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It was a thrill to be in the room this past week when The Small Business Revolution announced that Fredonia was the winner in its Season 5 competition! When the show’s co-host Amanda Brinkman walked onto the stage at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House Performing Arts Center the crowd roared! It’s been a wild ride over the past couple of months as Fredonia was nominated by village native Grace Czechowski, admittedly we were not sure where this journey would take us. The next thing we knew, Fredonia was named to the Top 10, and then to the Top 5. The enormous outpouring of support from all over Western New York, and all over the country, has been heartwarming. Not just local people, but SUNY Fredonia alumni, friends and family from all over the United States and in far-away countries, were happy to use #myfredonia in their social media posts, and to vote every day on every device for a week. The local committee that organized so much of these efforts was diligent about keeping information in front of the businesses and the community as a whole in a variety of ways. We had enormous assistance and support from organizations, businesses, and individuals from all across Chautauqua County. Now, as we celebrate this success, we know there is more work to be done. Businesses in the 14063 Fredonia zip code have until midnight Monday, February 3 to fill out the online application. Business should go to www.votemyfredonia.com to link to the registration. The Small Business Revolution will select seven local businesses to be featured this coming season, but all local businesses will feel the reverberations from the $500,000 business revitalization investment by Deluxe Corporation into our community. We all hope to learn important lessons about business management, marketing, and operations. We have already learned great lessons about how we can work together as a team to create something wonderful in Chautauqua County. Thank you to everyone who voted, who hash-tagged, and who showed up for a series of rallies that filled the 1891 Opera House and Performing Arts Center. Thank you to all who worked behind the scenes to make this happen. Thank you to the committee that relentlessly walked the streets in Fredonia to spread the word. It’s been a joy to watch this unfold and to be part of a movement. Let’s all welcome the team from The Small Business Revolution as they prepare to come to Fredonia to begin filming in the weeks ahead!