We were honored to be a part of the Downtown Eau Claire Inc. annual awards banquet at the end of February, where a number of community leaders gathered to recognize the progress downtown, including handing out awards to roughly a dozen downtown businesses, organizations, and volunteers. A few of the winners included JAMF Software, Houligans, The Plus, the Grand Avenue Business Improvement District, and more. Thanks to votes from the public, we’re happy to report The Local Store and Volume One Gallery received the “Downtown Experience Award,” recognizing not only the retail side of our space but also the gallery’s many events and offerings throughout the year. And as if that wasn’t exciting enough, the store also brought home the “Best Customer Service – Retail” award as well, which I will admit created a few high-fives among the store staff. As I’ve said before, we’ve really appreciated this community’s support for The Local Store in its first few years. Partly due to a shared community history and experience, for a long time we’ve felt we had a rich relationship with our readers, but now we particularly feel that with those readers who shop at The Local Store. We, along with you, are passionate about this place we call home, and the store is one place where everyone in the space shares that passion. So to us you’re not just customers, but neighbors and allies in building a better community, and a stronger sense of place. So thank you for your support thus far and going forward. And congrats to all the great organizations doing their part downtown, thank you.