Mid-Missouri Business Week: Small Business of the Year award

Columbia’s Chamber of Commerce wrapped up its annual Small Business Week Thursday with its Small Business Week Award Celebration. The Small Business of the Year award was given to Ragtag Film Society, a nonprofit in Columbia.

ABC 17’s Deborah Kendrick sat down with the winner, Jeremy Brown, to talk about the impact of his business on the community, specifically as a nonprofit.

“In the state of Missouri there is almost a $436,000,000 economic impact by the arts, and that’s not even counting the cost of admission,” Brown said.

The Chamber held events Monday through Thursday during the week of April 30. Events included seminars from all five finalists of the award: Buchroeders Jewelers, Ragtag Film Society, Kilgore’s Respiratory Services, The Connection Exchange LLC and Inside the Lines.

“It’s just such a validation of the 20 years of service we’ve given to the city,” Brown said about winning the award. “We’ve brought transformative cinema and art to Columbia for 20 years.”