Chambers paint Madison, Ridgeland green

Businesses throughout Madison and Ridgeland are celebrating their re-openings by placing green ribbons on their doors to let shoppers know they are back in business.

"It's no secret that the past couple of unprecedented months have been especially trying for many of our local businesses," said Shari Jones, president of Madison the City Chamber of Commerce. "As many of them started finalizing their plans to reopen, we wanted to do something to celebrate them and mark this huge accomplishment as a way for others to also know that they have reopened."

Both the Madison the City Chamber of Commerce and Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce are passing out green ribbons to member businesses to mark the re-openings.

Going with the color green was a no-brainer as the color signifies new growth, economic prosperity, and maybe a little bit of new hope as well.

"These businesses… I can't say enough good things about them. They have been so innovative and resourceful through this pandemic," Executive Director Elizabeth Tyler said. "Local businesses are both the heartbeat and backbone of a community's success, and we believe ours are worth celebrating, even in such a small way like this."

Amidst their re-openings, businesses have also instituted many different hygiene and safety precautions, often going even further the state's ordered regulations regarding business re-openings.

"Although this is no surprise to us, we have seen yet again how much our businesses care about their customers and our community as a whole. Their priority is to keep their customers safe and they have gone over and beyond to instill the best safety practices," said Jones. "They do it because their customers are more than just customers to them - they are their friends and neighbors. These businesses are showing their integrity, care and concern and we're just so proud of them."