New Scotland businesses are hidden in plain sight
To the Editor:
I write in response to Jesse Sommer’s July 13 column entitled “Making a living is what makes life worth living.” Of course, I agree with his community-oriented message, as I’m a fellow member of Our New Scotland (the trade organization for New Scotland’s business community).
But I want to amplify the voices you’ve recently published in this newspaper that are inviting people to come out to New Scotland’s first “Community Day” in Voorheesville’s Jim Nichols park on Aug. 20. And I have a slightly different reason for so doing.
Once a year, Memorial Day parades give various residents within the town of New Scotland (including Voorheesville and Clarksville) a chance to embrace one another in fellowship. But, while these events highlight the many colorful people who live down the road, they don’t highlight what makes the community a community.
Our schools, our places of worship, and — most importantly — our businesses are what create the nearly 10,000-strong neighborhood I love so much. And lots of these businesses are hidden in plain sight beneath the noses of fellow New Scots whose time and attention are too often kidnapped by the demands of the day.
New Scotland’s Community Day is a chance for the town to get to know itself, for people to come together and actually experience all the amazing enterprises that together weave the fabric of the so-called “Jewel of Albany County.”
This is a chance for people to learn what products and services are just next door, while also giving local entrepreneurs a chance to make a little extra money as inflationary pressures continue to grind down local economies.
It’s my hope that Voorheesville Mayor Rich Straut and New Scotland Town Supervisor Doug LaGrange will throw their weight into helping to ensure that this event is a success. And if no one from Our New Scotland has done so already, I’d like to cordially invite The Altamont Enterprise to set up a booth at Community Day to try to sell a few subscriptions. No business is more important to this town than is yours!
Tedd Phillips
Owner/Agent
The Phillips Agency