In a world increasingly inundated by corporate chains like Office Depot and Staples, it can be refreshing to see the little guy dig his heels in and succeed.

Celebrating its 60^th year of business in May, Keeton’s Office & Art Supply is the embodiment of a successful, independent local business.

In the past six decades, Keeton’s has established itself as a staple in the downtown Bradenton business community and has made one thing very clear: This little guy has absolutely no intention of letting the big corporate chains elbow him out of business any time soon.

Cole Hoopingarner, the marketing coordinator and customer service manager at Keeton’s, attributes the resiliency of the business to its exemplary customer service standards.

“Customers like being able to call our store, have their call answered on the first ring, and actually talk to a human being instead of an automated greeting system,” he said.

“Our delivery drivers go the extra distance, too. They don’t just drop off products in the lobby. They carry heavy crates of supplies up stairs if they have to. That’s just part of our business model. We believe that the small businesses who choose us deserve top-of-the-line service. That’s why we have loyal customers — some of them have been with us for over 40 years.”

Hoopingarner has experienced the grim reality of surviving as an independent business in the office supply industry. When the economy was good, he said, there were as many as 14,000 independent office supply groups in the United States. Since the recession, that number has decreased by two-thirds to only 5,000 businesses.

“With the way the economy has been the past few years, it’s been challenging at best,” Hoopingarner said. “But we know that we’re not alone in this. We’ve just kept our heads down and worked hard to get on the ascent.”

When William Keeton opened his small office supply store on 12^th Street in downtown Bradenton in 1951, it is doubtful that he imagined what a tremendous force in the community it would blossom into over the course of the next six decades.

Initially, the store only sold office supplies. Not long after it opened, Keeton’s also began to sell office furniture. The store relocated to 817 Manatee Ave. W. in the late 1960’s, where it has remained ever since, expanding to feature a large office furniture showroom. It was not until about a decade ago that the store expanded its sales scope to art supplies as well.

“Over time we’ve diversified to become increasingly more and more comprehensive,” said retail sales manager Frank Perry. “About 10 or 15 years ago we started selling art supplies, but it’s only been for the past seven or eight years that we’ve really tried to make a name for it. Since then, we’ve become heavily involved with the local arts community, and the response has been very favorable. We provide the kind of offerings that artists can’t just find on any street corner.”

Keeton’s has developed strong ties with the Village of the Arts and ArtCenter Manatee in particular by reaching out in numerous ways.

During its “Saturday Super Sales”, for instance, Keeton’s showcases local restaurants within the Village of the Arts in order to help drive traffic to the Village. Keeton’s also regularly donates gift baskets to ArtCenter Manatee, which the organization then raffles off for a good cause. Proceeds from the sales of the gift baskets are put toward charitable causes within the arts community such as artistic summer programs for children.

Additionally, Keeton’s collaborates with local artists to host workshops in artistic endeavors such as watercolor and acrylics painting. In March, the store also teamed up with Palmetto Art Center during Realize Bradenton’s “Shout the 60’s!” celebration to host a tie-dye demo in which participants got a chance to get their hands dirty while creating their own colorful throwback fashion statements.

During this year’s Holiday Party, Keeton’s invited local artists to collaborate in creating a painting which was then raffled off to the audience. The event generated $800 in raffle tickets sales, all of which was donated to Our Daily Bread soup kitchen.

The office supply store also recently auctioned off a desk and donated the proceeds to the winner’s charity of choice – in this case, the Heart Gallery of Sarasota.

Keeton’s is celebrating its 60^th anniversary with “60 Days of Giveaways” which just launched on Monday. From now until July 12,every time customers purchase $150 or more in merchandise from Keeton’s website, they are entered into daily drawings for giveaways.

Most of the giveaways come in the form of gift cards, products, or services from other local businesses. In return for these provisions, Keeton’s provides participating businesses with free advertising on its website. According to Hoopingarner, about 40 local businesses are involved in the event.

“It’s a really inexpensive way of reaching thousands of people,” he said. “Our local businesses get to benefit from it because it helps get their name out there and gets customers through their doors.”

In another effort to help out fellow local businesses, Keeton’s also teamed up with the Manatee Chamber of Commerce to host Business After Hours on April 11. The monthly networking event assists local businesses in connecting with new customers.

Hoopingarner attributes the success of small independent businesses like Keeton’s to the close-knit nature of the local community.

“Office supply is a tough, competitive business, and the big chains have the big marketing bucks. But there is a really great local community that’s really taken care of us, and we want to do what we can to take care of them, too,” he said.

“The impact on the economy of taking local businesses and bringing them into the spotlight — it’s immeasurable.”