Camas not picked for ‘Small Business Revolution — Main Street’

Camas will not be featured in Season 4 of the “Small Business Revolution — Main Street” show, which airs on Hulu.

After months of promotions, excitement and online voting, supporters of the “MyCamas” movement, aimed at getting Camas the No. 1 spot on “Small Business Revolution” and winning the town a $500,000 business makeover, had gathered in Camas’ historic Liberty Theatre Tuesday evening to hear if their dreams had come true.

But it was not to be.

Amanda Brinkman and Ty Pennington, the hosts of the “Small Business Revolution,” announced Searcy, Arkansas, a college town with about 24,000 residents, had won the online vote and would be the recipient of the $500,000 makeover and featured city in the show’s fourth season.

Although there were a few groans in the theater, most of the MyCamas supporters gathered to hear the announcement simply clapped politely when the hosts announced Searcy as the winning town.

Downtown Camas Association (DCA) Executive Director Carrie Schulstad said MyCamas enthusiasts could watch the show and see the transformation of Searcy’s “amazing businesses.”

When Camas made the top six in the running for the show, Schulstad said winning the “Small Business Revolution” contest would have been “an incredible opportunity for all of us here in Camas to receive not just funding, but national exposure along with advice and mentorship from nationally renowned marketers.”

Representatives from Deluxe, the marketing company behind “Small Business Revolution — Main Street,” will offer a free marketing seminar to businesses in each of the “top 10” towns.

Camas was the only town on the West Coast in the running and was competing with Searcy, as well as Canon City, Colorado; Corsicana, Texas; Durant, Oklahoma; and Washington, North Carolina.

All of the supporters backing the top six towns should be “extremely proud,” Brinkman said in her online announcement on Tuesday before divulging the winner. “Votings was bananas this season, with 1.6 million votes. And you were on fire on social media with 200 million impressions.”

Camas had come a long way since the “Small Business Revolution” executives announced in November that the town was one of 20 finalists selected from more than 12,000 nominations. In mid-December, Camas made the show’s “Top 10” finalists, and show executives visited downtown Camas the first week of January to meet small business owners, local officials and excited #MyCamas fans. On Feb. 12, the city found out it was in the top six contenders.

For more information about Deluxe’s “Small Business Revolution — Main Street” show, visit deluxe.com/sbrc/small-business-revolution