Organization

By Christina Calkins, Board Chair

In the spring of 2007 the HOUR Exchange will commemorate five years of trading local currency in our region. We have built a community networking system that is a tool for developing a regionally self-sufficient economy. The fact that we’ve made it five years is an achievement worth celebrating. Over time our base has widened and we now have more anchor members participating, offering a greater variety of goods and services. As we stop and reflect on how we got here – what means will we use to measure our success?

According to the Bylaws of the organization our mission is “to provide education and tools to promote ecologically sustainable, community-based economics.” If we were to base our success on whether we have fulfilled our mission, we have succeeded. We are providing tools that enhance local commerce and trade. We have done this by founding a solid organization with a Board of Trustees to oversee the program and its issuance and distribution of the currency. Our quarterly newspaper, The HOUR Trader, is not only the central place to find the places and people who use HOURS, but also a forum where we can conceptualize the ideas of a local economy to the greater community. In five years we have distributed over 30,000 issues of The HOUR Trader at no cost to the community at large.

Buying time? No, they're spending it

Local members use local currency made by Hour Exchange ...

By Mary Ann AlbrightGazette-Times reporter

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http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2005/02/18/news/community/fri02.txt

Buying time? No, they're spending it

Local members use local currency made by Hour Exchange

By Mary Ann Albright
Gazette-Times reporter

Want to learn how to make sushi? Looking for homemade chutneys to give as gifts? Need fire dancing lessons?

Instead of laying down U.S. dollars, Hour Exchange encourages consumers to use its alternative currency to acquire local goods and services.