Caribou Chamber notes

    Every now and again, I get the best mail. There never seems to be a plan, or a method to the madness that is a chamber of commerce. I enjoy the unexpected, and I would tell you (those of you tossing the "should I be a chamber person?" idea around in your heads), it's the unexpected people, phone calls, e-mails, and mail which make this a great place to be day in and day out.     I digress: this past week I received what I'd have characterized as quasi-junk/solicit-me-for-money newsletter: "The Chamber Executive Network." Aha, but no, I was wrong … while it was in fact a pitch to subscribe, it also was also full of fund-raising tidbits (the basis for this week’s article) and a campaign: Pick Three. Spend $50. Save stores. Chose three stores in your town, and decide to spend $50 a month at each!
    Historically chambers have embraced the "shop local" endeavors. We struggle to find new things, new ways to connect our members, and our businesses one to another. We try "chamber bucks," gift certificates, shopping sprees for special occasions (Midnight Madness etc), flyers, discount coupons, the list goes on. Inevitably the newest pitch gets old, and as we move forward, we forget why each one of them individually makes a difference!
    This is why, the CCC&I has signed up for the online newsletter, and we encourage all the businesses out there to do it too! Cindy Baxter, a former retailer, started the 3/50 Project as an offshoot of her "blogs" about stabilizing the economy. She launched the Web site www.the350project.net which is now gaining some momentum. Baxter estimates if half of just the employed population of the United States took this concept to heart, the revenue generated would be more than $40 billion on an annual basis: $40 billion. Not a number to be sneezed at.
    Applause is cheap, and we need to spend our money where our houses are: in our local economy. So, I've been thinking who I might pick for my three businesses (this is a bit more problematic for a chamber person … we do become very aware of being "caught at Walmart" or when the UPS man shows up with a box from Amazon, well you know, we skulk furtively from the car to the house: "did the neighbors see me?").
    We've talked about it in our offices, who would those local businesses be? Who is a part of our framework in the community? From yester-year we think of JC Penneys, LS Halls, Lupos, or JJ Newberry. Shopping patterns are habits, and habits are by our nature — things we do not want to change. More days than not, I find myself giving the young people in my office reasons why being cast in stone is a virtue, and not a vice. They look at me, unimpressed (OK my mother does, but that's her job. Regardless, whether you're in the virtue or vice category, think local with us, and consider those bricks and mortars our communities were founded upon, and commit to some period of time with us, spend your funds locally — on purpose.
    As we celebrate our city’s history, think about how depressing it would be for Renos, Burger Boy, or Houlton Dairy Farms to not be there (my stomach grumbles). Create a new habit, or maybe just tweak an "old" one, but let's do it consciously this year, and see what a difference we can make by shopping local: join us in the 3/50 project!
    Wendy Landes, MPA, is the executive director of the Caribou Chamber of Commerce & Industry. She can be reached in person at 24 Sweden Street, Suite 101; by telephone at 498-6156 or via e-mail at wlandes@cariboumaine.net.