Her prize was presented at the Spirit of Christmas celebration in downtown Gresham at the Center for the Arts Plaza on Saturday, Dec. 3rd.

Many Thanks to Our Giveaway Sponsors

Accents on Attitude
ICandy
Sizzler
Smiddys Carpet Cleaning
Abby’s Pizza
Rewind
Proforma Prosource
All Aout Kids
Free Spirit
Olympic Gym
Tails of Abbygail
Creative Vision Landscape
Of the Chart Games
Mt. Hood Lanes
The Outlook
Jamba Juice
Dickey’s Bar
Fab50Project

We care a great deal about our local economy and want it to prosper in good times and bad.

That is why we are giving away an East County Stimulus. It’s our very own stimulus package for East Multnomah County.

Entering is Easy

Simply visit Enter to Win page and either fill our our online entry form or download our paper entry form, and you’ll be entered. You can enter once a day.

It’s that easy!

Spread the Word

Help spread the word about our contest by sharing this post with your family and friends, so they too can learn more about TryLocalFirst.org.

The contest runs from June 15th – July 25th.

The program will be promoted to our previous thousands of contestants who entered to win our two “$1,000 Shopping Sprees” (one in the Fall of 2008 and one in 2009) and last summer’s “Discover East County Packages”.

It will also be promoted locally by all Coalition Members of Try Local First with information regarding the contest being promoted in local newspaper and on the Try Local First contest page as well as the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce website and other Coalition members websites.

The promotion will begin in mid June and entries will be accepted for 30 days. Winners will be selected based on the previously selected guidelines and presented at the Center for the Arts Plaza “Street Dance” event the last weekend of July.

Those businesses that contribute prizes to the “East County Stimulus Package” will be listed on the Try Local First website and those that contribute prizes with a retail value of $100 or more will receive a link to their website, if requested. They will also be mentioned in as many promotional materials and presentations as possible.

The goal of the contest is to promote East County businesses as well as local events that contribute to the economic well being of our community.

Shopping Spree Winner Gloria Smith with Try Local First's Bess Willis

Gloria Smith noticed the brightly green wrapped boxes in local stores last Christmas (2008) and she filled out a form and entered to win the local $1,000 Shopping Spree.

Then later on in the year she entered to win a Discover East County Package and when she heard the winners announced at the 4th of July Blue Lake Park Fireworks Event she did not hear her name but was impressed to see that yes someone did win and these Try Local First promotions were for real. So when she received the e-mail announcing the 2009 Shopping Spree Event she took the time to enter once again.

Life gets busy and Gloria was over halfway across the United States caring for a sister that was having eye surgery when she visited a local library to check her e-mail – yes, Gloria, there is a Santa Claus as what to her wondering eyes did appear an e-mail from Try Local First stating that she was the winner of the 2009 $1,000 Shopping Spree. Persistence does pay and a little good karma doesn’t hurt either.

Speaking of good karma and paying it forward, when asked what she intended to do with her Holiday Spree the first words out of her mouth were that she was going to her local Church and get some Angels off the tree – you see each Angel has a child’s name who needs a little something this Christmas and Gloria was happy to spend a portion of her $1,000 helping other less fortunate have a little brighter Christmas.

And, of course she intends to spend the entire $1,000 locally because she understands that will enable someone else to spend local and the circle of local economic health stays well and those locally in need are given assistance. Try Local First is truly a happy ending story that had no ending if we all make that extra effort to spend our resources in East County!

Try Local First is at it again.

We care a great deal about our local economy and want it to prosper in good times and bad.

That is why we are giving away a $1000 shopping spree to one lucky winner. It’s our very own stimulus package for East Multnomah County.

Entering is Easy

Simply visit our contest page and fill out the entry form on our “Enter to Win” page, and you’ll be entered. You can enter once a day.

The hard part will be deciding what to spend your $1000 shopping spree on.

Spread the Word

Help spread the word about our contest by forwarding this e-mail to your family and friends, so they too can learn more about Try Local First.

The contest runs from November 1st – 30th

Thanks to Our Sponsors

We want to thank our generous sponsors for their valuable commitment to Try Local First. They are a vital component of what Try Local First is all about, and we hope that you take a moment and visit their business to see what remarkable products and services they have to offer.

