In 2019, a group of Winona business leaders joined together to resurrect the Winona Business and Professional Association.
When I first arrived in Carroll and Montgomery counties, the business association was a thriving organization with many members. Each year, the organization help several community events including the Crossroads Fall Festival and the Old Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration. The organization joined the business community with city and county leaders to promote local business and improve the quality of life for those living and working in Winona.
When Winona joined the Mississippi Main Street organization, the business association became stagnant and eventually folded completely. However, the absence of an active business association was felt, especially with the loss of Walmart in 2018 and Fred’s in 2019. The closure of those businesses made the need to promote patronizing locally-owned and operated businesses in the city even greater.
The first meeting of the newly-resurrected Winona Business and Professional Association was held in the fall of 2019, and there was great response from the community.
The organization began planning special events and promotions for the spring, but when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States and the country went into lockdown, those events and promotions were postponed.
In June 2020, the organization met at the Montgomery County Courthouse so members could social distance inside the courtroom. Planning resumed, and members organized the Summer Sale-A-Bration for local retailers in conjunction with the state’s sales tax free holiday the last weekend in July. The event was advertised regionally, and retailers were enthusiastic with the response and the number of out-of-town shoppers.
Members also began planning fun activities in the fall like drive-in movies at the Montgomery County Coliseum and live music in downtown Winona. Plans for a new signature event for the city, a vintage airplane fly-in to celebrate Winona’s history in aviation, are in the works.
The Winona Business and Professional Association meets once evening per month, usually the third Thursday, at 5:30 p.m. Meetings are held at Winona City Hall or the courthouse, and all details of the monthly meetings are announced in The Winona Times, WONA, and on the association’s Facebook page.
In fact, we meet tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Winona City Hall. Join us!
Everyone interested in seeing Winona grow and improve and become a better place to live and work are welcomed and encouraged to attend. It is amazing what can be done if a group of like-minded people come together with a common goal in mind.
I’ve heard negative rumblings and conjecture about a dismal future for the city. That could not be further from the truth. Drive through town and notice the new commercial buildings built this past year – Stribling/Empire Trucks, Burger King, Hammond’s Pharmacy and Gifts, Joby’s Landscaping, Winona Drug, the new Waugh and Waugh Timber headquarters, just to name a few. These businesses would not be investing in a community they felt had a bleak future.
There are businesses that have newly-opened and those that have expanded – many during the pandemic. New businesses as well as improvements and growth of others proves that our business community is strong, but it needs the support of everyone to continue to grow and attract new development.
Business and industrial prospects make a thorough assessment before selecting a location to develop. They look at crime rates, the state of education, the quality of the work force, incentives provided by local and state governments, and the customer base. A community’s support of its local business community is an important factor in deciding upon the location for a new development.
It is disheartening to hear residents put down their city, especially when those complaining aren’t doing anything to improve the community. If being a part of the Winona Business and Professional Association is not for you, there are still plenty of ways to make a difference – patronize local businesses and use local professionals, participate in community events, help keep the city clean, support local churches, non-profits, and schools with your money and your time. Make your own individual investment in your home community by supporting the very heart of it.
