Submitted by KATZ! Coffee and Used Books
The national small business movement, Independent We Stand, announces the 25 finalists, including downtown Lynden, of the 2016 Independent We Stand “America’s Main Streets” contest. As the lifeblood of our cities and towns, Main Streets play an important role in the long-term success of communities and help build a sense of place. Independent We Stand invites the public to vote for their favorite finalist in its bid to win the grand prize of $25,000.
Lynden, celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, is a farming community of 13,000 people located 10 miles north of Bellingham. More red raspberries are grown here than anywhere else in the country. With its flowered-lined streets, wide sidewalks and an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants, downtown Lynden is a great place to stroll down Front Street and just enjoy the moment. Downtown Lynden is the only finalist west of the Rocky Mountains.
The finalist with the most votes cast for it by the public will win the grand prize. Each person may vote once daily from today through May 29. To vote for downtown Lynden, visit http://www.mainstreetcontest.com/profile.php?id=140.
“The goal of this inaugural Independent We Stand ‘America’s Main Streets’ contest is to promote the importance and strong economic benefits of Main Streets and the small businesses that help them thrive,” says Independent We Stand co-founder Bill Brunelle. “We are so pleased to see how passionate people are about their Main Streets. It’s evident by the broad range of nominations we saw representing 44 states in the first round. Now, it’s time to rally and vote again for these terrific finalists.”
More than 150,000 votes were cast for 253 nominees during the nominations phase. The finalists in alphabetical order are:
- Ames Main Street Cultural District, Ames, Iowa
- Cedar Lee Business District Ohio, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
- Corning’s Gaffer District, Corning, N.Y.
- Dover-Foxcroft Downtown, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
- Downtown Brookings, Brookings, S.D.
- Downtown Development Authority of the City of Tifton, Tifton, Ga.
- Downtown Laurel, MS, Laurel, Miss.
- Downtown Lynden, Lynden, Wash.
- Doylestown, PA, Doylestown, Pa.
- Gateway to the Great North Woods, Millinocket, Maine
- Grapevine Historic Main Street, Grapevine, Texas
- Historic Downtown Franklin TN, Franklin, Tenn.
- Jacksonville Main Street, Jacksonville, Ill.
- Main Street Greenville, Greenville, Ohio
- Main Street Libertyville, Libertyville, Ill.
- Main Street Madison Indiana, Madison, Ind.
- McKinney Main Street, McKinney, Texas
- Moultrie Main Street, Moultrie, Ga.
- Sterling Main Street, Sterling, Ill.
- Stuart Main Street, Stuart, Fla.
- Third Street, Beaver, Pa.
- Venice Main Street, Venice, Fla.
- Water Street, Gardiner, Maine
- Wellsboro Main Street Pennsylvania, Wellsboro, Pa.
- Woodstock, Georgia, Woodstock, Ga.
Voting begins May 2 at MainStreetContest.com and runs through May 29.
The winner of the 2016 “America’s Main Streets” contest will be announced June 3.
Contest prizes include:
- $25,000 grand prize
- STIHL Equipment Certificate for $1,000 worth of STIHL equipment good at any STIHL dealer in the U.S.
- $500 Tire Pros certificate towards a set of Continental tires
- $500 Do it Best Corp. shopping spree
- $500 PPG Pittsburgh Paints shopping spree
- Public relations and social media recognition
- An Alignable small business social media “Neighborhood” on the site
- Special plaque for winner to proudly display
For more information on Lynden, contact Ken Stap by phone at 360-318-5162 or via email at KATZcoffee@yahoo.com.
