Recently in this newspaper, VBJ Business Manager Steve McDonagh urged Clark County businesses to stop worrying about the future and instead start wondering about how to grow our businesses and climb out of this economic hole.
I like Steve's attitude. While we're not out of the woods yet, there is plenty of reason to think about life in the new economy that is emerging. What do we want to be, and what will it take to get there?
Is Clark County simply going to be an urban suburb filled with the logos of national companies or are we going to be a vibrant community of strong, locally owned companies that have a vested interest in the long-term health of this place that we call home?
Mayor Royce Pollard once smashed a coffee mug in a Vancouver Starbucks because it said "Portland, Ore.," on it. He did it to make the point that we are Vancouver. Now he drinks out of "Vancouver USA" mugs in locally owned coffee shops.
While he welcomes businesses of all sizes to Vancouver, the mayor knows we have to support our locally grown companies or they will disappear.
As we contemplate life in the new economy, are we doing all we can to support each other?
We have extraordinary local hospitals with state-of-the-art medical equipment and the ability to attract world-class physicians and medical professionals. So why do we sometimes ask ambulances to take us to Portland when we're sick?
We're proud to claim Burgerville USA as a Vancouver company that buys its products locally. Are we doing our part to be sure it continues to thrive in the heated competition with worldwide burger chains?
Are we supporting our local newspapers – the ones that give us vital information about our community? Where do we spend our advertising dollars?
Do we run across the river to avoid sales tax, then complain because the roads are falling apart? Do we shop at Wal-Mart then lament the loss of Main Street America? Do we understand the value of Clark College and Washington State University Vancouver in educating our people for employment in the new economy?
Is it important for Vancouver to have a locally-owned community bank? Can we rely on banks headquartered in Seattle, Chicago or Minneapolis to be as committed as a local bank to supporting this community's nonprofit, education, arts and social services organizations?
At First Independent, we are preparing now for the new economy, because we want to be proactive about making choices that will best serve our bank and our community for another century. Those choices include doing all we can to support fellow business owners who want Vancouver to be a vibrant city in its own right.
It comes down to this: Does this community believe in itself? If so, let's do what is needed to sustain our community treasures. Let's not simply "stay the course" through this economic cycle.
Let's change the course. Let's all make informed, thoughtful choices about where and with whom we do business so Vancouver emerges from this period positioned to grow into the community we want to become.
