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11/25/2015 07:30 AMSo you’ve decided to shop local for the holidays, but can’t decide on the right gift? Shoreline Chamber of Commerce President Ed Lazarus has the answer: Give the Chamber’s Branford Bucks or Guilford Dollars.
The gift certificates, redeemable at a large number of member businesses, offer a new take on holiday gift giving. They can be used just like cash to make purchases from participating commerce including wine and spirits shops, breweries, fitness centers, galleries, florists, and a wide number of restaurants and specialty retail stores.
Think outside the gift box, too: These “bucks” and “dollars” are also good for local services stretching from pet care, childcare, cleaning and auto repair to the likes of beauty and skin salons and more—photography sessions, pharmacy purchases, hardware and home improvement, and even computer sales and service centers are among a slew of choices.
Branford Bucks and Guilford Dollars don’t expire, and the long list of participating Chamber businesses in each town is ever-growing. The most up-to-date list is provided with every certificate purchase, which can be made by visiting Shoreline Chamber of Commerce at its Boston Post Road offices near the Branford-Guilford town line (764 East Main Street in Branford).
“We get lot of people who buy Branford Bucks or Guilford Dollars as holiday gifts,” says Ed. “It’s a great gift because it gives the person the opportunity to buy what they want, where they want, and at the same time it’s supporting a local business.”
The Chamber’s also promoting holiday shopping on the shoreline as part of Shop Small Saturday, set for Saturday, Nov. 28. The national push to support local businesses during the season’s shopping kick-off grew from an American Express campaign launched several years ago to encourage shoppers to head into their hometown businesses on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving.
No matter what day of the year someone chooses to shop locally or use a local business, 68 cents of every dollar spent locally stays in the community, in more ways than one, Ed points out.
“There’s a multiplier factor,” he says, such as, “Local businesses are employing a lot of local people, so to support our local businesses enables us to maintain our workforce.”
And then there are services other local businesses provide to keep local commerce in play, from printing to advertising and delivering packages to delivering lunch, Ed notes.
“So there are also other local businesses that are somewhat dependent of the success of those businesses you’ve supported locally. It’s as simple as buying local, but at the same time, it has an exponential impact.”
Ed was hired to lead the former Branford Chamber of Commerce in 2007. He arrived following a 28-year managerial career among three universities. Ed’s last post was at Post University in Waterbury serving as senior vice president and vice president for Student Services.
The Shoreline Chamber is an alliance of the former Branford and Guilford chambers, following a merger decision voted in by members of both chambers in January 2014. In addition to overseeing all things involving the Shoreline Chamber, Ed participates with many local committees and boards, such as the Branford and Guilford Economic Development committees.
As a not-for-profit, the Chamber takes in membership fees to help run the organization. Part of Ed’s job is to ensure the Chamber maintains an exemplary, fiscally responsible business model.
“We budget for break-even budgeting, so everything we take in ultimately goes back into membership programming,” he says.
Among its goals, the Chamber’s dedicated to helping members market their business, network, gain professional and personal development, become a vital part of their community, and have advocacy on important government issues.
With just three full-time and one part-time staffer covering Branford and Guilford, volunteers stepping up from the membership are vital to help put on programs and events. The Chamber is exceptionally lucky in that those who volunteer bring a wide variety of professional experience and plenty of talent to the table.
“We’re really fortunate to have a tremendous staff, but we could not exist without our volunteers, and we’re fortunate to have a really outstanding stable of volunteers,” says Ed.
As its latest campaign attests, Shoreline Chamber is working to remind residents to “be loyal to local.” Currently 600 members strong, the Chamber supports commerce in both towns. Its roster also draws members from outside towns interested in serving the shoreline market, including businesses in North Branford, Madison, Wallingford, and New Haven. In addition to a wide range of local commerce, merchants, restaurants, and other service providers, the Chamber’s membership also includes several non-profits and large corporations.
“Our constituency is pretty diverse,” says Ed. “We run the gamut from the Branford Land Trust, which has no employees, to Walmart, which is a traditional big box program. We’re running a whole ‘Be Loyal to Local’ campaign, but you’re not going to be hearing us say, ‘Don’t shop at Walmart,’ because they’re part of our constituency.”
Recognizing the Chamber serves different subsets within its constituency base led Ed to reorganize the structure and programming of then-Branford Chamber of Commerce.
“I thought the Chamber, back then, had it backwards,” he says frankly. “The goal is not for members to have to figure out whether a standard committee or program meets their needs. We had to figure out what their needs were, and provide for those needs.”
Ed also signed on to lead the Chamber just as the start of the recession was looming.
“Was there a recession?” he jokes, adding, on a serious note, “It was a very challenging time, and some would argue we really haven’t come out of the recession. But in times like that, we needed to rethink and re-look at our business model, and we changed the model to better meet the needs of our various constituencies.”
The model works well for the Shoreline Chamber and includes programs such as the ongoing Women in Business, Non-Profit Council, and newly organized Young Professionals Network.
The Chamber is also known for hosting local candidate debates and forums and programs like the annual Legislative Breakfast, to bring state lawmakers together to share updates and hear from constituents. It’s also continued organizing community-based events, such as the long-running annual Craft and Community Expo at Branford Festival, and exciting new staples like Branford’s Chili Challenge for a Cause, Guilford’s Chowder Challenge for a Cause, and Dancing with the Stars. The Chamber is also credited with reviving a Guilford favorite, Taste the Shoreline.
“I’m very proud of the fact we brought Taste of Shoreline back to Guilford after an absence, and it was very successful,” Ed says. “We’ve made a commitment to both communities so that everything we’re doing is designed to drive business back to our businesses.”
Shoreline Chamber events also help make these communities more vibrant places for residents and businesses. Such community involvement is another part of the Chamber’s mission, Ed notes.
“Part of what the Chamber does is to be a mechanism to give back to the community in a way that makes the community better, and better to do business in,” he says.
To learn more about Shoreline Chamber of Commerce or its Branford Bucks and Guilford Dollars programs, visit www.shorelinechamberct.com or call 203-488-5500.