Economic Development Committee approves general solicitation letter for Small Business Saturday

The Saint John Economic Development Committee on June 11 approved the general form of a solicitation letter to recruit businesses for a planned Small Business Saturday promotion, with the caveat that staff must confirm the event email and any final dates before the letter is sent.

Committee members said the solicitation is intended to assemble a roster of participating businesses that the town can promote through a flyer (potentially included in water bills), email and social media. The committee discussed deadlines tied to the town's billing schedule and agreed a September 1 target and earlier July mailing would give staff and businesses time to prepare for an October–November outreach push.

Committee discussion focused on logistics rather than policy. Members proposed compiling an email database of Saint John businesses, excluding some home-based businesses that may not qualify, and letting businesses provide a one-paragraph description for a poster that would accompany a QR code at each storefront. The committee described the QR code as the primary mechanism to register shopper visits electronically and to verify raffle entries at an associated market event.

"I would make a motion to approve the general form of the solicitation letter for the Small Business Saturday event with the understanding that there may be some minor changes with the dates and email addresses, before it's actually sent out," a committee member said during the meeting. The motion was seconded and adopted.

Members discussed promotional plans including adding the flyer to the town water bill mailing, posting on parks and town social media pages and collecting photos and logos from past events for use in advertising. Committee members and staff noted the need to avoid overloading businesses with emails and recommended multiple mailings spaced over several months.

The committee directed staff to finalize the email address, prepare the letter on official letterhead, and return to the committee with any substantive changes before distribution. No vote counts beyond the committee's verbal "Aye" were recorded in the minutes.

The committee did not set a final number of participating businesses; members said turnout could range widely and that operational details (for example how many check-ins will be required to qualify for raffle entries) will depend on the final count.