Local businesses need support
By Kathy Thomson
COVID-19 is not only threatening the life and health of individuals, the social distancing necessary to “flatten the curve” is harming the financial liquidity of individuals and businesses, so residents are encouraged to do their shopping and dining in Albany to help local enterprises and their employees survive.
“Shop local, help your neighbor, and help our businesses and town survive,” said Chamber of Commerce manager Mary Beth Jones. “Go grab a curbside meal, drop into a store and buy that baby or shower gift, or shop to ward off boredom. Our local merchants have gone above and beyond to keep us supplied with what we need, want, and something to do.”
No more than 10 are allowed in groups, and everyone should be very aware of their surroundings and practice social distancing at all times, Albany mayor pro tem Susan Montgomery reminded.
“I think all of our business owners are well aware of the rules and are paying attention,” the mayor said. “So far we are among the lucky ones. Eighty-seven percent of Texans are already under orders to shelter at home, while we can still get out and keep our businesses open.”
State rules forbid inside dining at food establishments, prompting local restaurants without drive-through windows to offer curbside or delivery options.
Retail stores are also offering options.
Assisting both types of businesses last week was Kayla Christianson, owner of In Focus Digital of Abilene.
In Focus was left with a five-day opening in its schedule when the pandemic shut down the Abilene Business Expo.
“I didn’t want my team to just sit there, so I told them to ‘grab a camera and let’s go to work’,” said Christianson.
She offered her services in video production and social media marketing to a few Abilene restaurants to let their customers know about their changes in service due to the pandemic. Best of all, she did it for free.
In Focus’s one-minute video of the Abilene Beehive was so popular that Christianson’s in-box was filled with requests from other businesses, including one from the Albany Beehive.
The team agreed to come to Albany to film a ‘handful of businesses’ and ended up providing services to 15.
The marketing clips will be edited and available for posting online soon.
Jones and business owners are hoping the clips will help everyone know what Albany have to offer.
“Since we don’t have any cases of coronavirus, we are encouraging locals to get out and shop, as long as everyone is careful and stays within the guidelines,” said Jones. “Right now we are not encouraging out-of-town traffic, but we are hoping that out-of-towners will see something they want in the videos, contact the businesses, and have items shipped to them.”
