Once again, women from around the area flooded shops of Brookhaven in an effort to take advantage of the fifth annual Girl’s Night Out sales.

Kay Burton, marketing director at the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce, said the event saw over 1,000 women buy tickets and went as well as last year.

“Better in some aspects,” she said, comparing this year’s event with previous years. “People loved the T-shirt and coupon book.”

Rhonda Deer, head of the retail committee, said they had a good crowd until about 9:30 p.m. at Vendor’s Emporium. One of her favorite things was seeing people stop and visit with each other.

Deer said the coupon books help extend the benefits of Girl’s Night Out.

“It’s good for business because it’ll bring people back into your store,” she said.

Burton said spreading the packet distribution over two days made everything run a lot smoother.

“There was never a bottleneck in traffic,” she said. “It was a busy two days, but I think it went well.”

Deer said the new distribution system benefited the shoppers.

“It seemed like everybody enjoyed getting to pick up their coupon early instead of that mad dash,” she said.

The event ended with an ice cream social at Brookhaven Monument where the shoppers were able to relax and chat.

One group of women were first-time participants of GNO.

“It’s wonderful, exciting,” said Gail Magee, “We’re having fun.”

Gloria Rayborn said she set out to buy a gift and accomplished that task early in the evening.

Sandy Berry said she had wanted to come in previous years but never realized you could purchase tickets the day of the sale.

“It kind of snuck up on me,” she said. “When I saw the advertising this year, I said let’s go.”

Diana Stevens enjoyed the event so much she requested it be held more often.

“We want to know if they’ll do it at Christmas,” she said.

These women also discussed the social aspects.

“I love Brookhaven because it has so many opportunities to mix and mingle,” Rayborn said. “It’s a precious place to live.”

Other women were veterans to Girl’s Night Out. Pat Davis and Debra Jackson have attended all five, mainly because of the opportunity to socialize.

“You see everybody you don’t normally see on a daily basis,” Jackson said. “Someone said it’s like a family reunion.”

Burton said people can still come by the chamber and purchase the coupon book and T-shirt for $15. The coupons expire throughout the next couple months. They are currently out of T-shirts, but they will be making a second order on Monday.

Garrick Combs, executive director of the chamber, said he thought the event went well.

“Kay and that team worked really hard,” he said. “It was a beehive of activity at the chamber all week.”