Second Round January Winners Announced

The second round January winner in the Think Monroe County First! "Super Consumer" drawing is Tom Marcheski. His winning ticket was drawn for a purchase at Sears of Waterloo. His prize is a $100 MasterCard gift card donated by State Bank of Waterloo.

The next winner will been drawn and will be announced on February 9th. That winner will receive a $100 Visa Gift Card donated by First National Bank of Waterloo. The second February winner will receive their choice of lamps (valued up to $125.00) donated by Harres Appliance & Furniture of Columbia.

In March, consumers will be earning chances to win a V-Tech 6.0 Four Handset Cordless Phone with Digital Answering System valued at $129.95 or a "Taste of Monroe County" gift basket including gift certificates and goodies from various businesses around Monroe County (valued at approximately $130.00) donated by Reliable Sanitation of Waterloo.

No Cape, But Heller is January's First 'Super Consumer'

The January winner in the Think Monroe County First! "Super Consumer" drawing is Clyde Heller. His winning ticket was drawn for his purchase at Sears of Waterloo. The prize is a 204-piece Craftsman Mechanics Tool Set (valued at $199.99) donated by Sears of Waterloo. The next winner has been drawn and will be announced on January 23rd.

Watch your local newspapers--the Monroe County Clarion, Monroe County Independent and The Republic-Times--for coverage on winners as well as the next "Conscious Consumer" feature.

There will be two winners drawn again in February. Consumers will be entering for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card donated by First National Bank of Waterloo or choice of lamps (valued up to $125.00) donated by Harres Furniture of Columbia.

First 'Super Consumer' Feted

Karen Huffman was named Monroe County’s first “Super Consumer” in the Think Monroe County First! campaign. Huffman’s name was drawn by Bob Ripplemeyer at the Monroe County Courthouse on December 9th for her purchase at Clark’s Country Oaks in Waterloo. Her prize was four tickets to the December 19th Amy Grant and Vince Gill Christmas Concert at Scotts Trade Center (donated by The Republic Times) and a $50 gift certificate to Gallagher’s Restaurant in Waterloo (donated by Action Graphics & Signs).

The next drawing will be held January 10th for a 204-piece Craftsman Mechanics Tool set valued at $199.99 (donated by Sears in Waterloo). Entry forms are available at participating businesses throughout Monroe County. Don’t forget to ask local businesses for an entry forms when patronizing them!

Also named last week were the latest consumers in Monroe County to take the “pledge” in support of local business. Those who took the pledge acknowledged their commitment to “Think Monroe County First” in areas of purchasing and securing goods and services.

Taking the pledge were First National Bank of Waterloo; Chuck Pittman State Farm Insurance; Mike Kovarik County Commissioner, Sears of Waterloo; Action Graphics & Signs, Inc; and the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce. In addition, the cities of Waterloo and Columbia adopted resolutions to support the program and its message.

'Think Monroe County First'

If every household in Monroe County spends an additional $3.50 per day that they are currently spending outside of the county, local business sales will increase by more than $18.5 million per year. That's the basis for "Think Monroe County First!"--our campaign's goal is to educate local consumers about the real and valuable benefits of spending first in their home county.

Our household goal is $3.50 per day, per household—a couple of sodas, a really good cup of coffee, a gallon or two of gas. If we can increase that to $50 per week per household, then the total will rise to almost $40 million per year in increased sales (about $64,000 per business).

Local businesses support our community through employment, sales and property taxes, community service contributions, donations, and more. Every dollar that Monroe County consumers spend locally casts a vote in favor of the future of our community.Local business owners live in our community, care about our community, and invest in our community. Studies show that 40 cents of every dollar spent locally has local benefits. These dollars finance our local quality of life, making every local purchase a good investment in our community.

Here's another reason to "think Monroe County first"--each month, customers who participate in the campaign will be entered into a drawing by the local merchants they patronize. The first drawing is for four tickets to Christmas with Amy Grant & Vince Gill in St. Louis on December 19th plus dinner at Gallagher's (courtesy of The Republic Times & Action Graphics).

Now You Find It!--and Share What You Find...

Since June, this blog has found interesting businesses throughout Monroe County and posted information about them to the site. Now it's your turn to--

• Find new businesses that haven't been profiled yet and post the information here, or
• Tell us what you think of businesses that have been profiled here

It's easy--just click on "Comments" at the end of any post, then enter your information in the box that appears.

And please join the "Think Monroe County First!" campaign, a local effort that encourages consumers to be smart with their purchases and to patronize the local businesses that we have been finding all over Monroe County.