NORTON, KS—In September, Independent We Stand, a national small business movement, kicked-off its sixth annual America’s Main Streets contest titled this year, “Road to Recovery,” a three-month long web-driven contest to help consumers, small business owners and Main Street organizations reward a deserving Main Street with $25,000 in cash and sponsor-related prizes. Whether the local Main Street is making a comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic or never lost its staying power, Independent We Stand invited the public to help draw attention to the vital role America’s Main Streets play in the long-term success of communities by nominating and voting for their favorite Main Street. Norton Business District in Norton is among this year’s nominees!
“Independent We Stand wants to help locally owned businesses not just survive the pandemic, but thrive in their communities,” says Independent We Stand co-founder Bill Brunelle. “After the massive nationwide shutdowns due to COVID, we recognize the pride business owners take in their Main Streets, and we want to help share those stories through our contest. It’s more important now than ever, to get behind these businesses with our support.”
The Norton Business District, which runs along U.S. Hwy 36 East and West, and Hwy 283 North and South (including our downtown Historic Business District) represents the core of our Main Street District. Grit and determination along with a long history of entrepreneurship and invention keep Norton true to its roots in manufacturing, technology, and agriculture, giving our business district challenges to remain a vital link. Efforts by community-wide organizations continue to identify retail leakage and to find strategies to fill the gap. Enormous support exists for our Chamber Bucks program which keeps spending dollars local. While we still have much progress to make in business and workforce attraction efforts, focusing on locally-owned and locally-driven prosperity will ultimately transform our business districts. Winning the $25,000 grand prize for this contest would be used to attract and retain our small business base of hard- working entrepreneurs.
We fit your shopping to a T!’ Shopping along Hwy 36 East & West, & State Street North & South, lends itself to not only shopping, restaurants, and local services, but also gives you an opportunity to enjoy museums, galleries, and public art. Rural America is finally seeing a resurgence in community development success stories, and the momentum in Norton is a strong bond that binds our many civic and private organizations together,” commented Donna Liddle, CEO of the Norton Area Chamber of Commerce and Travel & Tourism.
All nominations and voting take place on MainStreetContest.com beginning at 10 a.m. EST on Sept. 13, 2021.