By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
All Yukon small businesses are being recognized for their contributions to the community.
Mayor Shelli Selby this week declared May as “Small Business Month” in the City of Yukon.
City leaders are joining a national effort to help small businesses grow, create jobs and ensure this community remains vibrant.
“This is near and dear to my heart – small business, local business here in Yukon,” Selby told the audience. “That is the soul of the community.”
Yukon’s mayor read a proclamation during the April 18th city council meeting in the Centennial Building, 12 S 5th.
“From the storefront shops that anchor Main Street to the high-tech startups that keep America on the cutting edge, small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the cornerstones of our nation’s promise,” Selby said.
“When we support small business, jobs are created, and local communities preserve their unique culture.”
Yukon 66 Main Street volunteers and staff members accepted the Small Business Month proclamation, which Selby read aloud inside the council chambers.
Yukon’s mayor and Assistant City Manager Mitchell Hort are among 14 members of Yukon Main Street’s volunteer board of directors.
The United States has 33.2 million small businesses that create nearly two-thirds of net new jobs in America’s economy.
Nearly 20 new small businesses have opened in downtown Yukon since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“We must discuss ways to go further to support entrepreneurs in our resolve to create jobs and spur economic growth,” Mayor Selby added.
She urged Yukon citizens to support small businesses throughout the year – with a focus on May’s month-long observance.
Since 1963, U.S. presidents have annually proclaimed National Small Business Month to highlight services and programs available through the U.S. Small Business Administration and other government agencies.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION MONTH
Yukon also is focusing on historic preservation in May, as shown by the reading of a “National Preservation Month” proclamation at the April 18th city council meeting.
Mayor Selby presented the proclamation, saying “the spirit and direction of Oklahoma are founded upon and reflected in its historic and archeological heritage and should be preserved as a living part of Oklahoma life.
“It is important to celebrate the role of history in our community and the contributions made by dedicated individuals in helping preserve the tangible aspects of Yukon’s heritage that has shaped us as a people.”
Yukon is nationally accredited by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which established May as Historic Preservation Month in 1973.
The Yukon proclamation was accepted by Carol Mowdy Bond, a Yukon historian and member of Yukon 66 Main Street’s design point.
Bond is organizing an Historic Preservation Month contest along Yukon’s historic corridor featuring such places as Dale Robertson’s Haymaker Farms and the Yukon Mill and Office.
Bond recently was honored as this committee’s “Volunteer of the Year” for her local historic preservation efforts.
She was recognized among a slew of award recipients at Yukon Main Street’s 2023 “Palette of Progress” program.
