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Featured Events, Contests and Awards

WEBINAR: Tips to Tackle 2022 - Scale Your BusinessWEBINAR: Tips to Tackle 2022 – Scale Your Business
January 19, 2022, Online

The challenges of 2021 have required businesses to adapt and become more resilient, and with a new year comes new obstacles. Join expert analyst and co-founder of SMB Group, Laurie McCabe, and principal marketing representative at Capitol Corridor, Marques Cook, for an educational discussion on how to help your business thrive and scale in 2022.


#WICxAnnualSummit 2022#WICxAnnualSummit 2022
January 26, 2022, Online

Hear from industry leaders turning the magic quadrant on its head and changing the landscape by addressing economic access and gender parity experience. Joining us will be change-makers who will shed light on topics impacting the leadership and advancements in cloud technology, AI, entrepreneurship and more.


Social Media Strategies Summit | Virtual ConferenceSocial Media Strategies Summit | Virtual Conference
February 23, 2022, Online

Learn from a mix of industry leaders who will share the proven social media strategies they use to grow their brands. SMSS is the premier social media conference for solution and service providers to engage directly with a targeted audience of decision-making marketers.


TECHSPO Atlanta 2022 Technology Expo (Internet ~ Mobile ~ AdTech ~ MarTech ~ SaaS)TECHSPO Atlanta 2022 Technology Expo (Internet ~ Mobile ~ AdTech ~ MarTech ~ SaaS)
June 30, 2022, Atlanta, Georgia

TECHSPO Atlanta is a two-day technology expo returning June 30th to July 1st, 2022 at the luxurious The Westin Peachtree Plaza Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. TECHSPO Atlanta brings together some of the best developers, brands, marketers, technology providers, designers, innovators and evangelists looking to set the pace in our advanced world of technology.


More Events

More Contests

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends.

You can see a full list of events, contest and award listings or post your own events by visiting the Small Business Events Calendar.


Best of Business 2022: Multimedia services

Awards ceremonies, corporate activities, regional sports activities teams, and milestone presents, normally all include the ending touch of personalization to make the memento distinctive for the recipient. As a result of his enterprise Engraveables, Louis Papile, Jr., is satisfied to be element of peoples’ celebrations. 

Established in 1984 by Louis Papile, Sr., Engraveables initially began as a sporting merchandise keep. In addition to providing sports equipment, Papile’s father presented engraving on the little trophies he offered. More than the several years, shopper need for engraving superseded the sporting merchandise, so the family focused solely on that.

Papile joined his father’s business in 1998. He joked he worked more challenging for fewer funds and no rewards.

“But it was the finest detail I at any time did. I was not punching a timeclock any more,” he stated.

Papile proudly carries his family’s legacy, even soon after his father’s passing. Engraveables now is a 3rd-generation business with Papile’s daughter on the group, but he hopes his little one grandson will just one day take above.

“We delight ourselves on engraving whatsoever we can, not just what we promote. We will engrave everything,” Papile stated.

The oddest matters Papile has engraved involve a $3,000 bottle of whiskey, an Olympic-torch-styled award, a copper water can, and a steel cooking pan.

The store has a diamond cutter, a carbon dioxide laser, and sand-etching machine, meaning everything from painted surfaces to glass can be custom made. The fiber laser is Papile’s most current addition and offers him the capability to engrave on metallic surfaces these as titanium.

Engraveables’ showroom allows consumers to see all the award selections to come to feel the trophies. Papile reported bodily sensation the awards is a extremely important portion of the buying approach and is missing when people buy on the internet.

Over the several years, the demand for engravings and trophies has shifted, with most of Papile’s do the job coming from corporate activities and enterprises.

The enterprise has found lots of ups and downs in the current market considering the fact that 1984, the worst remaining the COVID pandemic and levels of competition with web-based firms. Papile is convinced Engraveables’ popularity is what produced his mainly phrase-of-mouth business enterprise triumph.

