Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1488721
Before you click the "proceed to checkout" buon on Amazon one more time, imagine for just a moment what your town would look like without its small businesses. e cozy coffee shop on the corner with the espresso that knocks the socks off Starbucks any day; the clothing store your best friend from high school took over when his dad retired; the candy store where the sweetness of childhood memories is held inside each colorful wrapper; the antique shop that houses the beautiful history and enchantment of years gone by; the charming boutique hotel your aunt restored to its grandiose charm of the late 1800s. Without a doubt, these local shops and their vested keepers are the bread and buer of our economy. ey're rooted in the landscape and reflect the culture and needs of the people who live there. ey are the lile league supporters, the soccer team sponsors, the gi basket donors, and the charity-drive volunteers –they are the backbone that holds the community together. If we lose that support, we lose any chance of championing causes near and dear to our hearts at the local level. It's time to 'Stop, ink, and Buy Local.' According to Score.org, small businesses donate 250% more than large businesses to community causes. I've served on multiple boards over the years and have been on the asking end for donations one or three hundred times, and the ones who step up and deliver are always the small business owners. e big box conglomerates donate to national causes, but very lile is done at the local level. We at Signature MT Magazine are fighting for small businesses by launching our 'Spirit of Community, Support Local' campaign. To ignite the passion for this movement and keep our money circulating locally, we must convince everyone we know to join us, not just now but from now on, and ask one simple question: 'Can I Get it Locally?' en brag, boast, tweet, share, and shout it from the rooops. Be the voice and tell everyone you know to do the same. Together, we become a force that collectively becomes a viral sensation… more than ever, they and YOU are needed. Let's do this! In this issue of Signature MT, we visit with small business visionaries who share one unifying quality: a passion for what they do. Saddle and leather crasman Charley Hanson recalls his years of leatherwork crafting chaps, chinks, belts, rifle slings, handbags, and more for cowboys, rodeo competitors, and everyday equestrians. Personal Trainer, Jeff Spurgeon, is back under the Big Sky aer relocating his business from Portland, Oregon, to the Electric City. Jeff shares his passion for fitness and the motivation behind helping others. We head up to Showdown Ski Area, where the entrepreneurial mother-daughter duo, Katie Boedecker and Avery Patrick, share a passion for business and growth… a dichotomy proving to be a recipe for success. And, even before Lucille Ball shoved that first chocolate in her mouth on the iconic candy factory episode of "I Love Lucy," we've had an undeniable sweet tooth. Luckily, in Montana, there is no shortage of sugar shacks. We take a peek inside five candy stores that immediately whisk you back to a nostalgic time when spare change clutched in a sweaty lile palm could buy lots of happiness. is is a teasing taste of what awaits in this issue of Signature MT Magazine. Grab a winter warmer and cozy on up to the fire. You have some reading to do. May the New Year bring you happiness, peace, and prosperity. And remember, if opportunity doesn't knock, build a door! God's blessings to all! 10 | SIGNATURE MONTANA SIGNATURE MONTANA | EDITOR'S LETTER Can I Get it Locally? Hayley Lenington-Leray, Editor hleray@winston-publishing.com