Downtown Phoenix is about to host the biggest gathering of local business owners in the nation.

The 2015 Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) Conference will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center, June 10 – 12. View the conference agenda here.

BALLE works to support local business associations around the country by providing education and an annual fellowship program.

Balle_FeatureThe revitalization of Downtown Phoenix is due in no small part to the efforts of our own local business association, Local First Arizona, which effectively takes the collective hopes of multitude downtown residents and helps translate them into a vibrant local community. They do this by fostering local business growth, offering support and a structured environment for local entrepreneurs to develop their trade in our city.

Local First AZ is also the world’s largest local business association, and boasts two BALLE Fellows in Founder Kimber Lanning and Fuerza Local Director Carlos Velasco, making Phoenix an ideal location to host the 2015 conference.

Further earning its local credentials, in the past two years Phoenix has earned a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index, and is featured prominently on a number of national business-friendly indexes. Not only that; in 2014 Roosevelt Row was named one of the top 10 arts districts in America by USA Today.

The welcoming atmosphere and record of success will be on prominent display as small business owners from around the country descend upon Phoenix in the coming days.