444 E. Robinson Dr Ste A
El Paso, TX 79902
p +1.915.533.4711
f +1.915.533.4722
Letter form the Director of Marketing
Homegrown Vehicle Program
Homegrown El Paso launches a new program for members
Local Rocks!
Local Rocks
Homegrown El Paso has come a long way in three years. The organization was born as a result of several meetings held over the summer of 2005, where business owners and concerned citizens gathered looking for solutions to the homogenization of El Paso by the ever increasing numbers of chain stores and out-of-town companies setting up shop in El Paso.
In the fall of 2005, we held a kickoff party to introduce the now officially incorporated Homegrown El Paso. We made it on the nightly news on KVIA, and stories appeared in the El Paso Times and El Paso Inc. The first version of our website, homegrownelpaso.com was launched with information about the organization. We finished the year with just over fifty members and lots of enthusiasm for the future.
In 2006, we produced our first membership directory and two television commercials that ran on Time Warner Cable. Several events were held to give members opportunities to mingle and meet their counterparts. Our web site was upgraded with a searchable database and additional member resources. A membership drive, where current members mailed invitations to join Homegrown El Paso to other local businesses, helped us grow to over 100 members by the end of the year.
By 2007, we saw an expansion of our efforts as our increase in membership dues allowed Homegrown to have a larger presence in the community. Television ads on KVIA and radio sponsorships on KTEP public radio, a new member directory, GO LOCAL posters and bumper stickers, billboards and a rolling billboard (actually a 1970 Volkswagen bus covered with the Homegrown message) were part of our marketing efforts in our third year. The web site was updated again to incorporate the new GO LOCAL campaign and to allow for online payment of dues. A fourth quarter membership drive, where groups of members called everyone they could think of to join, helped us pass the 150 member mark by the end of 2007. One member, Richard Knopp of Executive Office Products, single handedly sold 19 memberships!
2008 is shaping up to be another year of growth in membership and increased visibility. The more members we have, the more can be done to tell El Paso how important it is to GO LOCAL!