Expanded resources are also available for rural businesses

THE HILLTOWNS—The Hilltown Community Development Corporation is seeking businesses to showcase in its 2019 Business Directory and is pleased to also announce that it’s reinvigorating its support of rural businesses.

Dave Christopolis, executive director of the organization, said it is offering a new online directory for 2019 as well as expanding resources provided to rural businesses through a new partnership with the Jacob’s Ladder Business Association.

Published by the Hilltown Community Development Corporation, the directory is in its 34th year of publication, and Christopolis said it is an icon of Hilltown life. He said businesses are being sought for the 2019 directory, the deadline for which is Oct. 1.

As a new benefit to businesses who opt in to list in the directory, membership in the Jacob’s Ladder Business Association is also available this year for an additional $65.

“This new partnership began in 2017 and allows us to better serve the Hilltown business community,” Christopolis said.

Membership in the business association offers a 10 percent discount on a display ad in the Hilltown Business Directory as well as support services that include networking assistance, community events, social media promotions, technical assistance, one-to-one business planning and workshops on topics of interest to business owners.

Christopolis said these expanded offerings are designed to address the needs of rural Hilltown businesses in the 21st century.  

He said the initial goal for the partnership with Jacob’s Ladder Business Association is to increase community engagement by gaining new members. The long-term objective is the formation of an economic development task force in the Hilltowns to develop a multi-year rural economic development plan.

“We can work together as a community to create a vision and use the power of the group to influence public policy in the Hilltowns,” Christopolis said.

The Hilltown Community Development Corporation was established with a mission to improve the quality of life of Hilltown residents by addressing their economic, housing, education and social needs while preserving the rural character of the area. Small business support and assistance has always been a primary tenet of this mission.

Christopolis said, “We’re reviving and refocusing our efforts on our mission. Over the next two years we will dedicate a significant amount of our time and resources to economic development and support to the small business community in the Hilltowns.”

The Business Directory is distributed free to all 15,000 households in the 22 Hilltowns: Ashfield, Becket, Blandford, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Dalton, Goshen, Granville, Haydenville, Hinsdale, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Peru, Plainfield, Russell, Washington, Westhampton, Williamsburg, Windsor and Worthington.

“Being included in the directory is a great way for Hilltown business owners to market their business and join a network of supportive business owners and local residents,” Christopolis said. “It also allows the Hilltown Community Development Corporation to better understand the needs of Hilltown businesses when offering free business assistance and workshops.”

To purchase a listing, a business must have a location or mailing address in one of the Hilltowns; residents who live in one of the Hilltowns but operate their business elsewhere can be listed, using their Hilltown mailing address.

The cost of a listing in the print publication—or online directory at www.hilltowncdc.com—is $40, with prices increasing by word count and with display ad options.

The online version of the directory is getting a make-over. New features include improved graphics for display ads, online payment options and electronic receipts for the customer.

The Hilltown Community Development Corporation has been producing an annual Business Directory since 1984.

Payment for the directory can be made via the mail by check or money order, payable to Hilltown CDC, to P.O. Box 17, Chesterfield, MA 01012. Payment must be made in full.

Hilltown CDC also accepts MasterCard or Visa.  Payments can be made online at hilltowncdc.org, or contact Denise LeDuc, chief financial officer, at 413-296-4536 ext.114.  For more information, contact Michele Kenney, economic development coordinator at 413-354-1055 or Michelek@hilltowncdc.org.

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