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| Local First Arizona |
Local First Arizona's goal is simple: Make Arizona a better place by supporting local businesses and building vibrant communities that residents are proud to call home.
Local First Arizona (LFA) is a statewide non-profit organization working to strengthen communities and local economies through growing, supporting, and celebrating locally owned businesses throughout the state of Arizona. LFA is currently the largest organization of its kind in the country with nearly 2,500 members and is a proud member of the Business Alliance of Local Living Economies (BALLE), where our director, Kimber Lanning, serves on the Board of Directors.
Founded in 2003, Stinkweeds owner, Kimber Lanning, along with Cindy Dach of Changing Hands Bookstore and Michael Monti of Monti’s La Casa Vieja began meeting to formulate a strategy to level the playing field for locally owned businesses, and to find a better way to link the locals together.
Lanning emerged as the Executive Director in late 2005. A board of directors was formed with several local business owners and leaders including Dach, Tod Mettler of Duck and Decanter, Howard Fleishmann of Community Tire and Auto, Stacy Bertinelli of NPR Radio, Jeff Williamson of the Phoenix Zoo, and Clint Hickman of Hickman’s Family Farms. This group met monthly at the Duck and Decanter on 16th Street and began to build a following.
They educate consumers, stakeholders, business leaders, and policymakers about the significant economic, civic, and cultural benefits of strong local economies. WThey build vibrant communities that make residents proud to call Arizona home. And when people are proud of their hometown, they tend to care more, to volunteer more, to vote more, and give more. They even cheer a little louder when the home team wins!
Consumers have grown leery of the false sense of savings promised by national chain stores and are becoming acutely aware of the homogenization of our communities. As a result, an explosion of sorts is occurring in Arizona and elsewhere as people look to define a sense of place, community, and quality of life for their families and their futures.
Studies have shown that money stays and re-circulates more often when spent at locally owned businesses. In addition, local businesses help increase home town pride which makes folks more connected to the place they live. And a recent Knight Foundation study showed “connection to place” as the single most leading indicator in places experiencing prosperity across a broad spectrum. At Local First Arizona, they want to build prosperity for all.
MI Printing is a proud member of Local First Arizona.
Do you need help with your next print advertising – coupon or brochure? Call MI Printing 623.582.1302 and lets us be your local resource.
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