Across the nation, Nov. 24 has been designated as Small Business Saturday. The purpose is to support and promote local businesses in our area.

Last year a group of friends used this opportunity to shop in the small businesses in downtown Ironton and eat lunch in an Ironton restaurant.

The sad part was that no business we visited had heard of the event and were surprised when a large group of people came into their stores to shop. The surprising thing was the helpfulness and friendliness of these people and the number of nice gifts we were able to purchase locally.

Of course, larger malls and department stores were necessary to complete our shopping, but besides delightful small gifts from gift shops, hardware stores, etc, wrapping and decorating supplies were found in abundance.

We plan to take advantage of this opportunity again on Nov. 24, and are hoping downtown businesses and local shoppers think about making this an annual event.

We have a beautiful town. Let’s help it grow!

Sue Jenkins

Ironton