To the editor:

Small businesses are the heartbeat of our communities. They’re the corner stores that create jobs. The hardware stores that help build our economy. The drug stores and pharmacies that always have what we need when we need it. And they’re the mom and pop shops whose very presence makes a neighborhood, our neighborhood.

The Shop Small Movement inspires people to do business with these smaller enterprises and to give back to the places that have given so much to their communities.

Created by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday is celebrated every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In 2014, it is estimated that customers spent $14.3 billion dollars at small, independent businesses on Small Business Saturday. It’s on this day each year that we vow to “Shop Small” and is a day dedicated to supporting small business across the country and especially here in Shelby County.

This year, Small Business Saturday is celebrated on Nov. 28. Please join me in thanking our local businesses by shopping small. These establishments are important to our community and deserving of our recognition and support all year long.

Jeff Raible

President, Sidney-Shelby County Chamber of Commerce