Pumpkin Center Charlie’s Girl: This Saturday, shop small, help the local economy

While the annual Thanksgiving ritual involves a shopping visit to the mall for some Black Friday spending, I hope that come Saturday, some of the Christmas lists will be filled from our local merchants.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is actually referred to as Small Business Saturday. National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and American Express started the event several years ago.

“Small business represents 99.7 percent of all US employers and they provide jobs for 58 million Americans,” Brad Jones, state director of NFIB, the nation’s and Missouri’s leading small-business association, said. “For many local retail businesses, the holiday shopping season is a make-or-break time and Americans who want to support their communities and the economy should remember to shop small.”

For many small businesses, the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are a crucial period that could determine whether they are profitable for the year. It’s make-or-break time for many of our local businesses.

Remember all of the support local small businesses have given to your school, your summer league ball team, your church and your town’s festival. Now is the time to show your appreciation by purchasing your Christmas list items from them.

And even though the price of gas at the pump is somewhat reduced, I would still pose the question, why spend the gas, time and miles to travel to Joetown or other cities when you might find the exact same gift item right here in Nodaway County?