Shopping local urged

The Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce has started a campaign using the motto “Keep your town in business, by keeping your business in town” to encourage area residents to keep their Christmas spending local.
The Chamber has sent out posters to its members to hang in their store windows, staff rooms, and board rooms to spread the message: “Shop locally this holiday season.”
The posters were e-mailed out late last week, and are going to be put up around town.
“We are supporting our local merchants and businesses,” Chamber president Christine Denby said Friday.
“The idea behind our campaign goes beyond Christmas shopping with the idea of ‘Keep your town in business, by keeping your business in town,’” she added.
“Spending here in Fort Frances and the Rainy River District means that we are creating and maintaining employment and funding important services such as education, health care, and more,” Denby stressed.
“The other thing that I think is truly important is that it’s our local businesses, whether they sell TVs, cars, or insurance, who are a part of our community—they donate to kids’ sports, the hospital, the library, the arts, and help make our community a great place to work and live,” she noted.
“We can’t lose sight of our local merchants and businesses, and their importance to our community.”
Denby said she understands “the appeal to a trip away to shop.”
“But if we look around, Fort Frances and the Rainy River District really has a lot to offer that we should be proud of,” she stressed.