We would also like to thank the local residents who understand the importance of supporting the local retailers and service providers who make up our membership.  Many of them do not realize that they are not only supporting a local business owner, they are supporting a means of employment for other local residents and are continuing to provide alternatives for the future.

The downswing in the economy has had a negative effect on businesses across the board.  From global financial institutions, national chains, down to local Mom & Pop stores, the trend has been negative.  Unfortunately, it is often the local stores that are the ones without the lines of credit and reserve capital to absorb the short-term losses in these times that are hit the hardest.  It is now more than ever that the small business owners need the support of the community, and that support need not just be financial.

Local businesses depend greatly on word of mouth publicity.  This has held true for generations.   Today, with the trend of heightened expectations, the need for instant gratification and the fact people are generally boisterous in disapproval and seldom complimentary, local businesses are already behind the proverbial eight ball.  Combine this with a plethora of technology options that give us access to mass communication that allow what is on one person’s mind to be on another’s lips in a matter of nanoseconds and you have an idea of how thin the ice is for a small business owner in a small town. 

If you do happen to come across a half-truth or unsubstantiated rumor regarding a local business, you may wish to consider the ramifications that you may impose by passing that message forward.  While you may not think any harm of reiterating what you had already heard, the economic, social, and regional effect that a closing business has is far more reaching than the closing of a door and a vacant space.  It could mean that a school is short on funding, a peewee baseball team goes without an end of year party or a teenager loses his part time job that was meant to help pay for college.  It could mean the foreclosure of a home, a decrease in value of real estate, and a price increase on the product that the closed business once provided.  If one business closes we all lose in some sense.

The members of the Chamber of Commerce understand this principle, and this strong sense of community has seen many strong networks form between active members.   This commitment is a statement of unity through the worst of times and a high anticipation for better times in the future. 

May 2009 be a better year for all.