SCOTT CITY -- Responses are due Thursday from Scott City businesses that plan to participate in Buy Local Week March 6-11.

The campaign is sponsored by the Scott City High School Future Business Leaders of America in conjunction with the Scott City Chamber of Commerce.

Local businesses received letters earlier asking them to participate in the campaign, which promotes positive economic effects of shopping in Scott City.

The FBLA chapter this year changed its advertising plan for the campaign. Instead of Buy Local booklets that had been distributed to local households over the past three years, details of the campaign will be announced in the March 5 issue of the Scott County Signal.

In the letter, FBLA chapter President John Scott Flynn said the booklets were expensive to produce and time consuming to compile and distribute. FBLA officers felt the newspaper ad would be seen by more people since it is included in the Sunday issue of The Southeast Missourian and distributed free to most local households.

Businesses are asked to help with the cost of the full-page ad, which will contain the names of participating businesses and specials or discounts they plan to run that week. Additional advertising is planned in the form of radio and television spots, signs and handouts.

Flynn said the chapter hopes all businesses will participate to "promote Scott City businesses and the need to buy locally whenever possible."

This is not a money-making project for the FBLA chapter, Flynn said. The chapter enters the campaign in state competition and money raised will be used for project expenses.

After the campaign, chapter members will contact local businesses for an estimate on increased sales and the approximate tax gain to the city when people buy locally.

"FBLA hopes this campaign will be one of many ways the citizens of Scott City can show their pride in the city and in the many hard-working merchants who provide so many necessary goods and services for them," Flynn said.