While America’s government leaders continue to try to stimulate the stagnant economy, county and city officials are left to come up with solutions on the local level as well.

Thankfully for the Twin Counties, this area has an excellent resource to draw from in the Crossroads Institute in Galax. During the week of Feb. 21-28, the Crossroads Institute in Galax celebrated National Entrepreneurial Week with a series of events targeting area youth and small business owners.

An Entrepreneur Express Workshop opened the week-long celebration, bringing resource providers and practical information in one convenient place for both local start-ups and existing businesses. More than 100 students from Carroll, Grayson and Smyth County, and the City of Galax, were able to take advantage of a Youth Entrepreneurship Institute, introducing many of the area’s brightest youngsters to the world of entrepreneurship as well as discussing the importance of understanding and guarding credit. The week was capped with its anchor event, a Business-to-Business Expo designed to help local small business owners learn more about the products available in the area so they can purchase goods and services locally whenever possible.

Will these events dramatically alter the course of the current recession? Obviously, the answer to that question is no. But better educating and equipping our youth with the tools to succeed can do nothing but help brighten the area’s economic future, especially with small businesses playing an increasing larger role in the marketplace. Likewise, the Entrepreneur Express Workshop will boost start-up businesses with the necessary tools to make it in today’s world, while the Business-to-Business Expo will do nothing but help keep local dollars flowing in our area.

These events may only play a small role in the overall economic picture, but it further solidifies the area’s commitment to helping small businesses grow, which leaders of the Twin Counties have recognized as a pressing need for our area’s future. Often times, the greatest ideas come from the most humble beginnings. It sure beats the alternative of doing nothing and waiting for something to happen. From business plan development to its small-business incubator to occasions such as the National Entrepreneurial Week celebration, citizens of the Twin Counties are truly blessed to have an engine such as the Crossroads Institute to drive them.