Small Business Saturday follows on the heels of Black Friday, giving shoppers the opportunity to support local businesses. The mission of Small Business Saturday calls attention to the importance of small businesses and encourages support for small companies, especially at the beginning of t…

AMORY – Amory Main Street will again be featuring a cider trail during its annual Christmas Open House weekend which kicks off Nov. 7. Open house, which features sales and festive decorations, continues through Nov. 10 at several local businesses.

ABERDEEN – Switching gears for the holiday season, Aberdeen Main Street will host its annual Christmas Open House Nov. 3. The afternoon-long event, from 1 to 5 p.m., gives attendees opportunities to shop, mingle and eat local at businesses alongside Commerce Street and Highway 145.

AMORY – As part of its annual meeting Sept. 24 at the Park Hotel, Amory Main Street, Inc. recognized current and outgoing people vital to promoting business and quality of life.

AMORY – The Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, Mississippi Development Authority and Itawamba Community Center sponsored a homeowner’s workshop Sept. 10 at Tabernacle of Faith Church. Program host Paul McCreary of Cadence Bank’s Amory office deemed the evening a success, although attendance …

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Institute for Organization Management, the professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, is pleased to announce that Kelly Martin, community development director of the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, has recently completed her second year …

Two regional retailers with local locations will soon close, as Nettleton’s Fred’s is part of the company’s Chapter 11 filing and Amory’s Goody’s location will soon transition into a Gordmans.

AMORY – A suggestion submitted to Amory Main Street Manager Alyssa Benedict is resulting in some beautiful ornamental iron benches being placed alongside Main Street to commemorate merchants from the city’s past.

AMORY – United Furniture Industries kicked off a partnership with Families First of Mississippi Aug. 26 with a cookout for the furniture manufacturer’s employees. Families First is a nonprofit organization that has worked to strengthen families statewide for more than 20 years.

HAMILTON – Monroe County has 325 farmers utilizing 145,000 acres of land, which includes forestland. With the increasing frequency of volatile weather and droughts, producers will most likely experience some sort of agricultural loss in their careers.

AMORY – Monroe County’s newest manufacturer, Avid Boats, was officially announced Aug. 20, solidifying 75 new jobs through the next two years and the latest generation in a family of boat-savvy entrepreneurs to launch a business venture.

From fast food to health standpoints, several new businesses are either currently under construction or in the planning phases throughout the county.

AMORY – Every Walmart associate who has worked with Nancy Burnett can be asked a completely different question about experiences working with her and, in so many words, give the same answer – she’s the best. After 42 years of working with the company, Burnett is retiring in August, leaving b…

AMORY – Arthur Gardner worked in manufacturing for 20 to 25 years before turning his attention to detailing cars, which he has done for another 20 years now.

Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley announced that in the first year of implementation of the PSC’s Hire Mississippi Rule, in-state utility construction contract to Mississippi-based companies has risen by 12.6 percent, representing millions spent with Mississippi-based businesses.

ABERDEEN – En Español, El Jefe translates to “The Boss.” In Aberdeen, El Jefe translates to the highly anticipated return of Mexican food to town. The restaurant opened its doors last month in the former Shelaine Restaurant building, a spot renovated to accommodate a Mexican restaurant that closed.

AMORY – Lydia Pearson is a freshman English teacher at Hatley High School but on the side, she lives out her knack for decorating through her business All That & A Little More, which opened earlier this year.

ABERDEEN – For Auto Networx owner Deryl Clayton, working on automobiles is in his bloodline. His father was a mechanic who used to race cars, his grandfather was a mechanic, and his mother, JoAnn McKinney, even knows how to handle general roadside service.

AMORY – A vacant corner of the Park Hotel is now a pleasant office housing First American National Bank, Amory’s latest lending institution headed by Ivan Bryant.

