MACON, Ga. — Dictionary.com defines "inclusive" as the act of not excluding people based on gender, race, class sexuality or disability.
Scott Mitchell just got two pats on the back for those values that he lives by... and that his business carries out every day.
"These doors, they open both ways in and out, so if someone is in a wheelchair or even has a walker, they can get in and out of the store very easily," Mitchell said.
Scott Mitchell is active in anything that involves sticking up for people of different walks of life.
He shows it even in his inventory -- you can find dishes from Turkey and a "Black Lives Matter" flag hangs on the wall along with plenty of gay pride stickers and other gear.
"I came out when I was 15, but I came out as a business owner when I was 43. It was that same experience all over again -- nervousness, terrified, 'What if people don't shop here anymore?'" he recalled.
But people did come to shop.
DeMarcus Beckham stops in once a week, sometimes for a gift, sometimes for life advice.
"He's so willing to drop everything to help anyone -- Scott is that guy and I think Macon is better for having him," DeMarcus said.
The Macon Chamber of Commerce agreed and gave an award for Small Business Leader of the Year.
"What they said to me is one of the reasons I was chosen is because of my commitment to inclusivity," Mitchell said.
Now both awards mean a lot to Scott, but the big one comes from Out Georgia, and it literally made Scott cry to get Small Business of the Year.
"That award took me by surprise and took my breath away, literally," he said emotionally. "17 years ago, I was a homeless drug addict living on the streets of Atlanta in the same town I went to accept the award in."
He's turned his life around, but he never forgot fear or feeling left out.
It's what makes him so empathetic.
Mitchell says the things that matter to him are justice, equality, and all that's good in the world.
Who could argue with that?