The Pike County Chamber of Commerce Thursday officially proclaimed May “Business Development Month” in Pike County.

The chamber started the month with an after hours event at Max Credit Union Tuesday and a QuickBooks training seminar Wednesday before making the official proclamation at a board meeting Thursday.

In addition to the Chamber, representatives of Banks, Goshen, Brundidge and Troy, the Alabama Career Center system, the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy, the Pike County Economic Development Corporation (PCEDC) and the Small Business Development Center all signed on.

Kathy Sauer, chamber president, said the month is primarily a celebration of businesses with some classes and seminars being offered for development as well.

“We’re going to be out to say ‘thank you’ to different people,” Sauer said. “So in Goshen and Banks and downtown we’re going to be doing donuts and coffee… We’re also going to have two appreciation lunches, one at Collier’s on Main and one at Troy Cable. Those are for members of the chamber and they need to call to RSVP.”

The Alabama Small Business Development Center Network is also holding two events this month to help businesses work with state government. One is the “Small Business Opportunities Conference and Matchmaker” at the Trojan Center ballrooms from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, and the other is the “Proposal Development Workshop” at the PCEDC from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday May 24.

Sauer said both will help businesses learn how to work with state and federal government.

“People don’t think about it, but the state bids everything,” Sauer said. “I’ve been in the bid office and they bid for animals for farms for prisons, they bid paper products, chairs and furniture– all of their products have to be bid to someone; printing, cars– anything. People don’t think about it, but almost every business is eligible in some way.”

The career center will also be holding an open house on Tuesday, May 16 at 11 a.m.

“They’re going to have lots of vendors inside,” Sauer said. “This is really for businesses and human resources to learn what is available from the career center and surrounding areas to help employment.”