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North Adams Misses Out on Downtown Funding
by Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
02:04PM / Wednesday, February 22, 2017
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City Council President Benjamin Lamb and Events Coordinator Suzy Helme spearheaded the effort.

Julie Gordon, director of marketing partnerships at Deluxe, speaks at the Small Business Revolution announcement.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A groan filled Club B10 on Wednesday afternoon as Bristol Borough, Pa., was announced as the winner of this year's The Small Business Revolution - Main Street.

The crowd at the Massachusetts Musem of Contemporary Art had hoped for North Adams to be the recipient of a $500,000 boost to the city's downtown and help for at least five of its small businesses.

"It was an absolute honor to be nominated," said City Councilor Benjamin Lamb, one of the leaders of the local effort. "It was an absolute pleasure to see everyone come together the way they did. It showed how this community spirit really exists and we can tap into that in the future."

Wednesday capped a monthslong effort by a local team headed by Lamb and Events Coordinator Suzy Helme that first nominated North Adams last fall. The city was selected with seven other communities from 14,000 nominations as semifinalists last fall and made the cut as a finalist in early February. Businesses and officials turned out in January to welcome Amanda Brinkman, chief brand and communications officer forMinnesota-based Deluxe Corp., which services small businesses with printing and marketing.

Community leaders, while disappointed in the outcome, are pointing to the surge in support for the #MyNorthAdams campaign as a "galvanizing moment" that the city can turn to its advantage.

"We saw a movement here over the last few weeks that I don't ever recall in our community," said Mayor Richard Alcombright. "Just like a galvanizing moment that brought people together in a way that just hasn't happened."

Businesses and officials turned out in January to welcome Amanda Brinkman, Deluxe's ‎chief brand and communications officer.

Then the city was selected as a finalist on Feb. 9 along with Red Wing, Minn.; Georgetown, S.C.; Bristol Borough, Pa., and Kingsburg, Calif. Voting started immediately for the contestants for a chance at a prize that would bring funding, technical aid and physical improvements — along with the national exposure — to their downtowns.

Last year's winner, Wabash, Ind., has seen its profile raised after the web series was launched with Brinkman and co-host Robert Herjavec, an entrepreneur who's been featured on ABC's "Shark Tank."

North Adams reached out to as many social media supporters as it could - getting Facebook posts or retweets from state and local officials including Gov. Charlie Baker and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and celebrities like actor Elizabeth Banks and the band Wilco. Wabash even joined in supporting the state's smallest city after local business owners here reached out to the counterparts in the Indiana town.

Julie Gordon, director of marketing partnerships at Deluxe, who was at the announcement at Mass MoCA, said nearly 1 million votes were cast and that North Adams alone far exceeded the first year's 180,000 votes cast. North Adams had been a solid third during the week of voting but SBR has said the spread between the five finalists was tight.

Gordon said three of her neighbors had admitted to voting for North Adams over Minnesota's own Red Wing.

"It's a testament to your story, how it's resonated, how people have been touched by your town ...  it feels like you almost started your own revolution - don't steal our brand - in your town," she said.

Deluxe featured 100 small businesses for its 100th anniversary a couple years ago. After hearing about the challenges for downtowns in the small communities it visited, The Small Business Revolution was born as a way to raise awareness of local business.

"We have been so humbled by the nationwide response to the Small Business Revolution especially this year," Gordon said. "You have to feel so proud of the momentum you've generated here in North Adams and that you've done this just by being invested in your community and having really creative ideas how to get the vote out."

As Brinkman's Facebook Live announcement was streamed on the big screen, the 150 or so in attendance cheered and applauded as video clips of North Adams appeared. Brinkman thanked everyone for being involved and then named Bristol Borough, Pa., as the winner.

The enthusiasm dropped substantially but the crowd gave a round of applause for Bristol Borough and for those who had helped to get the city as far as it did.

Then they started wondering about what's next.

"I think it's a bandwagon we have to keep on riding. We can't let it stop here," Lamb said. "I think the way we brought people together around knowledge of the city, around celebration of the city, around our small-business population ... there's a lot of hope and aspiration."

Just getting the word out about North Adams was a win, said Councilor Nancy Bullett, who saw an "explosion" of potential.

"There are so many people who have surfaced in this community, new people and older people  - people how have lived here all their lives - and we know who they are now," said Joe Manning, a Florence resident whose become a well-known chronicler of the city. "All we need to do is tap their talent."

Alcombright, in particular, pointed to the participation of the city's younger citizens and the opportunities that can come with national recognition.

"This has been a total win for us," he said. "Deluxe brought this to our door and we thank them, but this has been a total win for the city of North Adams and our greater community."

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