By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
It was another great year for the Shop St. Joseph program.
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce President Natalie Hawn says the number of tickets given away during the program continues to grow year over year
“We almost gave out 2 million tickets, so it’s hard to believe that 19 years ago when we started this program how much has changed” Hawn says on the KFEQmunnity show. “So, 19 years ago we were giving out about 140,000 tickets when we started, now we’re giving out almost 2 million.”
Hawn says the program was developed 19 years ago as a way to keep shoppers from traveling to Kansas City to do their holiday shopping.
“And now it’s to keep people from buying online, it’s so funny how much things change, but they stay the same,” Hawn explains. “Still a great program, still a great motivator, still gets people excited about shopping local, but it’s funny how trends do change over time.”
This year's winner received their ticket from the Narrative Home. Hawn says the idea to implement the Small Business Bonus came three years ago. . .
“Since then, every one of the $10,000 winners has come from a small business, which is really cool,” Hawn says. “So, the last three years both the $10,000 and the $2,500 have not been the same store, but they’ve both been small businesses, which is really fun.”
Hawn says since the winner was announced, she's heard from the owner of Narrative Home about the number of customers who came in, who heard of the store thanks to Shop St. Joe
“So that’s why we do this, we do this to really remind people to shop local, to shop strategically, because those are the stores that make our community unique,” Hawn says.
Jackie Miller, a local teacher, took home the $10,000 prize. Billie Sue Wall won the $2,500 Small Business Bonus, shopping at Quality Hearing & Audiology Center.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.