Shine A Light Finalists Announced - Cast Your Vote!

Well done to all of you who participated in Shine A Light from American Express in partnership with NBC Universal; because of your support, a spotlight truly did shine on so many wonderful entrepreneurs, including many of you. There were thousands of nominations from across the country, and the field has been narrowed down to three inspiring finalists.

In the spirit of supporting entrepreneurship, you now have the opportunity to cast your vote to help determine a winner and support three incredible small businesses! These three entrepreneurs are truly worth celebrating -- they combine innovative business models with community spirit and customer service. Voting takes less than a minute and will help the winner get to the next level of success with $100,000 in grant and marketing support. Vote for the small business that most inspires you, and take a moment to learn about what makes each of them stand apart. You never know what you'll learn that will inspire you  with your own business; we have certainly learned a lot!

Here is a quick overview of each finalist, or go directly to www.nbc.com/shinealight to learn more and cast your vote:

BEACON PAINT & HARDWARE
"A Neighborhood Beacon," New York, N.Y
This neighborhood hardware store has been on the same block for more than 100 years. They have become a household name to the entire school community, donating vast amounts of paint, lighting and materials. Beacon also sponsors a walkathon for the Xeroderma Pigmentosum Society and a community cleanup day to paint over any graffiti on mailboxes or lampposts.
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HAPPYBABY
"Socially Responsible Organic Baby Foods," Brooklyn, N.Y.
With distribution across the country, they pioneered a new movement in baby food with a line of sustainable organic home-style meals as an alternative to the processed jarred foods. The business is the brainchild of a social entrepreneur who wanted to provide our children with the best start to instill eating habits for a healthy happy life, and simultaneously provide basic nutritional needs for less fortunate children simply trying to survive.
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SACRED WIND COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (SWC)
"Navajo Tribe Connection to Outside World," Albuquerque, N.M.
This telecommunications company serves the Navajo people in New Mexico and is building a state of the art telecommunications network to reach over 6,000 homes without access to telephone service of any kind. SWC has opened the door for the Navajo community to connect to the rest of the world, and is providing jobs in an area of extremely high unemployment.
LEARN MORE AND VOTE

The winning small business will be announced on October 19th, so make sure you vote today!  For more information and to vote, log on to www.nbc.com/shinealight.

Your vote matters!