Record turnout for Oakland County's 'Small Business Saturday' promotion means cash and prizes for winners

20 Front Street in Lake Orion hosted the 2018 Oakland County Small Business Saturday prize winners’ reception featuring (left to right) first place winner of $5,000 from North American Bancard, Lauri Lombardi (Rochester); Brittany Newton, Bank of Ann Arbor, sponsor of the $2,000 second prize to Carla Tousley (Lake Orion); Belinda Turner-Dubois, CEED Lending, sponsor of the $1,000 prize to small business winners Ray and Emily Rath of Pigeon in the Parlour (Holly); Autumn Perry-MacClaren, Bishop International Airport, sponsor of $500 travel voucher third place winner; presenter Dr. Timothy Meyer, deputy Oakland County executive; and Greg Doyle, manager of Oakland County’s One Stop Shop Business Center and the county’s Small Business Saturday program.
– Photo courtesy of Oakland County


Holiday shopping turned lucrative for three area residents as they shared $7,500 in cash and prizes, just for making a purchase at an Oakland County brick-and-mortar business during the county’s “Small Business Saturday” promotion.

A record 1,992 shopping receipts totaling $145,000 were submitted by shoppers who wanted a chance to win $7,500 in cash and prizes. The total spent was a 47 percent increase from last year and the number of receipts increased 58 percent when the promotion lasted eight days instead of just one.

“This was our most successful ‘Small Business Saturday’ yet, with an unprecedented number of holiday shoppers supporting independent stores, restaurants and other businesses across Oakland County,” County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said. “The contest provided three lucky winners with some extra holiday cheer and local businesses that are the lifeblood of so many communities were the beneficiaries.”

Contest winners received their awards last week from Deputy Oakland County Executive Dr. Timothy Meyer at 20 Front Street in Lake Orion. The randomly selected winners were:

• Lauri Lombardi, first prize, $5,000, courtesy of North American Bancard. She made her purchase from Holy Cannoli in Rochester.
• Carla Tousely, second prize, $2,000, courtesy of Bank of Ann Arbor. She made her purchase from Bad Brad’s Barbeque in Lake Orion.
• Leslie Cruz, third prize, $500 airline travel voucher, courtesy of Flint Bishop International Airport. She shopped at Frentz & Sons in Royal Oak.

The businesses who registered for promotion and the person who made the winning sale were also given cash awards. Pigeon in the Parlour in Holly was randomly selected as the winner from the 375 registered businesses and received $1,000, courtesy of CEED Lending. Cathy Schulte of Holy Cannoli won $500 for making the sale to the first prize customer.

Businesses in Lake Orion led the way with 240 submitted receipts from its customers. Green Hippo Gifts in Lake Orion led county retailers for the second year with 63 submitted receipts. Other notable business districts entries included Berkley (225), Holly (187) and Milford (182). The promotion was sponsored by Oakland County’s Department of Economic Development & Community Affairs.

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