by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
A series of six videos have been posted on the Sartell Facebook page featuring businesses in the city, all of them with the hopes that people will shop locally – not just during holidays but all-year ‘round.
The Shop Local, Shop Sartell effort is going well, according to Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum, who told the City Council at its last meeting that the first four videos have been well received, with many people viewing them on the city’s website.
The businesses featured so far are Hardware Hank, Daylily Spa and Salon, The Pantry, Near and North, and Great River Bowl and Partners Pub.
Fitzthum is the subject of a video that introduces Facebook viewers to the business videos.
Recorded at the Sartell Community Center, Fitzthum urges viewers to “rally round and support the local businesses in Sartell. Those businesses, he said, support local residents in many ways and help the city thrive. Spending dollars locally is an ideal way to make Sartell stronger, Fitzthum notes in the video.
Studies have shown that supporting local businesses is a win-win for everyone in a city because those businesses provide jobs, strengthen the tax base, bring a vibrant sense of commerce and “culture” to the area and host or fund many forms of “give backs” to the community, such as supporting local sports teams, which Fitzthum pointed out in his video.
As of Dec. 17, four of the videos have been created and posted on the Sartell Facebook. More will follow. The videos feature comments by business owners and the kinds of goods and services their businesses offer.
Shopping local is a good way of “supporting your neighbors,” said Fitzthum.
