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New Mercer Island Merchant Association looking for members Reporter Staff
A group of Mercer Island merchants are beginning to band together to grow their businesses and improve awareness of just what the Mercer Island Town Center has to offer. Islander, John Keith and others have formed the Mercer Island Merchant Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting Island retailers. The group is looking to sign up and organize members to hold marketing, events and promotions. Longtime Mercer Island residents and local small business owners, John and his wife, Theresa Keith, owners of the Hennie McPennie children’s shoe shop, said the o r g a n i z at i o n aims to promote to the local community the value of shopping on the Island among its wide variety of businesses. “This is a very exciting time for our small business community,” said John Keith. “From restaurants to book stores, hair salons to pet shops, the Island’s retail core has something for everyone. We have seen a lot of commercial and residential development in the past few years, and the Mercer Island Merchant Association
has been formed to help retailers take advantage of that growth by maximizing exposure through marketing, public relations and special events.” For a very minimal cost, our promotional activities will significantly enhance exposure for all businesses, he said. Marketing activities through the Association will be designed to take the guesswork out of publicity and promotions for retailers, allowing them to focus on growing their business w h i l e John Keith also parIsland merchant ticipating in robust marketing campaigns directed at target audiences, Keith said. The Association aims to work with its membership base to generate programs such as advertising, outdoor signage placement, special event production, sponsorship coordination and more, that are customized and scheduled so as to maximize exposure and achieve results. “We don’t offer any ‘one size fits all’ marketing solutions for businesses,” said Keith. “Our members are
“The association’s mission statement is ‘Stay local, shop local.’”
In February a focus on Black history at school Black History Month, or African-American History Month, has been used as a time for education, celebration and reflection in public schools on Mercer Island. “Through the month of February, each of our schools has participated in learning activities that reflect upon and recognize the achievements of AfricanAmericans in our country and in our communities,” said Mercer Island School District Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano. “While this type of recognition is thoroughly integrated into our studies year-round, this month gives us a special opportunity to highlight the history and importance of African-Americans and events in our history.”
West Mercer Elementary students began their lessons in January with classroombased activities about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. Those lessons culminated in the Heritage and Culture Fair. Each elementary school has been making a variety of announcements in the morning and two had assemblies that included artistic presentations – one a play featuring a friendship between an African-American soldier and a young white boy and the other designed to honor King. Students at Island Park and Lakeridge Elementary also read and discussed biographies of famous African-Americans including Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman. At Islander Middle School, announcements were made each morning highlighting famous
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not only our colleagues but also our friends and neighbors. Our success is based on our personal relationships with local retailers, and the fact that we know what they need and we know how to get them results here on the Island.” In addition to promoting local businesses, the Mercer Island Merchant Association aims to raise the awareness among Island residents about what local retailers have available right here, Keith explained. “The Association’s mission statement “Stay Local, Shop M.I.” reflects this philosophy, encouraging the idea that Islanders don’t need to look any farther than the local business district in order to find goods and services that they seek for everyday living,” he said. For an annual membership fee of $35 any Mercer Island business with a retailzoned space is eligible to join the Association. To learn more, go to www. mimerchantassociation.org or call (206) 291-2300. African-Americans and their impact on history. Teachers have also focused classroom instruction time providing greater learning on those figures. BRIDGES groups at Mercer Island High School have spent the month on student-led lessons focusing on diversity, culture and kindness. English courses have used classroom time to review many of the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. American Literature students read "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", exploring the text in the context of the Civil War and the antebellum South. At Crest, students have been reading short stories by African-American authors Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston while discussing the Harlem Renaissance. 989388