‘Keep your dollars going around in a circle’ — Q & A with Richard Boardman

SCARBOROUGH — Richard “Dick” Boardman, 66, jokes he was “drafted” to be chairman of Buy Local Scarborough last fall when the previous head stepped down after his business closed. Since then, semi-retirement has been a thing of the past as he’s logged countless hours working to promote local businesses.

A Skowhegan native, Boardman graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1968 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He then spent 33 years “chasing the Navy all around the world” on behalf of a company that makes marine propulsion equipment. The first 21 years were based in Washington, D.C., where he and his wife, Sally, had four children. Then, in 1989, Boardman “put a rope around my job and dragged it back to Maine,” settling in Scarborough. He retired from global travel in 2008 and became CEO of Southern Maine Residential Remodeling, which handles permitting and financing for the contracting business of his oldest son, Tim.

In 2009, Boardman attended the kickoff meeting that led to the formation of Buy Local Scarborough, which has since grown from six members to 160. Boardman recently took time to talk to The Current about the group and what it hopes to accomplish.

Q: Why did you join Buy Local Scarborough?

A: I felt it was a worthy cause and, initially, because it gave me a chance to meet some great people in town, which I was not able to while at my prior job, because of extensive out-of-town travel.

Q: Given the timeframe of its creation, was Buy Local Scarborough a reaction to the recession?

A: Not really. This Buy Local movement is going across the whole country. It’s about trying to support small businesses and keep dollars going around in a circle, as opposed to when you go to a big-box store, where 77 percent of every dollar you spend goes out of town. Or, if you buy online, 100 percent.

Q: What exactly does it mean to “keep your dollars going around in a circle?”

A: Well, back in the ‘50s, you could write your name on a dollar bill and you’d get it back in a couple of weeks. For example, my dad had a mill up in Athens and I could go to the pie stand across the street and give them my dollar. That guy would go get gas at the corner. That guy would go to the barber. Then, that guy would go get some groceries. Pretty soon, that guy would come up and buy some lumber from us and there was my dollar again. We tried it once and it actually worked. Anyway, that’s how you support the local economy. When you have that circle, you don’t care if the economy of the rest of the country is going up and down like a yo-yo, because you’re still helping your people.

Q: So, is it fair to say then that Buy Local Scarborough is about more than just promoting its member businesses?

A: Yes, absolutely. It’s all about our town. We are trying to maintain its viability by keeping the dollars flowing around in our circle and not out to somewhere else. We need to keep that economic viability within the town, but, so far, it’s been difficult to try and put together a program to get participation, to get people to see how important buying local is.

Q: How so?

A: A big example is the high school. They have all kind of athletics and activities and booster programs. Small businesses around Oak Hill get their doors knocked on twice a day, five days a week, looking for donations, and these small businesses put cash up. But then the parents don’t think to support them. That loop is not closed.

Q: What will it take to close the loop?

A: The biggest thing we need to do is to get more people to contribute a little bit of time. If everybody put in 1 or 2 percent, we’d be awesome.

Q: What percent are you putting in?

A: I can say I’ve probably put in 450 miles and almost 280 hours since January. But I could double that and still not get us there because it takes more than one person. I’m not complaining that people are lazy – there are a lot of great people out there. It’s just that everyone is so busy.

Q: Why do you think you got “drafted” to lead Buy Local Scarborough?

A: Because no one else had time. I’m semi-retired, but everybody else is busy running their businesses. They’re so wound into that, and then with family and home things to do, like the kids’ homework and sports programs, and meals to take care of, there just isn’t any time left. Then, of course, so many small business owners are so busy running their business that they don’t have the time to put into promoting it. That’s what makes something like Scarborough Buy Local so important.

Q: What does Buy Local need to fulfill its mission?

A: Well, right now, there are only six people on the board of directors. It would be good to have 10 or 12. So, we’re looking for board members and we’re looking for committee members to fill things out. We’d like to divide the things that need to me done into a finance committee, a membership committee, an events committee, a social media committee and that type of thing. 

Q: How is Buy Local different from the chamber of commerce?

A: We’re focused on small, independent businesses. They can join the chamber, but it also has to support the Walmarts and the Home Depot. We’re not necessarily bashing or against those big-box stores, but we’re focusing on the small businesses because we feel the identity, what makes the character of Scarborough, is these independent businesses.

Q: What does Buy Local do that SEDCO does not?

A: Well, we don’t get a lot there, honestly, because their venue is wide open, too. They’re busy bringing in the big-box chains and the franchises, and the Cabela’s. We are supporting the small businesses that are here more than trying to bring new business in.

Q: Given Buy Local’s focus, how big could the organization possibly get?

A: Well, there are something like 1,500 small businesses in Scarborough. But some of them would not qualify for membership because they are franchises of larger businesses. They don’t meet the criteria for Buy Local, because they don’t make any decisions on pricing or product.

Q: How many of the 1,500 locally owned businesses are eligible for Buy Local membership?

A: We’d say probably 800 to 900. These include plumbers, electricians and carpenters, along with dentists and doctors and what retail we have in Scarborough that makes its financial decisions locally. By that, we mean either those decisions have to be made here, or the owner has to live within 75 miles of Scarborough.

Q: The 2012 Buy Local Guide came out recently, with 3,500 copies distributed across town. How else are you promoting local businesses?

A: We’re having an Oak Hill event. [Editor’s note: The event is set for July 19. See sidebar.] We have so many businesses right there in one block, we could have one heck of a party.

A CLOSER LOOK

To learn more about Scarborough Buy Local, visit www.scarboroughbuylocal.org online.