Watertown Local First Invites Independent Business Owners to Meet

A group of Watertown business owners will meet Nov. 29 to bring together other independent business owners in town to support locally-owned businesses and the community as a whole.

Watertown Local First will meet at on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m., and the guest speaker will be Laury Hammel of the Sustainable Business Network of Boston.

According to the Watertown Local First website,www.watertownlocalfirst.org, the group has 10 member businesses, ranging from restaurants to a tire store to an optical store. More members are being sought, according to the release sent out by the organization.

, and it is modeled after successful grassroots efforts in communities all across North America focused on building a strong local economy and a vibrant community.

The Watertown Local First Campaign has the following objectives:

• To raise awareness among consumers, businesses, and government agencies on the importance of buying locally and to inform them about the locally owned businesses that exist in Watertown.
• To support locally owned businesses by distributing a Directory of Local First businesses and maintaining an on-line Directory to improve visibility and educate residents to shop local.
• To strengthen the local economy.
• To support public policy that improves the business environment for locally owned businesses.
• To preserve the unique character of our community.