OBSERVER Staff Report

Fredonia residents will be gathering even earlier Tuesday than previously announced for the Small Business Revolution Top 5 Reveal rally.

On Tuesday at 6:30 a.m., the Fredonia community gather at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House to find out if they made the cut to be featured in Season Five of the Small Business Revolution. Originally the rally was set for later in the morning however the announcement from the Small Business Revolution could come as early as 6:45 a.m.

Fredonia Mayor Doug Essek is excited about the event. “The community response to this effort has been amazing and we intend to continue to build on the momentum. I have watched people collaborate in ways that I could not imagine to work on this effort. The community is energized. We ask the community to join us again to support the small business revolution.”

Businesses, local organizations and community leaders have been teaming up to bring Season Five of Small Business Revolution to Fredonia. The Small Business Revolution is a series that airs on Hulu and Amazon Prime. If Fredonia is successful in bringing the Small Business Revolution to the community, not only will the series be filmed in Fredonia, local businesses will receive technical assistance from Deluxe Corporation along with a $500,000 investment in the revitalization of local small businesses.

“The business community is really excited about this opportunity and is very engaged,” stated Michele Joy, Chair of the Fredonia Community Chamber of Commerce. “This opportunity has galvanized the Fredonia community into action. If we are going to capitalize on this opportunity we need the community and people throughout the region to continue to support this effort.”

With over 4,000 businesses nominated, Fredonia made it into the Top Ten and now on the morning of January 14th representatives of the Small Business Revolution and Deluxe Corporation will livestream a video event on Facebook to disclose which communities will be included in the Top Five. Once the Top Five is determined, a week-long public voting process will begin immediately. Individuals can vote every day starting 8 a.m. on Jan. 14 through Jan. 21 at 11 p.m. The community is encouraged to vote once a day on every device they can access by going to votemyfredonia.com. Once on the voting page there will be a prompt to enter an email. Voters can use the same email address each time they vote. For example if an individual owns a desktop, phone, tablet and has a computer at work they can vote four times each day.

Small Business Revolution is a production of Deluxe. Deluxe has been a proud champion of small business since 1915. The company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015, creating the Small Business Revolution as a way to celebrate the small businesses that drive our economy and bring our communities together, and create a movement of support. As a leading provider of marketing services and products for small businesses, Deluxe Corporation believes that small businesses are the future of the American economy.

For anyone interested in more information about the Small Business Revolution please go to votemyfredonia.com.