Like a yule log in a fireplace, the holiday season has kindled into full flame—whether we’re ready for it or not! All the twinkling lights, festively adorned trees and classic Christmas songs remind us of holiday traditions and treasured family memories.
Depending on how many Christmases have passed since your childhood, the holiday preparations and celebrations probably look different now than when you were a kid. With smart plugs and speakers, you can use your voice to turn on the tree lights or start a playlist of holiday tunes to accompany your family feast. The toys and gadgets that appear on children’s letters to Santa become more technologically advanced with every passing year, too.
Shopping for gifts can be as simple as scrolling and clicking a button. Although online shopping may be a convenient option, remembering to support local small businesses during the holiday season offers long-term benefits. Visiting local small businesses to buy gifts, holiday trimmings and food is an investment in your community. So is attending seasonal events and local entertainment venues.
“Concern for community” is one of the seven core cooperative principles, and Victory Electric’s commitment to community drives everything we do. That’s why it’s so important for Victory Electric to support small businesses in our service area and do what we can to help them thrive, not just during the holidays but all year.
Whether they’re located in small farming communities or micropolitan areas such as Dodge City, rural electric cooperatives throughout the country are engines of economic development that power our communities. We work with businesses, charitable organizations and civic groups to improve the quality of life in rural America. The downtown revitalization project, new construction and expansion projects that Victory Electric is involved with will help boost economic growth in the area.
Victory Electric serves members located in all or parts of Ford, Gray, Hodgeman, Finney, Clark, Haskell, Edwards, Kiowa and Meade counties. Many of the hundreds of local businesses in our coverage area are also cooperative members, and we are proud to support them. Our annual Co-ops Love Local giveaway recently wrapped up, and we enjoyed seeing how the 50 winners of $50 gift cards to 50 local businesses in Bucklin, Jetmore, Cimarron, Spearville, Copeland, Montezuma, Ford, Mullinville and Dodge City spent their winnings for date nights, dinner with the kids, or apparel and other retail purchases.
We appreciated the enthusiastic support members expressed when we asked them to recommend their favorite local businesses, and we hope you will continue to cheer on and support these businesses in various ways. Buy a gift card or a take-out meal. Meet up with a friend at a local coffee shop or restaurant. Leave a 5-star review and post on social media about positive experiences at your favorite local small businesses. Craft fairs, holiday markets and other community events also offer opportunities to support local artisans, home-based businesses and other entrepreneurs, further supporting the communities we all call home.
Think local and shop local—not just during the holiday season but throughout the coming year.
If you haven’t started decorating for the holidays yet, visit Victory Electric’s new holiday lighting tool at www.victoryelectric.net/energy-resources.