1st winner of CEG competition announced

JACKSON, Tenn. — A local business will have the opportunity to experience the delight of expanding.

Four businesses, the City of Jackson, Boren & Boyd, the Bank of Jackson, and WBBJ-TV have partnered together to give back to small businesses in West Tennessee  through a monthly competition.

The first winner of the Corporate Entrepreneur Grants is “Beyond Words Therapy,” a small business based in Milan with Jodie Scott as the owner and speech therapist.

In just one day, the life of her small business was changed after watching an advertisement on WBBJ-TV.

“Saw the commercial and thought, ‘Wow. I should apply for that,’ not really thinking that I would ever win. So it was a pleasant surprise for me,” Scott said.

The commercial shares the criteria of the competition, such as the business being established less than two years, plus locally owned.

Viewers were also enlightened of the huge prize, a $6,000 advertising campaign.

“Just starting out. I’ve only been in business for about a year. And my marketing budget is so limited. So this, to me, is huge. It’s just, it’s a game changer,” Scott said.

Beyond Words Therapy is the first winner of the competition. Each month for the remainder of 2023, a new small business will be selected.

“I love that it’s for small businesses that have been in business for less than two years. It’s not open to the bigger corporations and businesses. So if you’re even on the fence about it a little bit, go ahead and apply,” Scott said.

This opportunity allows not only the small business to prosper, but gives those in the community a wider range of choices to interact with.

“Get my name out there and help more families and and help more children really is the major thing that that I’m so happy about,” Scott said.

Learn more here.