ATHENSย โ Athens Main Street announced the winner of the Bright Ideas $10,000 Grant Pitch Competition which was held on Wednesday [Jan. 29, 2025] at an event held at the LaunchBox in downtown Athens.
The competition featured pitches from downtown businesses to a panel of judges. Each presented how they would use a $10,000 grant to improve or expand their operations. Eligible applicants were businesses within the Athens Main Street district open for at least one year as of October 31, 2024.
L to R Michelle Crawford, owner of Driftwood Dragonfly, and Athens Main Street Executive Director Tere Richardson
โWe had compelling pitches from ten downtown businesses across retail, restaurant, manufacturing, professional services, and personal services sectors,โ said Tere Richardson, Athens Main Street Executive Director. โOur judges had difficulty selecting the ultimate winner from many great concepts.โ
The competition was judged by Anna Clem, Associate Director of Singing River Trail; Tyler Jones, Executive Director of LaunchBox; and Jennifer McCurdy, Executive Director of the Northeast Alabama Community College Entrepreneurial Center.
Michelle Crawford, owner ofย Driftwood Dragonfly, was chosen as the $10,000 grant winner. Driftwood Dragonfly is a specialty tea shop offering handmade organic healing tea blends, a sizeable loose-leaf apothecary wall, house-made body care products, gifts, crystals, reiki, art, and wellness classes that appeal to various age groups. Ms. Crawford plans to use the funds to install self-filling stations for custom products and to add a subscription-based service to ship fresh produce and handmade products directly to customers.
Other participating businesses includedย AMBL Studios, Athens Alehouse and Cellar, Broken Brush Art Studio, Epiphany Boutique, Limestone Drug, Old Black Bear Brewing, The Southern Throne, Toodlebugs,ย andย Trinityโs.
Main Street Alabama and the Small Business Administration funded the Bright Ideas grantย throughย AL Spark. Athens Main Street also announced the implementation of AL Spark this weekโan exciting initiative of Main Street Alabama, supported by the Small Business Administration. AL Spark is designed to energize emerging and growing businesses in designated Main Street Alabama communities. By empowering locally directed business development, this new marketing grant program is dedicated to igniting the potential of small businesses and entrepreneurs while ensuring communities thrive and maintain their unique character.
AL Spark serves Athens through three key programs:
- Livewireย โ Business development initiatives
- Illuminateย โ Marketing grants
- Bright Ideasย โ Business pitch competition
Theย Illuminateย program provides valuable business marketing grants to help local businesses stand out. This week, 15 downtown Athens businesses received anย AL Spark Illuminateย marketing grant of $1,000, thanks to the resources provided by Main Street Alabama and the Small Business Administration.
Mary Helmer Wirth, President & State Coordinator of Main Street Alabama, shared her enthusiasm:
“We are absolutely thrilled to introduce AL Spark, igniting Main Street Alabamaโs small businesses and entrepreneurs! This vibrant new initiative is dedicated to unlocking the potential of small businesses and entrepreneurs across Alabama. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Small Business Administration for the grant, which enables us to uplift small businesses in our designated cities and foster a thriving local economy.”
For more information, visitย www.athensmainstreet.org.
Media Release/Athens Main Street
