Happy Holidays!

It’s hard to believe that my year a Vice president is ending already. It seems like it just started yesterday. December is here and the holiday shopping season is upon us. When you are planning your shopping trips, please remember to shop local whenever possible. Doing so will help keep our local economy going strong. Small businesses are the backbone to the local economy. Statistics show that for every dollar spent at a locally owned business, 68 cents stays in the local economy. That is a huge number. So when you shop at a locally owned business, you are not helping a corporate CEO fuel his or her company jet, or paying for their vacation home. When you shop local, you are helping one of your local citizens pay their mortgage, car payment, or for their children’s college education. Shopping local also allows the business owner to provide much needed jobs for our friends and neighbors. Keeping the money local also makes it available for the business owner to spend at your local business. So when you are getting ready to order that gift online, take a minute and think about whether or not you can purchase that gift at a local store to keep your money at home. It may take a few extra minutes, but it will be well worth the effort.

My year as vice president of the PBA has been a great year. We have had several very successful events. Looking forward to 2016, we need to keep the momentum going and work together to keep our local business community vibrant. One simple way we can do that is to shop local whenever possible.

I wish you and your families a safe and enjoyable holiday season!




Jerry Nicklow
Vice President