It is really pretty amazing how far we have come in about four months of actively trying to ignite this movement. Thanks to John Rogers and our intrepid intern, Lauren Ray, we are now a corporation. We have an address and a PO Box, we have a bank account, we have preliminary Bylaws and a skeleton of a Board and officers. Thanks to David Downing, we have a working logo, we have reserved a URL (www.barrencountybounty.com) and we are in the process of designing a real web site, stationary,etc. We even have some preliminary funding worked out from the EPB and TVA. Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. is for real!
Lauren has a pretty long list of "next things to do" in order for us to start making progress on our first projects which will begin to impact our local economy and our desire to enhance the quality of life here in Barren County. Now is the time when we need to double-down on our efforts to have a semi-permanent year-round retail place for local producers to sell their products to local consumers, and to arrange for garden plots to be available on public lands this growing season.
Something else that might interest readers of this blog is the upcoming 2009 Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference and Trade Show. For some reason I woke up early this morning and heard a news story on this on WCLU. After a bit of web research, I discovered this link to information about the conference and the Kentucky Farmers' Market Association. I have made arrangements for Lauren to attend the conference so she can network with the association and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture folks. I am sure she would love to have some other SG members come too! Check out the link and plan to attend if you can.
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Congrats to all who are working on this concept. It is clearly the most important issue we can focus our efforts and no better time than now.
I too am promoting buying locally through my column and have at a lessor degree for many years. offering my personal and business services to promote the goal of promoting buying local.
I have ended my column with "Together We Grow" since 1998. But more than that is is my desire to help sustain the business friends who have helped me and my company grow since that time.
I honestly believe that no President will solve our problems here in Barren County. And certainly not our Governor. I know in my heart that if we can encourage all of us to look for ways to give business to our own we will make it through this crises.
Business I refer to is everything. From big purchases to the absolute smallest. Food, services, supplies for business, and everything.
But businesses MUST work with that in mind. I will be writing about this concept I call the "Key West" plan. I lived there for 10 months when was with the corporate staff of Thomson Newspapers. The local businesses there had a membership card that said - Will beat or match prices... This no kidding was for everything. As a tourist a cup of coffee would cost $2, but with the card as a local it would cost .85 cents. This can work for government as well if we unite. I remember in Butler Co. the city raising water rates significantly one year. It was not too bad for average businesses but for the only car wash in town it was major. Our costs to wast cars were going to go up significantly. He would close. So, we went to the council with other business members and said WE DID NOT CARE IF HE GOT A LOWER RATE. We saved that business and nobody had a problem helping our own..
So many times we in business get the government focus of having to give the same prices to everyone. We do not. We can honestly help our own. Give great prices to those who own businesses, those who live here, or those who committ to helping us all by "Sustaining Glasgow."
The first thing a company does when the climate is tough is get on the phone and start price shopping. I get it all the time. What I often do is say to a local person, "Show me what you are paying and I will do my best to beat it or at least find a way to match it." I can not compete with major out of town businesses on some printing jobs, but if you consider that I deliver it free, will design it free, and that what you pay me goes to helping pay for 65 local employees, would it not be a savings for us all to give the business even if it is matched?
I believe we should promote it everybit as much as our friends in the Cattlemen's association does. Make it known that we are members of Sustainable Glasgow.
Well, I could write forever. I do have passion for what you do as I am doing it already here in my company.
Let me know how you could use such a person and I am as my friend Don Baker says, "All In."..
Jeff Jobe
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