Thanks,

-The Try Local First Team

Hallie Exall is the winner of our Try Local First back to school essay contest for grades 7-12.

The Winning Essay

When shopping, I think of the benefits and drawbacks of where I choose to spend my money. I ask myself, “Is the pricing appropriate? Does it benefit the environment?” and “How will this stimulate the economy in my community?”

I live by Fairview Lane, so my family’s spending money is mostly dispersed among local, smaller businesses. This, in turn, helps East County because most of the money is kept in our community.

This benefits me, as well as others, because non-profit organizations (such as Relay for Life or the Salvation Army) have more money to reach out to those being affected by the organization’s cause.

Residents in our community benefit from local businesses by becoming employed. Environmentally, local businesses have less of an environmental footprint because they usually buy from local suppliers which saves them shipping money, while at the same time, saves the planet. Because they buy from local farmers, it helps and contributes to our local farmers. Consumers have healthier choices because our local farmers don’t use as many preservatives. They also save agricultural land, which therefore is less likely to be zoned in other ways.

With local businesses, come local business owners. They are more likely to stay, which keeps our community employed while stimulating our local economy. The more money we disperse locally, the safe our community. Our tax dollars turn into functioning police, fire and public services. The better function our services are, the safe and happier our community in East Multnomah County is.

Try Local First thanks all our contest entries for their their enthusiasm in supporting their local economy!

Bree Boertien is the winner of our Try Local First back to school essay contest for grades 1-6.

The Winning Essay

How To Save Gresham

You can help save Gresham by doing a lot. So, don’t take a long shower. We can use that water to water farms and fields.

Start shopping locally. My mom and I recycle and don’t waste water. Help farmers by not wasting water that can help water plants. This can help save our planet. Don’t drive too much. That pollutes our air. It can kill many animals.

Buy stuff in Gresham so people don’t lose their jobs, just like my mom, so you can help my mom get a job. Together, we can save our planet! And if you buy in Gresham and make it safer, then Gresham will be safer. Use the R’s Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Save our planet!

Try Local First thanks all our contest entries for their their enthusiasm in supporting their local economy!

What me and my family buy locally is food and new clothes but mostly food. You should not waste your money on dumb stuff like new earrings, toys, a lot of jewelry, clothes and new shoes. That’s very dumb. Once you have the money, you should buy stuff you absolutely need. Where me and my family mostly go to is Fred Meyers.

Andi Simons, Portland, 8th Grade

When you buy things from a local Gresham store or market, you are doing a lot more than just getting a good deal on corn and tomatoes, you are also helping the environment by saving gas, helping the economy by keeping the stores in business, and helping the local farmers who grow the foods in our area. A couple of years ago, my dad was saying our neighborhood was going dow hill, but then he realized he was doing nothing to help our community. Now, we buy as much as we can locally. We switched to using local doctors, neighborhood coffee shops, produce markets and clothing stores instead of going to the large shopping malls.

You can help the environment by shopping locall. When you go to stores close to where you live, you save gas by not going all the way to downtown to buy your favorite t-shirt.
If you keep supporting the stores and businesses around Gresham, you won’t see a bunch of empty buildings sitting there waiting to be tagged, and who wants to see that around their area?

Buying your clothing and grocers locally is an all-around good thing to do. It helps the environment, businesses and it helps you.

Christine Jacobsen, Troutdale, 12th Grade

When I was a little girl, there was nothing I loved more than to spend a day shopping downtown Gresham. I loved looking through the windows at the bright, colorful displays. I loved to go into the stores, seeing what treasures each one had. As I’ve grown up, I learned how shopping locally is not only an enjoyable experience, but it’s really important for our local economy.

Shopping locally helps to keep money circulating in our community. For example, a local business owner is likely to purchase things for their stores from other local businesses and other local service providers. Local businesses are also the largest supplier of jobs nationally, and in today’s economy, we can’t afford to lose anymore jobs.

Not only does shopping locally keep money in the community, it’s a lot of fun. Going shopping at local stores is a great experience. At local stores, items are unique and more personalized.

