Small businesses in Marion County will be celebrated next week and economic development will be heralded the week after.
Columbia Mayor Justin McKenzie and Marion County Board of Supervisors President Randy Dyess signed proclamations earlier this week for both events at the Marion County Development Partnership.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the community,” MCDP Vice President Carolyn Burton said. “We want to draw awareness to the small businesses in the community and show our appreciation. We’re encouraging people to go out and support these small businesses.”
MCDP President Lori Watts said small businesses and economic development go hand in hand.
“Two thirds of the jobs created in our community are created in small businesses,” she said. “We will go from celebrating these businesses and roll right into celebrating economic development and the efforts that the entire community puts in creating a better environment for business to be successful. It’s about creating a place where businesses want to come and grow and expand. In turn, we receive those jobs and that investment in the community. It’s a great cycle of business and community working together to make everybody’s lives better.”
Watts said it was important to see the support of the city and the county when it came to the resolutions.
“We’re very pleased that both the Board of Supervisors and the city of Columbia Board of Aldermen were supportive to pass this locally,” she said. “It is a national celebration. To emphasize that we understand the importance of that on a local basis is key. Really it is about local businesses and how they contribute to the lives of the community. Those local businesses are investing in the community every day with their payrolls, the supplies they buy and the hours that they spend on their business. They are investing every single day, and this is a chance for us to tell them that we appreciate that. We appreciate them choosing to create their businesses in Columbia and Marion County.”
Burton said the celebration of businesses will continue throughout May.
“We’ll be taking photos of them and posting on Facebook and any other social media,” she said. “We want to draw attention to our local businesses.”
National Small Business Week has been around since 1963. This year, the week will be celebrated from April 29 to May 5. National Economic Development Week is slated for May 7 through May 12.
Pictured Above: Columbia Mayor Justin McKenzie, seated left, and Marion County Board of Supervisors President Randy Dyess sign proclamations as MCDP Vice President Carloyn Burton, left, and President Lori Watts look on. | Photo by Mark Rogers