— Tale published by Sloane M. Perron

* denotes repeat winner

Ideal IT Providers Company

Cinch I.T.*
Place: Worcester, CinchIT.com
Top government: President Rick Porter
Founded: 2004
Employees: 46

Cinch I.T. opened five new spots throughout the U.S. in 2021, providing the enterprise 11 places throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Georgia, Michigan, and Utah. Cinch serves its customers best by focusing on its team, producing a culture of devoted folks who try to deliver the very best IT aid feasible.

Noteworthy runners-up: ClearCom IT Alternatives, Inc., Machado Consulting

Greatest Industrial Printer

Curry Printing*

Site: Westborough, curryprinting.com
Top government: President Peter Gardner
Founded: 1978
Staff: 30

Curry has a sturdy target on comprehending clients’ needs so the firm can assist them attain much more and get much better results, constantly striving to find out every little thing about the challenges clients encounter. At Curry, 2021 was a build-again calendar year, attempting to return to pre-COVID product sales degrees. This target translated to knowledge how clients were being pivoting in the new regular. That translated into a resurgence in revenue for Curry, which fulfilled its objectives.

Notable runners-up: Miles Press, Inc., AlphaGraphics

Very best Online video Generation Company

Pagano Media*

Site: Worcester, paganomedia.com
Top executive: CEO Kathleen Pagano
Founded: 1981
Personnel: 9

Pagano Media fuses style and design, electronic engineering and details to spark progress. It is a boutique electronic advertising company concentrating on building world-course branding, web page layout & development, movie output, electronic promoting campaigns, and live occasions. Final calendar year turned out to be an essential 1 for Pagano, as online video helped customers triumph over the worries of COVID, while Pagano celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Notable runners-up: Studio Jade, PENTA Communications, Inc.

Best Marketing Agency

PENTA Communications, Inc.*

Area: Westborough, www.pentamarketing.com
Prime government: Founder & CEO Deborah Penta
Established: 1989
Workforce: 17

For more than 30 a long time, PENTA has served as a absolutely integrated strategic promoting lover, supporting many corporations all through Central Massachusetts. In 2021, PENTA strategized with customers to assistance them increase strategies, and produce and offer innovative companies to sustain and improve, like reaching its clients’ consumers to have interaction and fortify communications during COVID.

Notable runners-up: Davis Marketing, Studio Jade

Greatest World-wide-web Design and style Organization

PENTA Communications, Inc.*

Place: Westborough, www.pentamarketing.com
Major executive: Founder & CEO Deborah Penta
Founded: 1989
Employees: 17

PENTA has been supplying internet site style and design and improvement companies to customers for a lot more than 20 decades. Custom made patterns, Web optimization tactic and ongoing analytics management, and the creation of internet sites concentrate on clients’ ambitions and outstanding customer activities. Every single web page has one of a kind objectives, so just about every project fulfills customized goals and strategic inventive methods to attain functionality backed up by info analytics.

Noteworthy runners-up: Worcester Interactive, Studio Jade

Best Virtual Support Organization

Simplify, Simplify

Locale: Worcester, www.simplifysimplify.me
Top rated government: Liz August, organization+tech strategist & owner
Established: 2019
Workforce: 1

Simplify, Simplify aids provider-based mostly on the net small business entrepreneurs with responsibilities so they can help you save time, make more, and take pleasure in daily life away from the laptop or computer display though however amplifying their enterprises. In 2021, the agency expanded from a single individual to a staff of freelancers all managed by the operator, Liz August. This allows the firm to provide extra corporations by rushing up turnaround time and increasing awareness of far more platforms.

Greatest Signal Corporation

Sunshine Sign Co., Inc.*

Spot: North Grafton, www.sunshinesign.com
Major government: President & Founder Dave Glispin
Launched: 1986
Workers: 32

Sunshine Indicator methods its job as a unique collaborative romance meshing its clients’ visions with its expertise to provide resourceful and practical signage answers. The enterprise marked 35 several years in business enterprise in 2021, celebrating a family members-like culture where everyone not only will work perfectly jointly but appears out for every other.

