Well, here it is Thanksgiving week. Tomorrow is the Turkey Trot, followed by the Parada de los Cerros Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I’ll be riding in a Mazda Miata convertible driven by long-time friend Fred Pulve right behind the Historical Society wagon entry. I’ll be there as the co-founder of the museum.

I love our little hometown parade. As a participant in all but two parades going back to the first one in 1984, I’ve even been on two entries in the same parade.

And each time I have been in the parade, my favorite thing about it has been seeing all of those families out watching the parade together.

I hope you’ve entered the weekly drawing for $25 in Fountain Hills Times dollars. It’s our annual Holidays Cash in the Hills contest.

We started doing this contest years ago and have periodically increased the prize money. We saw it as a way to encourage residents to shop locally. That remains the main goal of the contest.

Since that time, American Express originated the idea of having a small business promotion day every year and this year it is set for Saturday, Nov. 29.

It’s a chance to meet your local business folks who own the store close to your home and neighborhood. Their children have probably gone to the same schools with your kids or grandchildren.

America runs on small businesses that operate on the streets of every city and town. These folks hire many people and provide more jobs than any other industry, but sometimes they are forgotten.

They can only survive in this competitive economic climate if you support them and purchase your gifts and necessities from their stores.

And with each of those purchases comes sales tax for our town operations.

Small Business Saturday is a reminder that we need to shop at home, find a local merchant and visit the store.

Bottom line, keep your money in the Fountain Hills area. Especially those businesses that are just around the corner.

They’re the folks that keep this newspaper in business with their advertising dollars, and we are grateful to the business community for the strong support shown to this community newspaper.

In exchange, we hold contests and create advertising that will bring more customers into their stores and shops.

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You should have gotten our latest publication of HOME in the mail last week.

As you probably saw, it has a new look and feel. We found a printer that does quality slick printing at reasonable prices.

We were very pleased with the quality of the printing and it made the photos crisp and colorful. We are considering other publications for this magazine look, including the annual Community Guide.

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You can check out the latest edition of Let’s Go in today’s edition of The Times.

You can read about holiday season concerts, plays and special events.

Also, you’ll find the regular columns by editor Linda McThrall, Ryan Winslett and Bob Howard.

Enjoy reading it.