Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Vote Local with your Dollars

It is the Season to Vote and we as citizens of this great Country are so lucky to have this freedom. As a huge proponent of “Try Local First” I always like to remind folks that each day you get a chance to vote with your dollars. Spending money with local businesses and at local “Farmer’s Markets” makes such a huge difference in our local economy and enhances public services such as fire and police thru increased funding.

In our schools for instance, this week we were fortunate enough to present Centennial High School with a check for a little over $4,000 from Ford Motor Company from our “Drive One 4 UR School” Event. We are just one of many local businesses that provide funds to local schools and non-profits. The Gresham Barlow Education Foundation this week provided over $4,000 to Powell Valley Elementary for nine Chrome Books and other related technology products. Much of the funds from these grants come from local businesses which, at the end of the day, rely on local customers. When you shop local, you support local!
Drive 4 UR School at Gresham Ford

On another voting matter, we as an industry (automotive), are in desperate need of qualified trained service personnel to meet the demands of the technology of this century’s vehicles. The proposed construction via the current bond measure for Mt. Hood Community College will accomplish this for our industry and provide training for other skills so young people in our community will have livable wage jobs. This is a good thing!