(Allan Ryan, President of the Stittsville Business Association, proudly displays the Certificate of Appreciation received from Premier Doug Ford in recognition of the work done to promote Stittsville businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: Stittsville Central.)
With a message and mandate of – think and support our local Stittsville businesses as much as possible – Allan Ryan, President of the Stittsville Business Association (SBA) received a Certificate of Appreciation from Premier Doug Ford this week. Stittsville Central caught up with Ryan on his front porch to talk about the importance for residents to support all of Stittsville’s businesses during these challenging times.
Ryan strongly emphasized that this award is not about his work alone, albeit honoured to receive it, but for all of the executive and members of the SBA who volunteer and work tirelessly to support each other.
“We do this as a team at the SBA. I am fortunate to work with some very driven, community minded and hard working volunteers who form our executive. The recognition, I received from the Province, is shared with all of my SBA executive colleagues. Together, we hope to welcome new entrepreneurs to our community, maintain and strengthen our current business sector, and to grow our community in a healthy and sustainable way for the future.”
Ryan went on to tell us, “It is a pleasure for us to help foster a strong local business sector in our community, and to support our great local business owners who make our community a vibrant and unique place to live and to work. Stittsville and area businesses have, for many years, given back to the community in so many ways. They are instrumental in their support of our local sports teams and organizations, numerous charitable events and various fundraisers”. Without this local support many of the activities we count on would just not take place.
“Our core mandate at the SBA, is to focus on how best we can help them during this most difficult time. We do this by recognizing their community presence, promoting their stores, and asking our residents to support local business, and to think local first in their purchasing decisions”, Ryan concluded.
Stittsville businesses in past years have shown resilience during difficult times, but 2020 has proven to be above and beyond – they have all been thrown into a new world. Only through community support can our businesses sustain themselves and be able to offer their services for years to come. Every behavior, every decision, every action, is up for evaluation these days – for these reasons we must support our local business community.
Together, we can make a difference – we will overcome this pandemic and be stronger than ever.
Congrats 👏 Allan, Great work!!
Ron Rowe🇨🇦