New Albany 1st, now somewhere in Asia -- but pendulums have a way of swinging.

As the screenshot illustrates, NA 1st's web site has fallen under Oriental control. The Facebook page offered a handful of updates in 2015, but overall, I think it's safe to say that the organization is moribund.

New Albany First is the only Independent Business Alliance that exists solely to support and promote independent business owners and to educate community members about the importance of buying locally in New Albany and Floyd County.

This isn't to be construed as criticism. Rather, it's about determination.

One of the recurring conundrums of such an organization is that it depends on the efforts of the very people who have the least time to pursue them. This ball was kept in the air for a long time, and mirroring the experiences of individuals resolving to quit smoking or lose weight, it sometimes requires multiple efforts amid changing circumstances.

The good news is that New Albany IndieFest, itself an offshoot of NA 1st, is building a board and seeking status as a 501(c)3. In my opinion, it may be possible eventually for roles to be reversed, and the indie biz ethos to be disseminated from IndieFest.

It also is conceivable that should Develop New Albany return to its original purpose as a National Main Street organization, its economic restructuring arm might function as indie advocate.

However, the very first necessary element is for independent business owners to grasp the utility of unity for a common purpose. Perhaps New Albany isn't unusual, though it seems that here, there is a perennial unwillingness to understand that independence is furthered through the strength of the collective, especially when the clout of the economic forces resisting independence is greater.

I'm an optimist, and believe unity will occur. Given the challenges on the horizon, let's hope "now" arrives soon.

The monthly merchant group meeting is Tuesday, January 19 at the Elks Lodge.

Learn about Indie Fest 2015, coming on Sunday, September 27.

Indie Fest returns on Sunday, September 27. As noted below, Indie Fest is the kickoff event for the first New Albany Independent Restaurant Week, which concludes on Saturday, October 3, with Biers on Parade -- also Harvest Homecoming Parade Day.

Here's the link to the New Albany Restaurant & Bar Association's press release. 

The point is this: If Harvest Homecoming is to be the community's focus from parade day forward, then we're trying to make New Albany's independent local business segment the focus for a week on the other side of Harvest Homecoming, beginning with Indie Fest on Sept. 27.

Below is what you need to know about sponsorships for Indie Fest. In my ideal world, Indie Fest revitalizes New Albany First, which then would include the New Albany Restaurant and Bar Association as a parallel arm. Of course, what must happen before any of this is an expansion of consciousness, and a willingness to work together toward common goals. Combined, locally-owned independent businesses possess potential clout far beyond what can be wielded individually.

We must unite to achieve it.

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Dear Business Owner,

You have poured your blood, sweat, and tears into making your business successful. You are an integral part of the movement that is making New Albany a destination and a thriving hub of commerce.

As a business owner you know how important it is to provide the community with attractions that pull people in from around the region to showcase the diversity New Albany has to offer. We are providing you the opportunity to be an essential part of a special celebration of all things local and independent. On Sunday, September 27, 2015 New Albany First will be hosting the Fourth Annual Indie Fest. This event will be held at the newly refurbished Underground Station in the 100 block of Bank Street in downtown New Albany.

Indie Fest is a wonderful display of the rich heritage of the arts in New Albany, and will showcase booths for merchants, artists, restaurants, and craftspeople. As in years past, our event will feature music from local musicians spanning all genres, playing throughout the day. Indie Fest is by no means just for adults, there has always, and will continue to be, an extensive kids area that includes a magician, a local musician with instruments for the kids to play, arts and crafts, and other kid friendly activities. This is truly a family event.

Indie Fest is New Albany’s end cap to an exciting summer music series. We are also excited to be part of the Grand Opening celebration for the Underground Station, and the kick-off event for NARBA’s independent restaurant and bar week.

A successful event like this would not happen without the help of our sponsors. We would love to showcase you and your business at Indie Fest. There are multiple sponsorship levels available to meet all budgets and all are absolutely vital to making this event possible.

Please join us as we celebrate New Albany. Help us make Indie Fest 2015 epic!


Sincerely,

Marcey Wisman-Bennett
Chairperson, New Albany Indie Fest, LLC

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Sponsorship Possibilities

Presenting Sponsor - $2,000
· First right of refusal for Presenting Sponsor for next two years at the same $2,000 rate
· Logo recognition on all promotional and advertising materials
· Logo and/or company name recognition in all Indie Fest public relations efforts
· Recognition on social networks
· hanging of a 4x6 blow through banner
· Opportunity to address the festival crowd during a specified time slot
· Opportunity to provide up to (4) additional 3’x10’ banners with company logo
· Reserved vendor booth space
· Opportunity to distribute coupons, special offers, sampling, conduct raffles and special promotions specifically for YOUR business. (Does not include signage other than the speaker banners.)
· Invitation to sit on the event planning committee!

