Dick Pond Athletics A Finalist in National Contest

, which has a shop in St. Charles, has been named a finalist in the Big Break for Small Business national contest sponsored by American Express OPEN and Facebook, according to a release.

The nation’s oldest running specialty store has six locations in the Chicago area, including the one in St. Charles. The release states that earned a spot among the contest’s final 10. It was among 12,000 applications from small businesses across the United States.

credited its standing in the contest on its 43-year-old grassroots approach to business, unrelenting focus on fitness with free group training programs, and continued support of community cornerstones, including a campaign that reinvests in the cross country and track and field programs at local schools, the release states.

“When my father started this business in 1969 out of the trunk of his car, it wasn’t about the money but about his passion for running,” owner Kirsten Pond said about her father Dick Pond, an All-American runner at Western Michigan University in the early 1960s. “Though Dad passed away from leukemia in 1991, we’ve found ways to continue that passion and build a company that would make him proud.”

The 10 contest finalists are now competing in a round of public online judging on Facebook, the release states. Nationwide voting began Aug. 20 and ends at 10:59 p.m. CST Friday, Aug. 31.

Voting for Dick Pond Athletics on Facebook is easy by visiting www.facebook.com/OPEN. There is a daily limit of one vote per finalist per person, according to the release.

American Express OPEN and Facebook will announce the five winners on or after Sept. 4, the release states. Each winner will receive a one-on-one consultation from American Express OPEN and Facebook branding experts as well as $25,000 to launch strategic actions aimed at building and marketing the company’s brand, among other awards.

Each of the winning businesses also will have the opportunity to “pay it forward” by inviting other small business owners within their community to learn better use of social channels for business from American Express OPEN and Facebook social media and marketing experts, the release states.