And The Bells Will Toll No More

Anyone who has ever lived near a church knows when a service is about to start. Those wonderful, chiming bells singing their songs of praise, while calling the congregation to worship, tell them. This weekend another set of bells along the shores of the Hudson River will chime for the last time. St. Patrick’s RC Church will celebrate the final mass for their congregation this Sunday, June 27th beginning at 10:30 am. There will be no singing bells in Uptown next weekend.

Hundreds are expected to attend the final mass, many traveling from out of town to do so. The psyche of practical Catholics throughout the Capital District has been jarred and the effect that this latest rash of church closings is having on that community is immeasurable. For many, the world as they knew it has ended. Each must find a new home of worship and a new community to worship with.

The impact of St. Patrick’s glorious doors closing for the final time is yet to be seen. For sure, it’s closing will have on effect on the revitalization of Uptown Troy NY and Troy in general. The greatest architectural structure in Uptown will now be vacant, joining the far too many vacant buildings throughout the city. We didn’t need another one, especially this one. I’m sure gonna miss those bells.

Supporting a franchise is supporting a locally-owned business

BUY LOCAL FIRST was my motto long before it became a catch phrase. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a personal aversion to buying anything made in China. When shopping, I look at every tag to verify where the item was made and if it says made in China, I don’t buy it - PERIOD.  I haven't walked into a Walmart's in over 6 years and have never shopped at Target. I buy my groceries at Price Chopper because their corporate headquarters are in Rotterdam NY and that helps to feed my local economy. I seek out locally owned and operated businesses, including franchises, to purchase whatever I need both personally and professionally. Supporting a franchise is supporting a locally-owned business. A franchisee pays a royalty to a corporation for the right to operate their business using the corporate name. Franchisees pump more money into a local economy than small mom and pop stores do and are a vital economic driving force in a community. One local chamber of commerce doesn’t see it that way.

A chamber of commerce should support ALL businesses in their given area yet this chamber of commerce has elected to exclude local owners of franchises. Their marketeer has decided the catch phrase should be BUY LOCAL instead of BUY LOCAL FIRST and they are targeting locally owned non-franchise businesses to become members of their chamber. They are not accepting adveristing from franchisees and are barring them from participation in this new marketing campaign dupped the "Buy Local" Committee.  The hook: Become a member, advertise with us and you will be seen as an ethical local choice. They are implying that franchisee’s are unethical. As a direct result of this chamber’s current campaign, a good friend of mine was recently turned away by a prospect. My friend OWNS her franchise. She owns her home, sells her goods & spends her income in her community. If that doesn’t define local, what does?

I operate my business using the buy local first philosophy and that includes franchises.  When I am coordinating an event where a give-away is needed, a Capital District source is sought first.  If that proves unfruitful, sources within the State of New York will be researched along with USA based sources. And as much as I don’t like it, there are instances when a client’s budgetary constraints require sourcing overseas, since the cost of made in the USA products many times are higher than they can spend. When this is the case, I use a source based in Hauppage, NY. I’m STILL buying from a NYS based business - even if the product itself is manufactured overseas - and therefore still supporting my local economy.