A group of local small business owners and non-profit organizations working together to ensure a bright economic, social and creative future for Schuylerville and its surrounds. The Schuylerville Small Business Association was created very organically, first with two local small business owners casually getting together to talk about how to improve Schuylerville's downtown economy (Chelsie Henders
on of Rural Soul Studio and Erik Laffer of The Laffer Gallery), then doubling to four people (add Kristi Carrara of Revibe and Alissa Woods of Cake by Alissa), and on. The founders of the group initially started meeting in response to a Dollar General store being accepted into our community. There was much dissent from the area's small business owners, but because of poor zoning laws in Schuylerville, the store has been permitted to enter. In other words, the SSBA came into fruition as a "we need to do something NOW" response to a completely unnecessary corporate store coming to Schuylerville. Some of these business owners are some of the most active volunteers in the group. We decided to create a Fall Festival to give a focus to the momentum that has been building for several months. We chose the Fall, specifically, to highlight the bounty of our local orchard - Saratoga Apple - and other beloved local farms. There was not a Fall event tradition in place in Schuylerville other than the annual tag sale weekend, until now. Over 60 businesses and organizations participated in our inaugural Fall Festival! Farmers, artists, yogis, doctors, master carpenters, bakers, athletes, musicians, and more spent the afternoon sharing what they do to make our community beautiful inside and out. We do not have a formalized board of directors or membership for our SSBA - businesses participate as they are able. A few months after our start, we invited The Chamber of Southern Saratoga County to oversee the SSBA. We are an autonomously run Committee of the CSSC under their Community Development Program. With strong community groups like the Schuylerville Public Library and Hudson Crossing Park working with us, we feel like we can move mountains! The SSBA's mission is to create the best community in which to live, work and do business by enhancing business collaboration and communication, supporting local entrepreneurs, advocating for our community and promoting positive advances and developments.