Notable runners-up: Serrato Symptoms, Gemini Sign Letters

Governor’s, lawmakers’ $8.4 billion budgets tout funds for education, public safety | Legislature | New Mexico Legislative Session

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham introduced an $8.4 billion paying out proposal for the approaching fiscal calendar year with an emphasis on boosting community instruction funding and programs and bolstering general public protection initiatives.

The proposal was unveiled just minutes ahead of the Legislative Finance Committee pitched its personal plan — an $8.46 billion budget — at a information convention in the Capitol. That proposal also funnels additional income into the general public instruction and public basic safety sectors.

Both budgets, which will appear less than scrutiny when the Legislature convenes later this thirty day period for a 30-day session, involve a approximately $1 billion increase in paying out around the current yr. They are reflections of a new rosy prediction of $1.6 billion in new condition revenues, which does not include even now unused federal dollars — a lot more than $600 million — from the American Rescue Approach Act.

Each proposals sustain healthful reserve funds — 36.4 per cent in the governor’s spending budget 30 {ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} in the Legislative Finance Committee’s.

“These are investments that choose us outside of the standing quo, outside of decades of unneeded austerity,” Lujan Grisham stated in a news release issued Thursday morning. “These are investments that have our condition and its individuals into a future that lifts up just about every New Mexican.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Patti Lundstrom, D-Gallup, chairwoman of the Dwelling Appropriations and Finance Committee, which helps spearhead the budget approach for legislators, stated a budget of this size is “unheard of” in New Mexico. She reported dependent on the ongoing prosper of gasoline and oil revenues, “we truly feel we acquired it just correct.”

It is standard for equally the government and legislative branches to suggest budgets for the coming several years, while seldom do they do so on the exact working day. When the session begins Jan. 18, the two will negotiate to appear up with a ultimate document. Lundstrom famous the complete spending allocations for the budgets is “close.”

Improving upon the state’s community education system has remained the target of both the governor and lawmakers, significantly in light-weight of the historic Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit, in which a coalition of dad and mom, college students, educators and lawmakers charged the state was not carrying out plenty of to provide sources for impoverished learners, English-language learners and other kids.

District Judge Sarah Singleton in 2018 dominated in favor of the plaintiffs, telling state leaders to enact programs and systems to assist those people students.

However she did not connect a price tag tag to her ruling, Singleton’s concept was crystal clear, and point out leaders have been funneling far more funds into public training — while not ample to fulfill some of the plaintiffs. Each proposals dedicate about $3.8 billion to community universities and advise a 7 p.c income raise for instructors.

The Legislative Finance Committee proposal features $180 million targeted at plans to handle the Yazzie/Martinez circumstance, such as prolonged understanding hrs in colleges and other applications.

Each budgets also goal community security.

The governor’s proposal calls for $100 million to hire 1,000 much more law enforcement officers all around the condition and requests a 20 p.c improve in present pay out expectations for condition police officers.

The Legislative Finance Committee price range proposes $4.7 million for added condition police officer fork out and shut to $785,000 in compensation will increase for other crucial public protection positions.

Other priorities for the two finances proposals are increasing broadband access, investing a lot more in Medicaid courses and raising state personnel salaries. The governor’s spending plan also contains $6.5 million for the new Hashish Command Division, with significantly of that funding heading to using the services of 35 new employees customers to begin overseeing the state’s fledgling legalized cannabis marketplace.

Though the governor did not hold a information meeting to go over her funds, lawmakers who attended the Legislative Finance Committee function praised that panel’s proposal. Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, stated he thought that budget will take a “cautious method.”

“Revenues are fantastic,” he stated. “We assume we’re investing sensibly.”

State to expand personal finance education for high school students | News

Student Loan Borrowers Will Get $15 Billion Of Student Loan Cancellation

There is superior information for university student mortgage borrowers.

