Oct 21, 2009

Showing its true colorsBy Lois KindleSouthShore2.tbo.com

Ruskin – As consumers focus on the essentials these days, perhaps the businesses most hurt by the current recession are the local mom-and-pop stores.

And this concerns Melanie Morrison, executive director of the Ruskin Chamber of Commerce.

“A couple of months ago I was brainstorming with board members Denise Reiter and John Smith about ways to get members to think outside the box and come together for sharing ideas,” Morrison said. “Then I got the idea the chamber could match members based on their needs and willingness to work with other businesses in a new and creative way.

“We tell members all the time if they are struggling, come talk with us and allow us to throw out ideas to help. After all, that’s why (the chamber) is here.”

Morrison said Frances Hereford, owner of Southern Grace Gifts & Home Accessories, mentioned recently how the economy had taken a toll on her business. So Morrison felt Hereford and Southern Grace would be the perfect “guinea pig” in the chamber’s new Partners for Success program.

She asked Hereford point blank, “Would you be willing to paint your building?”

“I can’t afford to do that right now,” Hereford said.

But Morrison persisted, telling Hereford she had heard many people say they had never visited the shop because it looked like a tearoom or country cottage gift store.

“The outside of the building, in my opinion, was not a true reflection of what’s inside,” Morrison said.

A collaboration ensued between Morrison and several area business leaders to figure out a way to give Southern Grace a new look. Daniel Drohan and Brian Hahn of Sherwin Williams in Ruskin agreed to provide free paint; Rob Silver of Dynamic Painting in Brandon, free labor; Tracy Cannon-Gray of South Shore Signs in Ruskin, free signage; and Bobby Weimer of Weimer Mechanical Services, free reinforcement for the sign and installation.

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