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I met Karen Maravilla long ago because of her association with the Downtown Hammond Council and as a fellow advocate for the arts.

While Karen was a guest on my WJOB 1230 AM radio show earlier this week for the Tuesday broadcast, I learned from her the origins of the annual commerce observation of “Shop Small Business Saturday,” which is always the Saturday following Thanksgiving and, of course, the day after Black Friday.

The day is designed to give a cash register boost in sales for locally owned family businesses that add their revenue math in the same ledgers and spreadsheets as large chain retailers.

What I didn’t realize is that it was American Express that launched the idea and promoted the first launch of “Small Business Saturday” ba

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