Tales of a Locavore: What's in a New Year?
by Ajax Greene
Re>Think Local just celebrated its one-year
mark at a wonderful event at the Falcon in Marlboro. We are so excited by what
we have accomplished this year.
In their remarks at the anniversary event board
co-chairs Jennifer Schwartz Berky and Scott Tillitt talked about our three
areas of focus: community building, programs and education.
Let’s start with education. We started off in
January 2013 with our first educational talk on what it means to be a certified
B Corporation or a New York State benefit corporation—or for some of us, both. Many
view this as the future of business, us included. We believe in good companies,
not just good marketing. Stay tuned for more on this important long-term trend that
will affect you and your business.
In February we were blown away by the
response from both speakers and audience when we held our Creative Placemaking
session at Arts Society of Kingston. Not even the speakers knew about all the
good work happening regionally. To me this was proof of the importance of a
regional organization connecting (not reinventing) the great work that is
happening throughout the Hudson Valley. The ripples and connections made at
that meeting were still manifesting as I write this and will definitely extend
into 2014 and beyond.
In March we had a fantastic panel on
community building online through social media. In June we participated in a
sold-out inspiring TEDxLongDock conference that Re>Think Local helped
produce.
In July we hosted Judy Wicks, the “BALLE Mama,”
widely considered the founder of the Localist/Think Local First movement. We
have been pleased to be able to offer such nationally known speakers and world-class
content here in the Hudson Valley.
Our monthly networking events, what we call Re>MIXes,
have been held at Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville, Terrapin in Rhinebeck, Poughkeepsie’s
Bull & Buddha; Tousey Winery in Germantown, and Fruition Chocolate in
Shokan. And let’s not forget the memorable sail on the Sloop Clearwater. We get
around! (We promise we’re not changing our name to Re>Drink Local!) Having
heard from countless participants, I can say with confidence that our Re>MIXes
rock. The people are friendly, down-to-earth, up for a “real” conversation, and
movers and shakers who are making good things happen for themselves right here
in the Hudson Valley. If you are a like-minded business interested in hosting
an event, contact us.
One of the things we are most excited about
is that terms like Localism, triple bottom line, social enterprise, and many
more that were rarely uttered two years ago in the Hudson Valley are now
becoming much more common in their usage and understanding. It is through a
real and deeper understanding that the positive benefits of the Localist New
Economy will be most widely felt.
One of the lessons of this year has been that
real, lasting community building takes time. Our strong and clear vision to co-create
an economy that is vibrant, sustainable, locally rooted and human scale with
equal concern for people, planet and profit by connecting, educating and advocating
has really resonated. We have more than 100 members with hundreds more getting
our newsletter and Facebook posts as well as the hundreds of folks who have
attended our events. Re>Think Local understands that not everyone is an
early adopter. The good news is more and more folks are seeing the benefits to
themselves and their community of being a connected Localist.
What does the future hold? More networking and
more events, for sure. And more education. There is such a wealth of knowledge
that currently exists on how to be a successful triple bottom line business.
(Follow our Facebook page: It’s a massive resource of New Economy knowledge
with more being added every day.) We will expand on the concept of building
blocks of a local living economy. Our wellness conference was our first effort
at this kind of business sector focus. Look for more sectors to be visited in
the coming years. (If your group—Rotary, BNI or social club—is looking for
outstanding speakers for your 2014 calendar we’re happy to help.)
Our biggest initiative just now commencing is
our GO LOCAL Hudson Valley campaign, focused on shifting how we collectively
spend our dollars. If we shift our spending by just 10% it will put millions of
dollars into increased circulation in the Hudson Valley, thus creating
thousands of new jobs.
We have a lot to be thankful for…and a lot to
look forward to in the coming year.
One final thing for Re>Think Local members:
remember that one of your many member benefits is a free business advisory
session with a seasoned triple bottom line expert. Start the year off right
with a brainstorming session to get you revved up and going on the right track.
Posted by Chris Hewitt
on 5:12 PM.
Filed under
Feature,
Rethink Local
.
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