Gold Sponsor - $1,000
· Logo recognition on all promotional and advertising materials
· Logo and/or company name recognition in all Indie Fest public relations efforts
· recognition on social networks
· Printing and hanging of a 2x6 banner in key locations near stage
· Verbally thanked on stage during the festival for your participation
· Reserved vendor booth space
· Opportunity to distribute coupons, special offers, sampling, conduct raffles and special promotions specifically for YOUR business. (Does not include signage other than the banner near stage.)

Silver Sponsor - $500
· Logo recognition on all promotional and advertising materials
· Logo and/or company name recognition in an Indie Fest public relations efforts
· Recognition on social networks
· Printing and hanging of a 2x6 banner in key locations near stage
· Verbally thanked on stage during the festival for your participation
· Reserved vendor boot space
· Opportunity to distribute coupons, special offers, sampling, conduct raffles and special promotions specifically for YOUR business. (Does not include signage other than the banner near stage.)

Bronze Sponsor - $150
· Logo recognition on all promotional and advertising materials
· Verbally thanked on stage during the festival for your participation
· Logo recognition on group 2x6 banner in front of stage

Banner Sponsor - $50
· Opportunity to provide up to 1 banner with company logo for staff to hang
· Logo recognition on all promotional and advertising materials

Make checks payable to:

New Albany Indie Fest, LLC.
1739 Houston St.
New Albany, IN 47150

Be there: New Albany First information session next Thursday, June 2.

There will be a New Albany First Information Session on Thursday, June 2 at 6:00 p.m. The session will be held at Earth Friends Cafe, which is located behind El Nopal at 3211 Grant Line Road.

Misson Statement: New Albany First! is a non-profit organization dedicated to the task of supporting locally owned independent businesses in New Albany. Education of and engaging the public, working with like-minded organizations, and partnering with locally owned independent businesses will help us reach a goal of creating a stronger, better New Albany both in terms of economic stability and sustainability.

NA First! Info session/membership drive this Thursday at River City Winery.

Needless to say, NABC will be coming on board at the $500 level. Now, let's turn it over to Andy Terrell for the details.

Hi everyone,

We appreciate all the patient questions about when we would be getting started. Well, we're ready. NA First! is now officially incorporated, a temporary board of directors is in place and we're ready to get to work for the locally-owned, independent busiensses of New Albany!

To that effect, we invite you to come down to the River City Winery this Thursday evening, April 28th, anytime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to meet with myself or members of the board of directors to get more information about what we plan to do and to let us get to know you and answer any questions you might have regarding New Albany First!

The temporary board of directors, put together by volunteers until an election can be held, are as follows:

Kate Caufield - President
Marcey Wisman - Vice President
Cisa Berry - Secretary/Treasurer
Tommy Kaiser
Melissa Anderson
Stacie Bale

You'll find attached to this email a membership application. If you plan on attending, just bring out your completed application with you and a check or cash for whatever level of membership you choose to join at. Here's a breakdown of the levels :

Supporting Business Memberships - $300 or $500 - At the $300 level, you will receive a listing and free ad in our printed "Think Local New Albany!" guide plust listing and ad on our upcoming website along with a vote on any issue brought to the membership. The $500 level gives you those benefits plus sponsorship of all NA First! events throughout the year.

Business Membership - $15 per full-time employee (or full-time equivalents) with a $75 minimum and a maximum of $150. You will receive a listing in the printed Think Local New Albany! guide and listing on the website plus a vote on any issue brought to the membership.

Friends of New Albany First! - $50 per year - This is a membership created for fellow non-profits or businesses that do not meet the requirements of a locally-owned, independent business. Friends will be listed in alphabetical order in a special category on the website and printed guide.

Individual/Family Memberships - $25/yr for an individual and $40/yr for a family. You will be listed in a seperate category on the website and the Think Local guide.

If you cannot attend, but would still like to meet with one of us before signing up, just shoot me an email here and we'll set something up!

There are a couple of misconceptions about New Albany First! that I've been hearing over the last couple of months that I want to clear up.

First, NA First! is an independent business alliance, not a marketing campaign. Our main focus will be educating and creating awareness among the public of the benefits of shopping and using locally-owned, independent businesses.

Second, NA First! is not "aligned" with any other organizations. We are being housed in the offices of the Urban Enterprise Association and I have been receiving assistance from the Director of the UEA, Mike Ladd, in getting all the necessary paperwork together. NA First!, however, is a grass-roots campaign that encompasses all locally-owned, independent businesses in the entire city of New Albany. We very much look forward to working with other organizations to accomplish what should be everyone's ultimate goal...to make New Albany the very best it can be. That can only be achieved by working together...

Thanks to everyone that have been showing an interest in what we're trying to do here. It's an exciting time for us and we hope to see many of you come out Thursday evening at the River City Winery anytime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., have a glass of wine and dinner and talk with one of us about how NA First! might help your business and how you might be able to help us!

Thanks,

Andy Terrell
Director, New Albany First!

NA 1st Week at Destinations Booksellers, April 4 - 9.

