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Local adviser asks commission to accommodate service-based vendors at downtown events
Summary
At the May 5 Downtown Estacada Commission meeting, financial adviser Jenny Alsman asked why service providers were excluded from Uncorked and other downtown vendor events and discussed options including a business fair, chamber collaboration and limited promotion by the commission.
Jenny Alsman, a financial adviser with Edward Jones, asked the Downtown Estacada Commission on May 5 why service-based small businesses are excluded from recurring downtown events such as Uncorked and whether there is any path for their participation.
Alsman said she was denied participation at Uncorked because, she was told, she provides a service rather than selling a good. She told commissioners she has worked in the community about 18 years and would like opportunities to meet residents who need retirement or financial-advising help.
Commission member Connie said the events the commission runs are “bound by the Oregon Main Street program” and that the commission’s purpose is to revitalize downtown and assist downtown businesses. Connie recommended Alsman work with the Estacada Chamber of Commerce, which runs business-focused events such as monthly lunches and library meet-and-greets. Connie said the commission can promote outside events on its social channels but cannot take on organizing them.
Alsman noted she attends the Flourish Marketing Group, a weekly network for small businesses without storefronts, and asked whether that model could be incorporated into downtown programming. Commissioners discussed options including a chamber-led business fair and encouraged Alsman and other providers to organize a separate vendor fair if the commission’s event rules prevent them from occupying a standard vendor booth.
Evelyn, the commission contact on staffing and coordination, said the DEC can promote a business fair on its social media but cannot assume responsibility for organizing and staffing it. Commissioners suggested Alsman get the chamber’s email list and offered promotional support once a business fair is organized.
The commission also clarified that festival vendor booths must conform to the category under which the booth is registered; sponsored activities are allowed but the activities at a booth must match the selected category. Commissioners pointed to other county resources, including Clackamas Community College’s Small Business Development Center, for help with outreach and event planning.
The discussion concluded with an encouragement for Alsman to work with the chamber and local business networks; the commission offered limited promotion but urged organizers to take primary responsibility for a business-focused event.
The commission did not change vendor rules at this meeting.
