Even though Black Friday started out with plenty of rain and chilly weather, it was a sunny day for local business owners as Shelby County residents came out in full force — early in the morning — to take advantage of day-after-Thanksgiving sales.

A line of people looking to spend serious cash stretched out in front of the Alabaster Best Buy that morning, and the scene was repeated across Shelby County.

We’re glad to see that even though the economy is still taking its time recovering, locals feel secure enough in their pocketbooks to go out and spend a little cash for Christmas.

The Black Friday excitement even trickled down to become a money-making opportunity for the Thompson High School band, which sold doughnuts, hot chocolate and coffee to those determined to wait in line overnight.

Spending your money locally only contributes to Shelby County’s fast improvement in unemployment rate.

Right now, the county continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in the state, at 6.8 percent.

With the holiday season upon us, we encourage our readers to consider only spending money locally if at all possible.

The more money we can pour into Shelby County, the more we can all benefit.

It’s taken some time, but Shelby County is bouncing back from the economic downturn. Please help the county continue moving in a positive direction.

The We Say is the opinion of the Shelby County Reporter editorial board.