The Haines Brewing Co. has won a $1,000 grant that also makes it eligible for a $25,000 grand prize in the American Small Business Championship, a promotion sponsored by Sam’s Club and SCORE, a national nonprofit dedicated to mentoring small business owners.
The company is one of 102 small businesses nationwide that won a $1,000 Sam’s Club gift card, an expenses-paid trip to a SCORE training event and one year of mentoring through SCORE.
Brewery co-owner Jeanne Kitayama said she would use the gift card to buy shelving for the retail side of the brewery. She said she has already started working with an Anchorage-area mentor on questions facing her company. “It’s been nice to talk to somebody who knows business,” she said.
Entering the contest required photos, video and a 250-character statement about how the brewery would use the $1,000 and $25,000 awards, Kitayama said. Finalists were selected by online voting and a panel of judges comprised of small business experts.
Kitayama said the company would use the grand prize to help pay for a solar electricity system at the Main Street building. The brewery has landed a separate grant that will pay 25 percent of expenses for the solar project. “We need to come up with the other 75 percent, so the ($25,000 grand prize) would help,” she said.
For more information about SCORE, visit http://www.score.org.