… Plus, they’re our friends and neighbors!

I love the Internet. I can’t, literally can’t, remember a day when I actually had to pick up a phone book to find a number or an address. We are so mobile and connected that I started reading “Black Friday” blog posts a week ago as retailers announced the deals that would be waiting for us at 3, 4 & 5 a.m. Along with those strategically “leaked” secret sales, I also have been getting tons of emails encouraging me to avoid the lines and stay in my pj’s as sales go cyber on Friday at midnight.

So, because I’m sure that those of you who may actually read this blog post are also receiving that email propaganda, I thought I’d offer some propaganda of my own! I really don’t have anything new or witty to say, just

SHOP LOCAL!

Your purchases in stores around Lakeland support our tax base, employ our friends and neighbors, and save you shipping costs. Local businesses- small businesses- are the backbone of any community. Entrepreneurship fuels innovation, innovation fuels our success as a community.

Purchase made online, while convenient, are mostly out of state. That means that they don’t really help us pay for our roads, police force, fire department, schools, salaries… You know, silly little things like that. In the long run, my belief is that saving 10% on a purchase online isn’t worth the expense of our city and county budgets falling short of tax revenues.

So, when you contemplate this Friday’s shopping plans, please remember our wonderful local shops & our Chamber members. You can visit the Chamber’s online membership directory to find specialty retailers, gift shops and more!

Comment here to share your favorite shops with our readers!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Announcements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.