let’s start by defining “local.” Typically, this has a geographical association with the definition, but when looking at “local” business it is important to understand that the largest community impact comes when patronizing locally owned, controlled and independent businesses. This could mean local contractors, accountants, insurance brokers, graphic designers, printing companies, restaurants, banks and most commonly thought of retail businesses, as well as the majority of Rio Blanco County businesses.
Many studies have been done documenting the percentage of money that is recirculated through the community when money is spent at a local business. The most common statistic shows that for every $100 spent with a local business, $68 is re-spent in our community through employee payroll, goods, contractors and services provided by another company in the community, and donations to local charities and organizations. Local branches of a national chain retailer return, on average, around $43 per $100 spent, and online shopping returns virtually no money back to the community (with the exception of the delivery workers who live within Rio Blanco County). Locally owned, independent businesses return more than three times as much money per dollar of sales than chain competitors. Shopping locally adds up to a huge difference in creating local jobs, local wealth, supporting the many youth and nonprofit organizations and providing greater community sustainability.
National and local efforts are underway to help consumers better understand the impact their dollar has on the local community. American Express sponsors the Small Business Saturday campaign, which was highly successful for multiple businesses in Meeker and Rangely this year. The local chambers of commerce sell Chamber Bucks, selling approximately $27,000 in 2017, which will produce more than $18,000 in community impact this year alone. The Town of Rangely proudly administers their “Shop and Dine” program during the month of November, with this year exceeding $8,000 in local business vouchers being spent within the community, producing an overall impact of more than $80,000 in retail spend. The Rio Blanco Herald Times hosts their “Shop At Home for the Holidays” campaign, and their investment of $500 produces an additional $340 being reinvested in our local businesses.
According to ABC news, the average American will spend $700 on holiday expenses this year, and if Rio Blanco County residents would consider the model of “Shift 10,” which encourages patrons to shift 10 percent of their shopping to local retailers, this would result in $70 of holiday shopping being done locally per household, resulting in a 44 percent increase in sales tax collection when compared to 2016 totals.
So, as you finish up your last minute Christmas shopping, and as we look at our financial spending plans and budgets for 2018, I would encourage you to think of ways to shift your 10 percent. The impact to the communities we love will be great!

Sources:
https://www.amiba.net/resources/multiplier-effect/
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/mailform?id=14998335 ; https://shift10day.com/

Katelin Cook

Katelin Cook is the Director of Economic Development for Rio Blanco County.

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  • Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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  • It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line. The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale. Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch. See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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