Wabash, Indiana competed in a national competition for half of a million dollars. There were 10,000 submissions from cities across the country, and on Thursday, the Deluxe Corporation announced Wabash had beaten all of them.
The city was down by 4,000 votes just a few days ago, but when voting ended, Wabash had beaten its opponent, Silverton, Oregon, by about 10,000 votes.
The Small Business Revolution on Main Street contest was hosted by marketing company Deluxe, which aims to help small businesses. The $500,000 award will be split evenly between downtown development, like new signs and landscaping, and marketing for small businesses.
Shelby McLaughlin works for Marketplace, a downtown development organization who submitted the city for the competition. She says she hopes that even businesses that aren’t chosen to receive the prize money continue to feel pride for Wabash.
“I really feel like this changed Wabash as a whole, and I really hope that it continues to change our hearts and we continue to encourage each other and come together as a community,” she said.
In the coming weeks, Deluxe will pick which businesses in downtown Wabash will receive the money. It will go toward new logos, website design and other marketing services.
