Jackson Free Press

On Thursday, Jan. 15, Midtown Partners Inc. and the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership will host the West Millsaps Housing Development Job Fair from 9 a.m. to noon at Midtown Partners' Family Resource Center (301 Adelle St.).

The fair will raise awareness of employment opportunities for the West Millsaps Housing Development, a construction project that includes 31 units of high-quality affordable housing, the substantial rehabilitation of 16 existing properties and the new construction of an additional six.

The general contractors, ZMG Construction and Duvall Decker Architects, are overseeing construction of this project.

ZMG Construction is seeking Section 3-compliant business concerns and residents. To qualify as a Section 3 business concern, residents must own 51 percent of the business, or at least 30 percent of the business' permanent full-time employees must be certified Section 3 residents or were residents within their first three years of employment.

To be eligible as a Section 3 resident, an individual must be a public-housing resident or a low-income person who lives in the metropolitan area where a HUD-assisted project for housing or community development is located. Low income is defined as income below 80 percent of the median household income of that area.

A representative from the Mississippi Development Authority will be present at the fair to provide information about Section 3.

For a list of employment and subcontractor opportunities at the fair, visit the JFP's listing for the event. For additional information regarding bidding and contractor licensing and insurance requirements for the West Millsaps Development, email Nick Amato with ZMG Construction at [email protected] or visit the job site at the corner of Wesley Avenue and Wightman Street.

Raborn Media Hosts JXN Tech on Tap

Starting this month, Ridgeland-based marketing and consulting company Raborn Media will host free one-hour seminars called "JXN Tech on Tap" for businesses and organizations. The monthly seminars, which will cover different topics in digital marketing, aim to take intimidation and confusion out of online marketing and prepare professionals in the community to make savvy business decisions.

The first of these monthly seminars will be "Utilizing Facebook for Business & Organizations" on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 5:30 p.m. Raborn will cover how to effectively use Facebook to meet and exceed an organization's goals. The seminar will be held at Burgers & Blues at 1060 E. County Line Road and will feature a craft-beer tasting hosted by Southern Beverage.

Upcoming sessions include "Google Adwords: Creating Effective Ads and Measuring ROI" in February and "Effective Email Marketing" in March.

Register at JXNTech.com. For more information, visit [email protected] or call 601-336-1700.

Entergy Supports Jackson Zoo's Wild Learning Program

The Jackson Zoo recently received a $5,000 contribution from the Entergy Charitable Foundation that will underwrite the cost of admission and transportation to the zoo for students in the zoo's Wild Learning Program.

The Wild Learning Program is an educational program that has previously been in place at the Jackson Zoo with support from corporate partners. Wild Learning provides free admission and transportation to students from low-income households and diverse ethnicities that do not ordinarily have the means to visit the zoo.

Jackson Zoo's Director of Major Gifts and Annual Funds Josh Friedel worked with Valarie Mabry, Entergy's public affairs specialist, to provide the grant to the program. Louis Wright, an Entergy customer-service representative from the Jackson market, presented Friedel with the check Monday.

"(We're) excited to once again have Entergy as a partner in our Wild Learning Program," Zoo Director Beth Poff said in a release. "Their support of nonprofits is so important, and we are proud to be one of the many they support."

Hesselbein Tire Receives Business of the Quarter Award

Mayor Tony Yarber and the City of Jackson Office of Economic Development will present Hesselbein Tire Inc. with the "Business of the Quarter Award" on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the business' location of 4350 Industrial Drive.

The city launched the Business of the Quarter program to recognize and promote businesses in Jackson. In addition to the award, the city will display a banner outside the Hesselbein office and spotlight the business on the PEG Network and the city website.

Hesselbein Tire began operation in 1967 at 3004 Lynch St. The original location now operates as one of the retail locations in Hesselbein's Gateway Tire and Service Center business arm. Hesselbein is affiliated with Dunlap and Kyle Company and Gateway Tire, based in Batesville, Miss. The organization has 15 wholesale locations in seven states and 60 retail stores.

Smoothie Kings Kicks Off the 'Change a Meal Challenge'

To kick off its 2015 initiative, Smoothie King establishments in Jackson (6392 Ridgewood Court, Suite E; 1220 E. Northside Drive, Suite 370), Flowood (4327 Lakeland Drive) and Ridgeland (1000 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite 8004) will redeem any fast-food coupon for $1 off a medium smoothie in the month of January. The promotion includes all 32-ounce smoothies on the menu.

The Change a Meal Challenge aims to inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Smoothie King is encouraging residents to swap one meal a day for one of 11 healthy meal-replacement smoothies, each with up to 45 grams of protein.

For more information about the promotion or to see the Smoothie King menu, visit smoothieking.com.

Mississippi Receives State Small Business Credit Initiative Funds

The U.S. Treasury Department has awarded Mississippi more than $4.4 million in State Small Business Credit Initiative funds, which the Mississippi Development Authority will disburse. The funds will assist the state's small businesses with accessing the capital needed to grow and create jobs. To date, more than $13 million in SSBCI funds have been allotted to MDA to support the state's small businesses and local economies.

Since the program began in 2010, the Treasury Department has disbursed more than $1.1 billion in SSBCI funds to participating states. The amount awarded to each state is based on a formula laid out in the Small Business Jobs Act that considers a state's population and unemployment levels.

Each state designs its own small business programs, and five types of programs are eligible for SSBCI funds: capital access, loan guaranty, loan participation, collateral support and venture capital. MDA has implemented a Small Business Loan Guaranty Program.

For more information about Mississippi's SSBCI program, visit www.mississippi.org. Mississippi small businesses interested in applying for SSBCI funds can contact Sara Watson, MDA's Small Business Loan Guaranty Program manager, at [email protected] or 601-359-3449.