While Americans ushered 2013 in with one eye on the future and their other eye on the impending financial cliff, South Carolinians were celebrating Clemson’s victory over powerhouse LSU, and just a few hours later, the South Carolina Gamecocks took the field and defeated a stubborn Michigan team from Ann Arbor.

Yes, the first day of 2013 was a great day for those of us that support the Gamecocks and the Tigers, and those victories will certainly have long lasting affects on a South Carolina economy.

I find it interesting to see folks that never follow football, stopping to watch their team only if they are winning. You see, we always take pride in something that we can identify with as our own, simply because it makes us feel good.

Those winning moments allow us to take some time, although they may be brief, from reality.

Throughout South Carolina, fans can also identify with the other side of the coin, which is the letdown of losing – those gut wrenching feelings of despair and letdown. So please remember to act responsibly.

Whether you win or lose, one should be able to accept either with dignity, and be gracious to the opponent. However, since our teams were victorious we can discuss winning and that certain amount of pride each of us enjoyed.

Have you ever considered that by shopping local, you are displaying that same type of pride and ownership?

Think about this, in just a few days, our own Piedmont Technical College will be moving into their new building on Wilson Road, which is just one of many projects throughout the county, all made possible by your vote to support the one cent sales tax referendum.

Everything we do to improve our county and its residents helps all of us. The same goes with each of us making an effort to shop local.

Consider this, that young woman or man bagging your groceries could be saving their hard earned dollars for college, and by shopping local, you are sending another Newberry County resident to school, possibly to become the doctor that may treat you in the future.

Sound impossible?

Let me ask you, do you remember watching Alan Paysinger or Todd Senn grow up in Newberry?

Both men are now doctors and quite possibly could treat you now, or in the future.

So please consider things like this when you have the option of shopping local, or going out of our county. The more money you keep in Newberry County, the more you are enabling our own citizens and by helping them, your tax dollars are improving our infrastructure. All of this makes every Newberry County resident a winner.

So please shop locally.

Here at your chamber, Liz, Michelle, and I await your inquiries regarding chamber membership or any of our activities. Call us at 276-4274.

Oh, by the way, please mark Thursday, Jan. 22 on your calendar for our annual meeting, held this year at the Firehouse Conference Center and the Newberry Opera House. You do not want to miss this event.