Vol. 39, No. 10
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
of Wabash County Inc. May 18, 2016
www.thepaperofwabash.com Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
Victory!
The crowd at the Historic Eagles Theatre celebrates after Wabash was named winner in the Small Business Revolution Main Street contest on Thursday, May 12. Between 200 and 300 people were on hand for the announcement. Photos by Emma Rausch
Wabash wins Small Business contest
Amanda Brinkman, Deluxe Corporation’s Chief Marketing Officer, was in town for the celebration at the Historic Eagles Theatre.
By Joseph Slacian jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com Residents, business owners and various officials celebrated Thursday, May 12, after the City of Wabash cleared the first hurdle in the Deluxe Corporation’s Small Business Revolution Main Street contest. The city won the online voting contest by nearly 10,000 votes, defeating Silverton, Ore., in the contest which sees the winning community receiving $500,000 in goods and services from Deluxe. Between 200 and 300 people filled the Historic Eagles Theatre to view a video and hear Amanda Brinkman, Deluxe’s Chief Marketing Officer, say the words, “The winner of Small Business Revolution Main Street is … Wabash, Indiana.” With those words, the crowd erupted and balloons and streamers began to fly. Audience members, many wiping away tears, hugged one another and shared handshakes and slaps on the back. Brinkman, who made a personal appearance in the winning community, made her way to the Eagles Theatre stage moments after the film announcing
the winner was complete. “You guys came together,” she told the crowd. “You kicked this thing’s butt. You were down by 4,000 votes at one point, and you won by nearly 10,000, “That is just incredible.” The contest was designed to put spotlight on small businesses around the country. The firm began receiving nominations in January and Wabash and Silverton were selected as the two finalists. “We originally talked about this as being a makeover to a Main Street,” Brinkman said. “What I’m really touched by, especially in Wabash, is you don’t need a makeover. Perhaps you just need a little enhancement. “You need the rest of the world to realize what an incredible community this is. That’s what this project will do.” She noted that since the two finalists were named, countless media outlets have run stories on the event. “The whole point of this, again, is to start a conversation about how important small businesses are to our communities and to our small towns,” Brinkman said. Crews will return next week to begin filming the web series which will debut (continued on page 3)