Telegraph offers free listings in its business directory; Future Business Leaders seeks judges

The Chester Telegraph is offering area businesses a free listing in its Regional Business Directory,  which currently lists more than 100 businesses and organizations and is used thousands of times every year.

Each business listing includes the name of the business and telephone number, a description of the business, photos, links to the company website and its Facebook page, as well as hours of operation and mapping to the business.

At the same time, The Telegraph is asking readers to voluntarily support The Telegraph to help it keep growing without adding a paywall. Donations are not tax-deductible, since Telegraph Publishing LLC  is not tax-exempt.

“Many news organizations feel the need to put their news behind a paywall because, frankly, it’s expensive to produce a quality newspaper, even one that is completely digital,” said Telegraph Publisher Cynthia Prairie. “But despite many in the industry urging us to institute a paywall, we’ve never seriously considered it. The emotional support that we get from our readers is just too great and we believe that can translate into voluntary financial support as well.”  As a matter of fact, she added, “We’ve already received financial support without even announcing it.

“We’ve kept our low ad rates low, only raising them twice in six years. We work closely with our advertisers to give readers a great shopping experience,” said Prairie adding,  “We continue to work hard to gather and report the news that our communities need, and do so in the professional manner that they have come to expect. And we continue to have an eye toward expanding our coverage.”

Check to see if your business is already part of the Business Directory. If you are, please make sure all information is correct and you have up-to-date photos. If you aren’t, send your information plus photos to info@chestertelegraph.org.

Anyone who would like to support The Telegraph through a non-tax-deductible gift can click here to do so.

Future Business Leaders seeks judges for State Competition

Vermont’s Future Business Leaders of America is seeking qualified judges to assess them in the State Competition in March that could lead to thousands of dollars in scholarship money for winning students.

The 200 members of Vermont Future Business Leaders of America are preparing for their March 21 State Competition. This competition hosts 68 events for students to compete in. Those placing first to third have the opportunity to travel to Anaheim, Calif.,  in June to compete nationally. Attending the National Competition is an important honor and a goal for high school juniors and seniors. At stake are thousands of dollars of scholarship money.

The State Competition will be held at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee. “Qualified judges are so important to an event like this,” said Sarah Emery, executive director of VtFBLA. “I am hopeful that we can garner the attention of business leaders across Vermont.”

Volunteer judges are treated to a dinner and training in February and all meals during the competition at the Lake Morey Resort. Categories needing industry professionals are varied. If you have a background in any of the following and have a free afternoon, being a judge can be a rewarding experience:

3D Animation
Desktop Application Programming
Job Interview I
Business Ethics
Business Financial Plan
Digital Video Production
Mobile Application Development
Electronic Career Portfolio
Community Service Project
E-business
Web Site Design
Graphic Design
Computer Game & Simulation Programming
Public Speaking
Sales Presentation
Social Media Campaign
Client Service
Database Design & Applications
Computer Applications
Spreadsheet Applications

If you are interested in more information, or would like to volunteer as a judge, please contact Emery at 802-745-9868 or email at semery.vtfbla@gmail.com

Future Business Leaders of America is the largest and oldest business student organization in the world. A quarter of a million high school and middle school students, college and university students, faculty, educators, administrators and business professionals have chosen to be members of the premier business education association preparing students for careers in business.