For Trisha Dooling winning a 42-inch television was nice.
But Dooling said the real reward for taking part in the Shop Local campaign was getting to know local merchants and helping Laurinburg’s economy thrive.
Dooling won the flat screen TV after her name was drawn recently from among those entered in the contest to increase business at local shops.
“It started out as a friendly competition between friends,” Dooling said. “We wanted to see who could fill our carts the most. But it quickly woke my consumer eyes up to the fact that there are a lot of great places here to shop and that I don’t have to go out of the county to find what I’m looking for.”
The Shop Local campaign was initiated by the Laurinburg-Scotland County Chamber of Commerce. Shoppers were given game boards featuring more than two dozen local businesses. Participating merchants put Shop Local signs in their windows.
When consumers made a purchase at a participating business, they received a stamp to place on the game board. It took 10 stamps to complete a game board. Completed game boards went into a box at the chamber.
The winner was determined by a drawing and the grand prize was donated by Barringer’s Inc. (Ned’s). The campaign began in November and ran through Dec. 17.
“We were excited to take part,” said Michael Lee of Ned’s Pawn. “It has gone very well.”
Chamber President Tonia Stephenson said the campaign went “extremely well.”
“Our goal was get people out and shopping in Scotland County,” Stephenson said. “We have more $37 million in sales leaking out of the county. If that money were to remain here that $37 million would equate to a lot of jobs.”
Dooling agreed.
“If each of us made a choice to make one purchase in the county, we could really make an impact,” she said.
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