Keeping retail dollars local is topic of June chamber luncheon

Speaking to a chamber of commerce about the importance of shopping local may seem like preaching to the choir, but Melissa Warnke of Alabama Retail Association (ARA) says it’s key to help local retailers formulate a message to keep money in their own community. 

Warnke will be this month’s speaker at the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon, sponsored by ServPro, on Thursday, June 20, at the Trussville Civic Center. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. 

“People don’t realize how many people work in the retail industry and what an important  economic engine it is for the state,” said Warnke, ARA’s manager of communications and engagement.

The Alabama Retail Association says retail is Alabama’s fifth-highest producing industry, accounting for 9.5 percent of the state’s gross domestic product, an estimated $19 billion. 

She plans to share information and signage for the “Shop Alabama” campaign with attendees but will also invite chamber members to participate in a photo op for the ARA’s new “Retail Opens Doors” campaign, which will launch later this summer. She sees local chambers as a way to engage local business leaders to help “carry the flag” about shopping locally.

“We want people to shop in their own communities to keep their tax base strong, whether that’s locally owned or a big box store,” Warnke said. “Our communities are kind of a living, breathing being. When we spend our money locally, it circulates in the community like a life blood.”

She says the “Retail Opens Doors” initiative will touch on job opportunities, businesses expansion or revitalization and ways to engage with the community through fundraising. 

“You don’t see dot-com on the back of a little league jersey. It’s the local businesses that support what is important to us in the community,” she added.

ARA serves as a lobbying group to the state Legislature and U.S. Congress on behalf of Alabama’s local retailers.

Warnke is a native of Cullman and earned her bachelor’s degree of mass communications from Auburn University. She worked at WFLA in Montgomery before joining ARA and currently serves as president-elect for the Public Relations Council of Alabama in Montgomery and is a committee chair for the Alabama Council of Association Executives. A mother of two, she is also involved in several other Montgomery-area leadership organizations. 

Cost for the luncheon is $17, with a processing fee for credit card payments. Online registration is closed at midnight on Monday, May 13, but the Chamber office will accept registration by phone until noon Tuesday, June 18. All non-members must pay in advance. 

To register, visit trussvillechamber.com or contact June Mathews by phone at 655-7535 or email june.mathews@trussvillechamber.com. 

Also happening this month is the 12th annual Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament on June 13.