James Henderson, a sales associate at Legacy Ford, La Grande, talks with Karen Kevan of La Grande, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. The auto dealership is offering a $300 incentive to shop local for car buyers starting Friday, Nov. 27.

LA GRANDE — Legacy Ford of La Grande is launching a new program to inspire car buyers to shop locally this holiday season.

It is called the Thanksgiving Cash Back Community Event. Through this program everyone purchasing a new or pre-owned vehicle from Legacy Ford from Friday, Nov. 27, through Sunday, Dec. 6, will receive $300 to spend at any one local business they select.

Vehicle buyers who select a local business assisting Legacy Ford with the project will receive a bonus. The businesses where they spend the $300 will match a portion of the sum. For example, a business might add $100 for every customer coming in with one of the $300 certificates.

Between 12 and 15 Union County businesses are set to provide matches for portions of the certificates. Customers who buy a car will receive a list of the participating businesses.

Michael Bruce Howard, a sales consultant for Legacy Ford, said he hopes this program will encourage more people to buy gifts in Northeast Oregon this holiday season at local businesses.

“We want people to shop more locally and less online,” Howard said.

Urging customers to shop more locally will, of course, benefit not only community shops, he said, but also everyone in the area because money spent here is more likely to stay here.

“This will bring us closer together,” he said.

Howard noted Legacy Ford is not alone in helping businesses to work together. He cited as an example the Union County Chamber of Commerce is organizing a quarterly shop hop. The first will run Dec. 3-5 to and spur people in Union County to shop locally.

The chamber asked participating businesses to donate gift cards, merchandise or other items for gift baskets. Shoppers who take to the Shop Hop trail will receive monopoly cards and collect stamps/signatures at participating locations. Businesses also are offering deals during the Shop Hop, such as giveaways for testing products.

At the end of each event, the chamber will collect the cards and draw winners. Three participants will each receive a gift basket containing items and gift cards from Union County businesses to encourage people to resume shopping local.

For more information, including on how to participate, call the Union County Chamber office at 541-963-8588 or go to www.visitunioncounty.org.

Howard said these kinds of programs have a common theme.

“We are all thinking about each other,” he said.

Suzannah Moore-Hemann, executive director of the Union County Chamber of Commerce, was impressed with what Legacy Ford is doing.

“It is incredibly thoughtful for them to give back to our community and to directly help other businesses in this way,” Moore-Hemann said.

She said the auto dealer has a history of taking steps such as this.

“For years it has always been giving back to the community,” Moore-Hemann said.

Legacy Ford has long been involved in working to help the community. For years it has participated in the Drive 4 UR School program. During the one-day event, each time someone completes a test drive of a Legacy Ford vehicle, the business makes a donation to the school district of the driver’s choice. The driver can ask for the a donation to benefit a specific program in a school district. Legacy Ford has conducted its Drive 4 UR School program three to five times a year in Union County for at least 10 years.

“It has raised thousands of dollars for school districts,” Howard said.

But Legacy Ford recently had to do what so many other organizations and businesses have done — nix the program because of COVID-19 pandemic. The dealership will restart the school donation program once the pandemic is over.