INTERVIEW WITH FAIRFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT BEVERLY BALAZ

What is the history of the E-Gift Card program?  

During the 2020 summer of Covid, we thought hard about:  What else can we possibly do to help our business community? A few years ago, the Town and the Chamber of Commerce had discussed the possibility of launching a local gift card program, but time always seemed to be an issue.  But in the middle of covid, we had the time to explore partner opportunities, conduct detailed research, design the program, implement website programming, and we officially launched it on October 27, 2020 with a press conference.

The E-Gift Card program has seen great success in its first year, what are the future goals of the program?  

The future goals of the program are to expand marketing to create better awareness in the community for residents to remember that the eGift Card program is year-round, not just during the Holiday season … and to engage more local businesses to participate in the program.

How does buying local and the E-Gift Card program create a tighter sense of community for Fairfield residents? 

It is an absolutely feel-good situation, and a win-win for everyone! Our Fairfield residents are instinctively supportive of our local business community, and they understand the importance of the “Buy Local” theme. When an eGift Card is purchased, it can only be redeemed in Fairfield, at participating restaurants and businesses.  These dollars stay in Fairfield! 

How important is the small business community to Fairfield? In what ways does it make Fairfield unique? 

Our citizens recognize the importance of local business support, because small businesses are the fabric of our Town.  Local restaurants and shops add vibrancy to a Town, and as such, people want to visit and spend.  Ultimately, this strengthens our local economy.

What is the vitality of Fairfield’s small business community coming out Covid? How is it looking going into 2022? 

 It was certainly a very difficult time for all businesses, not only in Fairfield, but everywhere. I think our collective community approach, together with the Town, Fairfield Chamber of Commerce and residents, has given our businesses a reliable pathway to successfully move into 2022 with confidence.

Is there anything else we haven’t asked that you would like to share about the E-Gift card program and shopping local in general?  

The “Fairfield Community eGift Card” is a convenient and easy way to support our local participating businesses, as the eGift cards can be purchased through the Chamber’s website, so travel is not required.  It is flexible, and recipients have a choice where they would like to redeem their eGift Card.  The objective is to redeem quickly, keeping local dollars local! This is one of many programs that the Town and Fairfield Chamber of Commerce offer to support our local businesses.