Here’s what you want to know — and what it signifies for your scholar loans.

University student Loans

The greatest takeaway from President Joe Biden’s shock conclusion to extend student personal loan aid for one more 90 times isn’t automatically what you imagine. Certainly, by means of May 1, 2022, scholar mortgage debtors will not have to make any federal pupil financial loan payments. Indeed, university student loan debtors will not have any new interest accrue on their federal university student loans. Yes, there’s will not be any assortment of scholar loans in default via garnishment of wages or Social Security checks. However, there’s a further enormous benefit for pupil financial loan borrowers that is much less seen. Let us discover.


University student bank loan cancellation: $15 billion for debtors

Pupil loan relief due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which Congress 1st handed in March 2020 by means of the Cares Act stimulus bundle, has a different hidden gain for additional than 40 million university student mortgage borrowers: student mortgage cancellation. (Scholar loans are paused, but here’s 6 things to do now). With the extension of scholar loan reduction, federal university student loans won’t have any new desire accrue. The U.S. Division of Schooling estimates that university student bank loan debtors collectively will help you save $5 billion a month in fascination expenditures. With a a few-month postpone of the college student mortgage payment pause, that equates to $15 billion of complete pupil mortgage cancellation. This is in addition to $110 billion of pupil financial loan cancellation that student loan debtors will have gained from March 2020 by means of January 31, 2022, the latter of which was the date that Biden’s 2nd extension of scholar mortgage relief was scheduled to conclude. (Here’s who qualifies for university student personal loan forgiveness appropriate now).


University student mortgage reduction has concealed scholar loan cancellation

In addition to $5 billion a thirty day period in interest cost savings, university student financial loan borrowers will be ready to get university student personal loan forgiveness more rapidly by building much less mandatory federal scholar personal loan payments. (Here’s how to get college student personal loan forgiveness in the course of the Biden administration). During every single thirty day period of temporary university student financial loan forbearance, scholar financial loan debtors will get “credit” for a student financial loan payment — even if they did not make a single. So, non-payment of student loans will depend toward college student personal loan payments to satisfy the demands of public services loan forgiveness and cash flow-driven repayment, for example. In complete, federal college student personal loan borrowers can qualify for more than two many years of federal pupil bank loan payments even if they didn’t make any. In the circumstance of community support loan forgiveness, which is 20{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of the whole payments expected to get scholar financial loan forgiveness. (Much more college student bank loan aid could be coming).


Is this actually student bank loan cancellation?

Some may possibly label this type of college student financial loan forgiveness as not “real” university student financial loan cancellation. (Biden prolonged student loan aid, but advocates seriously want pupil mortgage cancellation). They recognize the fascination personal savings or the counting of non-payments. However, they argue this is different from direct, wide-scale scholar financial loan cancellation. Whilst this is not wide-scale scholar mortgage cancellation in the standard sense, this will conserve college student personal loan debtors significant funds for their pupil financial loans. (Is pupil personal debt cancellation following?) Keep in mind, this $125 billion of university student loan cancellation as a end result of Covid-19 student financial loan relief is in addition to Biden cancelling $12.7 billion of scholar loans over the earlier year. That focused student bank loan cancellation has granted university student financial loan forgiveness to general public servants, student mortgage debtors with a overall and long lasting incapacity, and pupil financial loan debtors who had been misled by their college or college.

Scholar loan reduction won’t very last endlessly. Make guaranteed you have a game approach for pupil financial loan repayment just before student mortgage relief finishes. In this article are some popular methods to shell out off scholar financial loans quicker:


Student Financial loans: Similar Reading through

Is pupil credit card debt cancellation upcoming?

Pupil loans are paused, but here’s 6 matters to do now

Do this whilst waiting around for pupil mortgage forgiveness

Biden prolonged student bank loan relief, but advocates genuinely want university student mortgage cancellation