Kelly Martin, community development director of the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, recently graduated from TVA’s Valley Workforce Institute. The Valley Workforce Institute, developed and sponsored by TVA Economic Development, is designed to assist economic developers in understanding and…

ABERDEEN – Divaz Gift Boutique owner Latrina Bean-Davis has been enjoying her busiest year yet and with Mother’s Day, graduation season and Father’s Day quickly approaching, she is not slowing down any time soon.

AMORY – Between April 24 and 29, Hardees sold 561 Big Roast Beef sandwiches, marking not only the sandwich’s return to the menu after a decade but also the Amory location leading 31 stores in its sales.

AMORY – Nathan and LeeAnn Blake assumed ownership of the Windshield Surgeon at the beginning of the year from their neighbor, Robbie Huffman, who built the business with her late husband, Jim, in 1986.

ABERDEEN – Latoya Ware, general manager for Wendy’s, has been selected as one of the Top 200 general managers for 2018 by The Wendy’s Company. This distinction places Ware in the top three percent of all Wendy’s restaurant general mangers throughout the United States and Canada.

ABERDEEN – R.G. Buxton will celebrate his 99th birthday April 9, and the store he opened shortly after World War II, Buxton’s Jewelry Store, turned 71 in November. His namesake and legacy are associated with Aberdeen Main Street, and the lessons he passed along to his daughter, Bonnie Conner…

ABERDEEN – It hasn’t even been three weeks since North Side Ice Cream Shoppe and Sweet Delights opened, and its owner, Dana Ford, said the response has been phenomenal. Offering several flavors of snowcones and ice cream, banana splits, brownies, hot fudge cakes and its signature Blue Bell N…

AMORY – Barry Jones heads up Amory Tire and Rubber, a three-generation family business that has been an Amory staple for 70 years. Bill’s Hamburgers is the business in town that’s older, according to Jones.

ABERDEEN – Curley Payne said people drive by his restaurant sometimes, thinking it’s a church. Even though there’s no preaching inside, Sundays are reserved for southern favorites to feed people’s souls and gospel music.

AMORY – Statistically speaking, Monroe County will never locate an automobile manufacturer, according to industrial site consultant John Longshore. Serving as keynote speaker of Feb. 28’s Monroe County Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting, he stressed for local leaders to think about the bigge…

AMORY – Patrick Garth helps clients get in shape at a classic old church alongside Main Street repurposed into a boutique gymnasium. His two-prong business, Patrick Garth Fitness, addresses not only fitness but nutrition. He and his wife, Penny, operate a catering service that provides healt…

ABERDEEN – Dr. Mark Breland is the type a person who likes to continually learn. He is a graduate of St. Andrews Episcopal School in Ridgeland, Ole Miss and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

The Monroe County Career and Technical Center invited local workforce representatives to visit classes in action Feb. 15 through its business and industry day as students learned skills in demand. The mission of the day was to bring potential employers and workforce representatives together …

AMORY – In any professional setting, networking is key. Through a revamped format and a keynote speaker well-versed in industrial site selection, the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting Feb. 28 will hone in on bringing together like-minded professionals.

AMORY – French’s Learning and Development Center is a fun, spacious place for children originally based as a home business by Joel and Annie French 21 years ago. Located in west Amory, the couple’s granddaughter, Rashmi Poole, has continued the business as director for the past three years.

AMORY – More jobs and pizza options are coming this spring as Little Caesars will locate alongside Highway 278 in the space previously occupied by Daylight Donuts. Monroe County’s first location of the franchise pizza restaurant is the latest of owner, Jason Ellis of Saltillo.

ABERDEEN – Although three of Cadence Bank’s five 40-year employees have retired in recent years, having that many seasoned employees is a rarity in the small-town banking world, according to branch president Tim Alford.

NETTLETON – Billy Pender can think back to his first vehicle, a 1969 Pontiac GTO, with a smile. He can also conjure up old stories about when teenagers used to drag race across the old Town Creek bridge to see who had the fastest car.

NETTLETON – In January 2016 the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce, Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and HomeStretch President Skipper Holliman began talks of how to acquire property for an expansion to meet an increased customer demand.