Tuesday, local government and business partners announced the "We Think Local" campaign, hoping to jump start the economy in Northern Nevada.
Q&D Construction is a locally-owned business that has been in operation for 48 years. The company's president, Norm Dianda says they buy most of their materials from other local businesses.
"I firmly believe that everything that's done locally, multiplies 2-3 times from the time it's done," Dianda said.
The $27 million project, at the Reno Tahoe International Airport, is being done by Dianda's company. It's a local project done by a local company, creating 275 jobs.
"When they work steady and full-time, they're out buying an RV, they're out buying a boat, they're going camping, they're doing something where they're putting dollars back into the community," Dianda said.
At today's event, organizers told us they believe a 10% shift to local business, would create 2,500 jobs and generate $350 million for our local economy, every year.
"We don't need any lawyers," Dave Asher said. "We don't need any politicians. We don't need any new laws. This is just you and I, my neighbors, in Northern Nevada, addressing this issue and shifting, when possible, to the locally owned independent business."
Asher is part of the Reno-Sparks Local Business Co-Op and says, in the age of online shopping, it's even more more important for consumers to think local, first.
"Everything that relies on taxes is hurting, the schools, the parks, the libraries, the police and fire," Asher said. "We need to support those and when you shop online, out of state, none of that money stays local and none of that tax money stays local."
Via Seating is a 25-year-old Sparks business, manufacturing office chairs and shipping them around the world, including the U.S. Senate.
"This is the only location we have in the country," Via Seating President & CEO Trenton Harris said. "So, every chair and every project that we can have, in our local area, benefits us just as much as any other business."
Via Seating also tries to keep their money local, buying things from metal components to shipping boxes from other local businesses.
"You add more employees," Harris said. "They spend. It's just a circle. It goes around and around and that's what local growth is all about."
20 years ago, 11 people worked for Via Seating. Now, they are up to 80 employees and they make it a point to hire military veterans. The factory has also tripled in size since 1991.
