The Grinch, Dave Fuehne, won the grand prize of $1,000 in this year’s Blue Bucks Raffle promotion. Dave Volk, far left. of CB Fox, gave Fuehne the winning ticket. Also pictured are Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce executive director Ryn Herrmann and Liddie Martinez of Enterprise Bank & Trust. Courtesy photo
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NEWS
The holiday shopping season in Los Alamos and White Rock kicked off with Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30. This year, a few lucky shoppers also won big in the Enterprise Bank & Trust Blue Bucks raffle. The program is designed to incentivize shopping locally, and offered shoppers a chance to win cash prizes and gift cards to participating businesses.
For the second consecutive year, the Blue Bucks Raffle promotion was organized by the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce and Los Alamos MainStreet, and sponsored by Enterprise Bank & Trust. Blue Bucks raffle tickets were given out by participating businesses for every $25 spent locally.
In 2019, the promotion ran for eight days and the winning tickets were drawn and announced during the WinterFest Holiday Lights Parade on Saturday, Dec. 7. More than 9,500 raffle tickets were submitted for the drawing, representing $238,425 in money spent locally over the 8 days of the promotion. This was equivalent to a 16.5% per day increase in spending this year, compared to the 13-day promotional period in 2018.
The grand prize winner of the drawing is Dave Fuehne, who received the winning ticket while shopping at the CB Fox Department Store. Ironically, Dave was dressed up as the Grinch who walked alongside the Los Alamos School of Gymnastics float in the Holiday Lights Parade. It looks like this Grinch’s holiday will be a whole lot merrier! CB Fox also won $1,000 for giving away the winning ticket. The $500 winner is Gina Kave, who received her winning ticket at Bennett’s Fine Jewelry. The two $250 winners are Jodi Jurney, who received her winning ticket from Pet Pangaea, and Eric & Kathy Bjorklund, who received their winning ticket from the Los Alamos Nature Center by PEEC.
The drawing on Saturday was also for five gift bags, each containing at least $400 in gift certificates or merchandise from participating businesses. The winners are Juan Duque, who shopped at Metzger’s Do It Best Hardware in Los Alamos, Sam Romero, who shopped at Metzger’s Do It Best Hardware in White Rock, Shirley Harbur, who shopped at the Los Alamos Co+op Market, Jim Lujan, who shopped at Bennett’s Fine Jewelry, and Hannah Hughes.
“I want to give a big ‘Thank You’ to Enterprise Bank & Trust for supporting the Los Alamos business community,” said Melanie Bennett, owner of Bennett’s Fine Jewelry. “I found the Blue Bucks tickets created excitement and increased our business. It is not often that you find a financial institution that cares to help the business community. We are blessed to have their support and the support of the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce and MainStreet.” Bennett’s gave away one of the winning tickets for a gift bag.
Small Business Saturday is an annual celebration in conjunction with the national promotion started by American Express to support local businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Started in Los Alamos in 2010 by Cyndi Wells, owner of Pet Pangaea, the event has grown over the years. For the second year the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce and Los Alamos MainStreet partnered with Enterprise Bank & Trust to organize the event, and also produced a local Holiday Gift Guide to inspire local gift purchases. New this year was the “Little Shops” pop-up shop at the YMCA, which offered a space for businesses interested in the concept of a permanent Little Shops location. It was open to shoppers on both Nov. 30 and Dec. 7.
“Small Business Saturday was the main day to come out and support our local businesses,” said Ryn Herrmann, Los Alamos County Chamber of Commerce Director. “But with 8 days of the raffle ticket giveaways, we hope this promotion extended the idea of shopping local and made a big difference for our small businesses this holiday season. Thank you to Enterprise Bank and Trust for their support!”
Los Alamos MainStreet and the Chamber of Commerce are programs of Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation; a private, not-for-profit economic and community development organization serving the Los Alamos area since 1983. LACDC serves as the umbrella organization for the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce, Los Alamos MainStreet, Discover Los Alamos, Los Alamos Small Business Center, Los Alamos Creative District, projectY cowork Los Alamos and the Los Alamos Research Park.
The Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation’s mission is to build a vibrant community through a thriving economy by leveraging public and private sector investment to achieve sustainable economic development. LACDC works to drive economic progress by providing services to businesses using its broad portfolio of programs and initiatives.