Shopping locally is great for the economy and it’s a great experience. As a little girl, I loved the local shopping experience. Now, I love the shopping experience as well as the fact that, through shopping, I can make my community a better place.

Try Local First thanks all our contest entries for their their enthusiasm in supporting their local economy!

I’m going to tell you some reasons to shop locally. First, it helps with pollution and gas money. It also saves time. Did you realize it saves a lot of jobs? If you want your city to look better, shop local.

If everyone does it, it will save the world. Sometimes my mom and I need milk, so instead of going clear to the grocery store, we run up to the 7-11. It’s about a half mile up the street. My mom and I also carpool a lot. So after you read my paper, I hope you shop locally.

Rachel Fasano, Gresham, 4th Grade

The Environment Needs Your Help

If you would like to cut down a tree you should plant another one somewhere else. If we all polluted, the water would get gross and there would be less fish for us to eat.

Driving closer helps not to waste gas. If we do waste gas and go farther away, global warming will continue to happen instead of slowing down. Driving in your own town for special occasions saves gas and the money stays in your town. You should spend money in your town so some of the storekeepers will buy things to make your town look good.

If we pick up litter, it will help your town look better. If you want to help the environment don’t pollute and rive in your own town.

Alexis Aspeland, Gresham, 4th Grade

Saving The Earth

In order to save the earth, we should shop locally. We may carpool or walk and ride our bikes to school.
In place of driving in a car all the way to Portland, we can drive minutes to downtown Gresham. We can also visit the local Farmers Market in Gresham. The fruit and vegetables are colorful, tasty and locally grown in Gresham’s soil. You save water by taking a short shower or climbing in the bathtub. The bath waters flows to streams and waters the fields. The water supports nature and saves billions of things if we just work together.

How about writing a letter to Mayor Bemis asking him if students can become involved in becoming green in Gresham Students can build animal habitats, make signs, design books and talk about how to shop locally so we can save our local economy.

It is so important that we all work together in the City of Gresham to help our local economy. Our city has many farms, streams, trees, hills and a special downtown area. Gresham is a healthy town to live in and shop locally.

Madison McBride, Gresham, 4th Grade

Fun At The Farmers Market

The Farmers Market is so much fun because there are so many things to see. There are fruits, veggies, flowers and so many colors and smells at the farmers market. Shop locally so that the money you spend goes back to Gresham. This would help local businesses like farms. Then we could create more jobs and the economy would not feel so bad after all. There would be more money for schools and kids would have more school supplies. There will be more parks and we could make more habitats for animals and places where kids can have fun. You can ride your bikes, scooters, and skateboards or you can carpool to the farmers markets so you can save gas and your money and you won’t destroy the atmosphere.

The farmers market is not far from Main City Park, so you could meet a friend at eh Farmers Market and buy picnic stuff because Main City Park is a great place to have a picnic on a sunny and warm day. During the summer, you can take your old books and exchange them for new ones at the Farmers Market. By trading the, you’re saving trees and animal habitats.

By going to the Farmers Market, you not only support local businesses but you can have fun and do something good for the environment.

Honor Hansen, Gresham, 4th Grade

A Better Community

Every Saturday we go to Winco. You should shop at a close store. Fresh food is local. It is very important to shop local. Food tastes better too.

People lose jobs if money from Gresham doesn’t come. We could have more colorful trees and parks. Nicer animal habitats too. Lots more pollution comes too.

Please shop locally.

Paige Stewart, Gresham 4th Grade

Why It’s Important To Shop Locally

It’s important to shop locally because you can ride your bike to the store and not pollute the earth. If you ride your bike to downtown Portland, how are you going to get everything home? You will probably be tired too.

Every Thursday, my mom and I go down to the Fairview Farmers Market. At the Farmers Market, there are fresh vegetables grown in Gresham.

But most important, the money you spend in Gresham stays in Gresham to help make Gresham more beautiful. That’s why it’s important to shop locally.

Zoe Yamaguchi, Portland, 1st Grade

Because what we do is buy locally, it helps our economy and you can get exercise. It makes us safer because local tax money and more people near the stores.

Try Local First thanks all our contest entries for their their enthusiasm in supporting their local economy!