PORT ALBERNI – The Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce is fully engaged in several local initiatives including the third year running of our very successful ‘Shop Local’ Program that we’ve rebranded as “Try Home First.”
The new brand simply asks the consumer to look around their home community first before heading to larger centers. Our program for 2015 includes nearly 60 local businesses who have each contributed a $100.00 gift certificate to the Chamber of Commerce who in turn have purchased a $25.00 one for each of the $100.00 ones received. Then over the first 24 days of December a Chamber representative will show up to these businesses, unannounced, and then await for a sales transaction to occur.
Once it does the representative will politely interrupt the transaction, identify themselves and offer to pay the first $25.00 of the purchase. They’ll then collect the name and contact information of the shopper and perhaps of other shoppers in the vicinity at the same time. Then in mid-January the Chamber will hold a random draw from the list of shoppers and from there we will draw names for the major prizing.
For 2015 we’ll have a grand prize of $2500.00 in local Port Alberni Gift Cards. The second prize winner will receive $1500.00 worth of local gift cards and the third prize winner will receive $1000.00! The remaining gift cards will be awarded out over the next few picks until all collected have been distributed.
The Chamber of Commerce will then invite one or more of the grand prize winners to speak at a coming Dinner Meeting as to what it means to him/her to support the local economy.
– Bill Collette is Executive Director of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at 250-724-6535 or bill@albernichamber.ca.
