Madawaska Valley Township council has consciously done its best to buy whatever goods and services it can locally and it was that operational approach which resulted in the municipality being honoured Friday as winners of the inaugural Buy Local Municipal Challenge.
Dave Fisher, former president of the Upper Ottawa Valley Chamber of Commerce, presented a plaque to Mayor John Hildebrandt with members of council, staff, Warden Janice Visneskie, and Sue Flynn, Administrative Assistant to MPP John Yakabuski in attendance.
Mr. Fisher said the Buy Local initiative began about two-and-half years ago and was formulated by a number of people in the county who were interested in the concept of ensuring the economy thrived through the purchase of local goods, products and services.
"With the support of the local Chambers of Commerce and business association, as well as significant support from Service Ontario, Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, we have been able to run a number of very powerful programs." he said.
The program was started because it was felt there was significant economic leakage going out of the county.
"We know there are hundreds of millions of dollars being spent each year in Renfrew County," he noted. "And if a significant percentage of that goes out, we know every dollar that goes out of the county stays out of the county. "And very dollars that gets spent in the county gets circulated three to five times." he added. "So our mandate was to ensure the residents fo Renfrew County spent as much of their hard-earned cash on goods and services produced and sold in Renfrew County."
Businesses were also encouraged to do the same and then the municipalities were brought into the picture through the Buy Local Municipal Challenge.
"The municipalities, perhaps more than anyone else, have the responsibility to show the way for a number of reasons," he explained. "They are visible in the community and they are spending taxpayers' money, so therefore shouldn't they be spending it locally?"
Mr. Fisher congratulated April Cappel, the former Buy Local project co-ordinator for coming up with the idea of the challenge. She visited all municipalities and the City of Pembroke to invite them to participate.
"April was the initiator of the project and administered it and saw that the project was as successful as we see it today." Mr. Fisher noted. "She was our only employee for almost a year and all the publicity we get around the Buy Local campaign and the success of the campaign can be attributed to April (Ms. Cappel).
Many municipalities interested in the challenge and they received a good response from MV as well as Admaston-Bromley and McNab Braeside who were close runners-up to MV's 78% expenditures locally. He acknowledged MV CAO Pat Pilgrim and the staff for their efforts in documenting their expenditures and in trying to buy local where possible.
"We know that it takes leadership from the top but it also takes at the ground level to ensure that happens and we recognize the effort you and your staff have put in," he noted.
"It's been an inspiration to our team that we received the co-operation of council and staff here and hopefully you'll be an inspiration to all municipalities in Renfrew County."
Mayor Hildebrandt said he appreciated what the Buy Local people had done in helping make the municipality look good.
"I guess at this point in the history of the world, it's all the more reason to be buying locally." he noted. "I guess the economy of the world is going down the tubes as we all know, so it's important to be able to keep whatever economic stimulus we have within our own communities as much as possible.
"I think it's a great initiative that you have come up with and I'd like to think it would go beyond our borders here to all Canada to start thinking of buying locally," he added.
Mayor Hildebrandt said he believes the program is working among the general public.
"I think people are thinking very consciously about buying local," he noted. "Plus someone has put on this big push about food locally and that seems to be really picking up as well." "That's getting to be a big deal and you can see our little farmer's markets building and building," he noted. "The one in Combermere is a hugh success and the one here is growing and growing."
Mayor Hildebrandt said council is happy to work on joint projects like Buy Local with other municipalities, saying doctor recruitment was just anothe example of how municipalities work together for the betterment of the county.
Susan Finn, Administrative Assistant to MPP John Yakabuski, presented Mayor Hildebrantdt with a certificate recognizing the award.
"Mr. Yakabuski has and continues to be very supportive of the Buy Local campaign and he recognizes the importance of buying locally." Ms. Finn said. "Being a former small business owner in Barry's Bay himself, he knows first-hand the significant benefits to the community when purchases are made locally and made at locally owned businesses."
"More money is kept in the community because locally owned businesses then tend to buy from other businesses, providers and farmers," she added.
Warden Visneskie added her congratulations to MV saying they set an example for other municipalities to try and follow. | 
