Annual Celebration Keynote Speaker: nationally-renowned activist, Stacy Mitchell We are pleased to welcome Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), for a keynote address at this year’s Annual Local Celebration. Stacy Mitchell is an advocate for local and independent businesses and nationally known for her bold and unapologetic stance against [...]
La Plata Cares Relief Funding Final Report | January 14, 2020 The Local First team spent the last days of 2020 putting the final checks in the mail for La Plata Cares grant recipients. In the end, Local First, in partnership with La Plata County and Aid to All, distributed $1,067,831.61 in [...]
Faith Frazier The Greenery Tell us a little bit about the Greenery and why you’re a local independent business in Durango We opened in April 2015 and were the first recreational only dispensary in Durango. We started because of the owner Joel and his business partner Brain, both Fort Lewis Grads, were living [...]
Independents Week: Whole Health Family Medicine Tell us about when Whole Health Family Medicine started and why you have remained an independent business. We opened Whole Health Family Medicine Clinic in April of 2016. We are committed to remaining an independent business because this allows us to remove the distractions and unnecessary expenses [...]
Independents Week: The Durango Herald/Ballantine Communications Jamie Opalenik with The Durango Herald Tell us a little bit about the Herald and why it’s remained independent. The Durango Herald began in 1881. The dedication of the Ballentine Family to journalism in La Plata County is the reason we are able to [...]
L-R Owners of Salt 360 Cassidy Bruno, Rocco Bruno, and Patti Salomon at the Salt360 Float Studio on north Main Ave. Why did Salt 360 decide to be an independent business? Patti Salomon: I think it’s because we have more control over what we wanted to do. Ultimately we get to make our own decisions [...]
Pine Needle Mountaineering Co-Owner of Pine Needle Mountaineering, Jeremy Dakan Jeremy Dakan Why have you remained an independent business? I think that staying independent and not having the corporate cookie cutter models, particularly downtown, is what gives towns like ours its flavor. But really the whole town is [...]
Spaaah Shop Antoinette Whidden Tell us a little bit about you, a relatively new owner of the Spaaah Shop, and a bit about the shop. The spa has been around since approximately 2005. My mother-in-law purchased the business back in 2010 so I’ve been around it quite a bit. [...]
StoneAge Tools Kerry Siggins Tell us a little bit about Stone Age and why you have remained an independent business. StoneAge will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year. Our two founders started the company in Durango because of their love for the community; one is a 4th generation Durango resident, [...]
Independents Week: 4Corners Riversports General Manager of 4Coners Riversports, Ashleigh Diaz Ashleigh Diaz Tell us a little bit about 4Corners Riversports and why you're independent? 4Corners Riversports was started by Milt Wiley and his daughter Nancy in 1983. They had a passion for boating in the southwest and [...]
