“Local-er” might not be an official word according to Webster’s Dictionary but it is something we strive for in this organization.  SSBN has been Thinking Local First since our inception, and we are headed into year four of our  “Think Local First” initiative this fall.  Recently, we remembered back to our past campaigns.  We involved Lancaster and York City in a hyper-local focus in our first year of the campaign.  In year two we collaborated on the Local Lumpkin scavenger hunt, with over seventy participating local businesses participating, and last year we promoted local sustainable business through downtown retail and special events and our Think Local First holiday gift tags and posters.  Our Mid-Summer Independents Week collaboration also brought local sustainable businesses into focus.

We are happy that others are joining us in defining local in Lancaster.  We like these ideas and the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce’s new campaign.   We are glad they are joining us and much of what they are doing resonates with our Think Local First efforts.  Their campaign is different from ours, of course.  But one of their pieces of literature suggests consumers begin to think locally when purchasing goods and services by asking themselves seven key questions.  We like their questions and could add several more to their list.  We hope you will join us to push it one step further like we have done since SSBN started.  We (still) Think Local First.  

We would also like to pause for a moment to dedicate this year’s campaign in memory of our friend John Svatek,  a long time champion of SSBN and Think Local First.  We miss you.