2020 Jefferson County Small Business Award Recipients Announced

12 qualifying small businesses will receive a $25,000, half in zero-interest loans with half as a forgivable grant after 2 years.

(Jefferson County, Ind.) - Jefferson County Commissioners David Bramer, Ron Lee, and Robert Little, along with the Jefferson County Board of Tourism and the OCRA grant writing team are excited to announce the 2020 Restart, Sustain, Succeed Revolving Loan/Grant Fund Program award recipients. 12 qualifying small businesses will receive a $25,000, half in zero-interest loans with half as a forgivable grant after 2 years. The awards were made possible with funding from Indiana’s Office of Rural Affairs, Federal HUD dollars, Jefferson County Commissioners, and the Jefferson County Board of Tourism.

The collaborative grant team of Jefferson County Board of Tourism member, Tami Hagemier and Visit Madison’s Holly Love-Gibson worked closely with the County Commissioners to assure Jefferson County was 1 of only 42 recipients across all cities and counties in the entire State of Indiana to receive funding in order to establish the program. The opportunity is Jefferson County’s first and only county-wide small business economic development tool and is expected to continue through the COVID pandemic. Past programs have been restricted to the City of Madison businesses. The program is the first of its kind to include “mom and pop” sole proprietors, partnerships, and well as small corporations. According to Commissioner Robert Little, when first establishing guidelines for the program, “We wanted everyone to have a chance, no matter how small their business.”

Tami Hagemier, JCBT board member and co-grant writer stated, “County Commissioner Robert Little deserves a great deal of credit for obtaining matching funding from the Jefferson County Commissioners. He played a large role in establishing guidelines that would allow micro county-based businesses to compete fairly against other small businesses and corporations. Hagemier added, “Without Commissioner Little’s efforts, the collaboration between the Board of Tourism and support of Visit Madison, and funding from Jefferson County, the awards would not have been possible. This is a community-wide success”.

Holly Love-Gibson, co- grant writer for the OCRA grant and Visit Madison, Inc. employee stated, “Thank you to the Jefferson County Board of Tourism for selecting me to work directly with the board and OCRA. I am honored to be a part of this program that truly benefits our local small businesses and help some of our most vulnerable low to moderate-income employees remain in the workforce despite the pandemic. I would also like to thank everyone at OCRA and especially our community liaison, Jennifer Voris, for their help in making this opportunity possible as well as Visit Madison director Tawana Thomas and our staff for their support”

Visit Madison, Inc. Executive Tourism Director, Tawana Thomas said, “Visit Madison was honored to be selected by the Jefferson County Commissioners and the Jefferson County Board of Tourism as the oversight agency for the grant. We appreciate their confidence and trust in us. As Executive Director, I am proud of our Visit Madison staff, our board members who supported the team’s efforts, and our commitment to working in collaboration with Jefferson County and the members of the Jefferson County Board of Tourism.”

Jefferson County Commissioner President, David Bramer, said, “This is the first county-wide economic development program for Jefferson County. The County Commissioners are excited to offer this assistance to some of our great businesses in Jefferson County. It was personally meaningful to me to speak with an award member and see how helpful this award will be. We plan to continue to work with The Jefferson County Board of Tourism on this project and additional projects that will positively impact the tourism industry and quality of place in Jefferson County. Congratulations to everyone on their hard work and to our award winners. “

ABOUT THE AWARDS AND WINNERS: The recipients of the first round of Jefferson County's Restart, Sustain, and Succeed Program include veteran, women and minority-owned businesses, businesses in the tourism district as well as county-based businesses, artists, restaurants, agribusiness, salon operators, sign painters, and locksmith businesses, single moms, long term business owners, and micro-businesses, partnerships and small corporations. Awards were based on the highest scores from guidelines established by the state and county commissioners. An independent review committee reviewed applications and scores, submitted those scores to the Community Program Coordinator to verify they met state standards, and finally Jefferson County Commissioners approved all recipients.

Those receiving the award are:

• Keepsake Consignment
• Darrell’s Tire and Alignment LLC
• Cozy Acre Golf Complex
• Brenda Shropshire
• Seth Bickis
• Clifty Garden Center
• John and Lori Heitz
• Kirsten Quick
• Lee’s Locksmith Service
• Steven Bickis
• Attic to Basement – Sugar on Main
• Midwest Gym Supply

If you have any questions, please contact the Program Coordinator, Holly Love-Gibson at holly@visitmadison.org or call 812-265-2956.

For additional information or comment regarding Jefferson County Board of Tourism please contact Tami Hagemier at tamihagemier@gmail.com or 821-701-8407

For information or comment regarding Visit Madison please contact Director Tawana Thomas at 812-265-2956

For more about Jefferson County Commissioners and their comprehensive plans to improve Quality of Place and Economic Opportunity in all of Jefferson County please contact: David Bramer, President, Jefferson County Commissioners 812-701-0902