From NA 1st, New Albany's original grassroots movement of locally-owned, independent small business, comes this notification.
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Hi everyone,

NA First is partnering up with Destinations Booksellers next week, April 4th through April 9th for a fundraiser! Just stop in at Destinations, tell Randy that you're there to support New Albany's Independent Business Alliance and a generous percentage of your purchase price will be donated to help our efforts to help you! It's an easy to way to support NA First and help get us started.

Also, keep watching your email for membership information for NA First for both businesses and individuals! I should have more information on this by the end of this week. We're excited about getting this IBA off the ground and start helping New Albany's locally-owned, independent businesses. We have a website under development and a couple of projects to get started on so we can hit the ground running, but we need your support! Tell your friends and fellow business owners about us and to stop by Destinations this week!

Thanks to everyone for the continued support!

Ladd: "NAFirst is this town’s first organized, organically grown 'Buy Local/Buy Independent' program."

Simply marvelous Tribune column by Mike Ladd of the Urban Enterprise Association. A reminder to business owners who may be reading: NA First is intended to be community-wide, and not confined to the downtown area.

LADD: New Albany has new energy

... New Albany First is this community’s answer to the growing competition as cities across the metro-area and state refine their efforts to keep the local dollar within the confines of their communities. NAFirst is this town’s first organized, organically grown “Buy Local/Buy Independent” program. It grew out of a $300 investment that produced 5,000 fliers that were distributed to 40-plus locally owned businesses during the last holiday season. That flier described the impact a single dollar spent with a New Albany business has in terms of creating jobs and leveraging other dollars spent locally ...

... This is a town of entrepreneurs. It is a hidden industry in this town. Entrepreneurs need to be supported. This program does that. The local entrepreneur industry without question brings in people from across the metro area and probably from outside that area as well. The more we become known for these locally grown businesses, the more successful New Albany will be, and the more outside dollars will come into, and stay, in New Albany.

Because of the response to that flier, a group of citizens came together, developed a plan and consequently have created a budding new nonprofit organization that, if funded, will cover the City of New Albany, and spread the word about the importance of buying locally first. For the first time that I am aware of, New Albany actually has a volunteer-based organization that has been built from the ground up, not the top down. That alone ensures success.

NA 1st: Independent business owners in New Albany, please take note.

The steering committee of NA 1st has been meeting at intervals since last November, slowly assembling the plans that are described here. Some business people have expressed concern with this approach, but it's my view that in a city brimming over with grandiose plans that seldom are seen through to fruition, it's a better policy to build a foundation before fixing sights on shingling the roof ... and also better to refrain from the press conference until there's something to discuss.

Are you involved in any way with an independently-owned local business workign within the city limits of New Albany? Contact Andy, and the pieces of the project can begin coming together.

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Misson Statement: New Albany First! is a non-profit organization dedicated to the task of supporting locally owned independent businesses in New Albany. Primarily, education of and engaging the public, working with like-minded organizations and partnering with locally owned independent businesses will help us reach a goal of creating a stronger, better New Albany both in terms of economic stability and sustainability.

Program of Work

Buy Local Program ... An effort to raise awareness among the public to the benefits of buying at locally owned businesses. While there are many possibilities within the vague scope of buy local, programs being discussed include discount cards for locally owned businesses, “Buy Local” weeks, having a community presence with booths at local events. There are other ideas that can and will be discussed as we move forward.

Mentoring programs ... It will be the stated goal of NA 1st to offer a mentoring program for new and prospective local business owners by pairing them with current, successful business owners. Too often, we’ve seen people with great ideas for a business become overwhelmed with the reality of small business ownership and watch the doors close after a short amount of time. This creates an atmosphere of “it can’t be done here” in the city. We have to put a stop to that and, we believe, that this is a way we can help. We will have a group of business owners ready to act as a consultant, of sorts, to these new business owners, to give guidance even before they look for funding for their business to make sure that they are truly ready to open. It is our belief that this will help stop this cycle of open/close that we see too much of in New Albany.

Speakers/Seminars ... Another important outreach vehicle will be to bring in experts on different facets of the importance of buying locally. Our goal would be to have at least 3 seminars in New Albany every year focusing on different issues. One seminar, that has been successful in other areas, would be for serving staff and customer service staff on the important role they play as “the face of New Albany” to their customers. Oftentimes, these staff members are the first people that visitors to our town speak to, so their role is very important. Other seminars can include successful buy local campaigns, the importance of buying locally, bringing in experts in the field, etc.

Working with other, established groups in New Albany ... NA 1st looks to take a holistic, community-wide approach towards its goals. To that end, we look forward to working and partnering with the City of New Albany, Develop New Albany, Urban Enterprise Association, Downtown Merchants Association, the Small Business Development Center and other groups to help promote New Albany as a destination for shopping, eating and relaxing.

For more information, please contact Andy Terrell here (or contact Roger through the usual channels).