[StBernard] Christmas Cash Back

[Westley Annis]

Jer,

I think you are expecting too much of a return. Several facts you have to
remember about the cash back program:

1) Residents had to come in person to an event. You lose 50-75% of
respondents right there.

2) The event was a particular time. How many people already had other plans
for that time frame?

3) The barrier to entry was high. $100 in purchases to get a raffle ticket.
Look at the businesses that contributed to the prize pool. In only 3 or 4
out of 11 could I see spending over $100. 

I was in St. Bernard on Monday with some free time and drove down to Meraux
looking to see what was new since the last time I was down there. Plenty of
progress, but just like pre-Katrina, there is an abundance of dollar stores.
That is not going to entice the type of crowd that you want coming into the
parish.

In these tough times, everyone wants to save a dollar here and there, but
there comes a time when you have to say "I have to buy quality and not just
the cheapest I can find."

I'm not a fan of box stores, but St. Bernard needs a real electronics store,
a real furniture store, and a real department store. It would be nice to see
WalMart reopen, but has any effort been made to invite Target instead?

We should applaud the EDC for its efforts and the businesses that
contributed. With one under their belt, maybe next year can see a bigger and
better event.

Westley