Aberdeen Main Street Promoting Small Businesses And Community Wide Clean Up

ABERDEEN, MISS. (WCBI) – The town of Aberdeen has experienced upheaval recently in city government, with the resignation of a mayor, and a court-ordered new election for the Ward One Alderman seat.

Now that those races have been settled, many in the Monroe County town are looking forward to bigger and better things for residents and businesses.

For Aberdeen Main Street Director Ann Tackett, the Small Business Showcase couldn’t have come at a better time for the town.

“This is really good for our community, we really needed this,” Tackett said.

Tackett says it’s important for Aberdeen to move forward and one way to do that is to help small businesses succeed and get their products in front of people. And that’s what business owners were doing at the showcase. Philip Nichols was displaying jewelry made from silverware.

“My father used to make rings as I have out here, and I watched him a little bit after I retired and said, ‘ you know, I think I’ll start doing this,” Nichols said.

There were arts and crafts, clothing, and food, and other sweet treats, like candied apples and fried cherry pies, at ‘Loyd Have Mercy’ catering.

Owner LaToya Fields says the showcase gives her a chance to get the word out to potential customers about her catering business.

“This is my first time doing an event like this, so it has been interesting, I’ve been rolling nonstop for two hours,” Fields said.

Small Business Showcase is just one of the programs Aberdeen Main Street is spearheading. They are also encouraging people to get on board and Drive the Train, as part of a community-wide cleanup effort.

“We’re driving this train straight forward, not going backward at all, we had a meeting the other night and I had over fifty people to volunteer, and we’re fixing to beautify this city,” Tackett said.

Those volunteers sign up to clean up a certain area along Commerce Street. Newly elected Ward One Alderman Robert Devaull says he believes there is a new sense of unity across the community.

“By doing things like this, and opening up the town, you get other people to come in and that helps the town, people come, they will spend money and so, the mayor has a lot of good ideas of what he wants to do to get the town going forward,” Alderman Devaull said.

The community-wide ‘Drive the Train’ clean-up effort officially kicks off Monday and is an ongoing project.

For more information on the “Drive the Train” clean-up effort and how you can register, go to the Facebook page for Aberdeen Main Street.

facebook.com/aberdeenmainstreet