The following article was originally published Wednesday September 25 2019 by The St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. The following text has been captured using computer software and may not be 100% accurate. You can download a high resolution scan of the original publication HERE.

ST GEORGE Business Cham­ber held the Buy Local Stay Local launch on September 10 at the Grand Roxy Recep­tion Centre Brighton with the aim to shine a light on the region's businesses. Attendees at the launch included Kogarah MP Chris Minns, Rockdale MP Steve Kamper, Shaoquett Moselmane MLC, Bayside Council mayor Bill Saravi­novski, senior management representatives from Georges River Council and Bay­side Council, NSW Business Chamber, NSW Small. Busi􀀺ness Commissioner's office, Sutherland Business Cham­ber and all local Georges River and Bayside chambers. Representatives of more than 65 local businesses al­so attended. St George Business Cham­ber vice president Tony Baddour announced the Buy Local Stay Local Initiative's main aim to promote, sup­port and benefit the local businesses and communities within the Georges River and Bayside municipalities. Chamber president Al­lan Zreik says campaign is expected to be one of the biggest and much-needed initiatives for businesses that the St George area has seen in decades. The campaign will cover the Cooks River to Georges River representing 14,000 businesses in the Bayside City Council local govern­ment area and 16,000 busi­nesses in the Georges River local government area. Collectively, they represent more than five per cent of NSW'.s gross domestic product. Bayside and Georges River Councils are leading the Buy Local campaign by seeking to increase the number of lo­cal purchasing transactions they make in their day to day business. Bayside Council mayor Bill Saravinovski says the campaign aims to stimulate local job creation, boost the local economy and inject money directly into communities. "Buying Local is a funda­mentally important part of creating strong economies and even stronger commu­nities," Cr Saravinovksi said. "Every dollar that leaves Bayside is largely lost to our community, while every dol­lar spent within our bound­aries gets spent over and over again." In celebration of the initi­ative, the St George Business Chamber is offering every business in the Georges Riv­er and Bayside local area free associate membership. 1be1aunt::h 􀀩eluded guest speaker Robert Gerrish - a specialist in supporting in­dividuals starting up small businesses. Robert funded Flying Solo online community, co­wrote the bestseller of the same book. The topic focus was collaboration which was well received by the business owners that attend the event.