About NIRWeek
As companies like Hallmark Cards have created events for us to celebrate, we felt there should be one in honor of the thousands of small businesses around the country.
We created National Independent Retailers Week in the anticipation that the media would make an effort to promote shopping with a locally owned business.
Shopping in these businesses is a sure way to be certain your money stays in and supports your community. When the media remind the community of this special relationship, our goal is moving forward. When local residents and other businesses make an effort to do business with locally owned retail businesses, our goal is achieved.
National Independent Retailers Week is an annual event established to remind all of us of the importance of the locally owned small businesses within our communities.
These 'Mom and Pop' retailers provide the local flavor and color to a community. Imagine how tasteless it would be to travel around the country with each community have the same businesses as the next community.
It does not matter what country, province, or state we are talking about. Nor does it matter who the mass merchant is; every community, big or small should be a combination of the families that have chosen to live in the community and build their own business.
We also have an article entitled, "A piece of the pie" that we hope you enjoy. It is a story written by Tom Shay, who had the original idea for National Independent Retailers Week.
Tom's family history is that he is the fourth generation in a line of local retailers. His great grandfather, George Walter (G.W.) Brown, started the family's first general store in 1922. His son Buster Brown succeeded him and was followed by son-inlaw, Frank Shay. This 1953 photo is of the four generations.
National Independent Retailers Week is held each July during the week that contains July 21. That date is the anniversary of Tom Shay's grandmother’s birthday.
