Supporting Independent Businesses

Sherry's Yesterdaze and Milton's Now and Again II are members of TIBA. You can register for the drawings there

CELEBRATE INDEPENDENTS WEEK

AND WIN SHOPPING AT YOUR FAVORITE INDEPENDENT MERCHANTS!

GRAND PRIZE IS $1500 IN GIFT CERTIFICATES

Including a $1000 shopping spree at Nature’s Harvest

SECOND PRIZE IS $500 IN GIFT CERTIFICATES

THIRD PRIZE IS $250 IN GIFT CERTIFICATES

PLUS TWENTY OTHER GIFT CERTIFICATE PRIZES

ENTER AT ANY PARTICIPATING TAMPA INDEPENDENT BUSINESS ALLIANCE MEMBER…AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE!

Check out our web site at CELEBRATE INDEPENDENTS WEEK

AND WIN SHOPPING AT YOUR FAVORITE INDEPENDENT MERCHANTS!

GRAND PRIZE IS $1500 IN GIFT CERTIFICATES

Including a $1000 shopping spree at Nature’s Harvest

SECOND PRIZE IS $500 IN GIFT CERTIFICATES

THIRD PRIZE IS $250 IN GIFT CERTIFICATES

PLUS TWENTY OTHER GIFT CERTIFICATE PRIZES

ENTER AT ANY PARTICIPATING TAMPA INDEPENDENT BUSINESS ALLIANCE MEMBER…AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE!

Check out our web site at www.tibatampa.org


June 12, 2006 (Tampa, Fla.) – The Tampa Independent Business Alliance (TIBA) invites the community to celebrate locally owned businesses by joining in the nationwide observance of the fifth annual Independents Week, July 1 - 7.

“Independents Week is Tampa’s chance to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and local self-reliance personified by the rich community of businesses that keep Tampa authentic, “ said Carla Jimenez, TIBA President and co-owner of Inkwood Books in Tampa. “TIBA invites residents and visitors alike to take note of the personal attention, community investment, and broader choices offered by local businesses, as we show our appreciation for their support with events and sales and thousands of dollars in prize giveaways.”

Independents Week originated in 2001, when Jimenez enlisted favorite independent retailers and restaurants for a weeklong cooperative promotion of their unique contributions to the community. Independents Week is now observed nationwide by dozens of independent business alliances and main street coalitions, national organizations (including the American Booksellers Association, the Council of Independent Restaurants of America, and the Association of Specialty Toy Retailers of America), and numerous individual businesses.

This year’s Independents Week promotions will launch with a TIBA Expo on June 24 from noon until 4 p.m. on the front patio at Nature’s Harvest Market, 1021 North MacDill Ave, with information and materials from TIBA and its members. The festivities will continue with a free “Rock It All Night Long” concert and fundraiser, featuring the sounds of The Bacardi Boys, on June 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Old Hyde Park Village. While these events promote buying locally during Independents Week, TIBA’s goal is to inspire buyers to habitually “put their money where their house is.”

TIBA is an affiliate of the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), part of the national movement to reverse the trend of national chains displacing locally owned businesses - from the well-known struggles of bookstores, hardware stores, and restaurants, to newer chains affecting dentists and massage therapists. “We are unified as independent businesses to educate consumers on the power of their purchases,” said David Taylor, co-owner of Nature’s Harvest Market. “Your buying power can create either a unique community of individual businesses or a rubberstamped city of chains.”

Since each independent business has only a lone voice in the business sector, their importance is amplified when unified with other independents. That is why Taylor and other members of TIBA have generously donated thousands of dollars in gift certificates and prizes to reward local shoppers during Independents Week. The extensive prize list includes a $1,000 shopping spree at Nature’s Harvest Market. The community can enter to win these terrific prizes at any TIBA member business - like Vinyl Fever on Henderson Blvd., Mise en Place Restaurant on Kennedy Blvd., and Serendipity Accents and Gifts on Davis Island. A full list of members is online at www.tibatampa.org.

“Let’s keep Tampa a vibrant town,” said Ellen Brown, co-owner of downtown’s Old Tampa Book Company. “Independents Week is our chance to recognize that Tampa can continue to grow as an attractive city of locally owned, independent businesses.”