1 Putnam challenge deadline Wednesday | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

Robert Mills and Rusty Starr, co-chairmen of 1 Putnam’s Business Challenge Committee, stand in front of the building under renovation on the 100 block of Second Street in Palatka.
Positively Putnam FL

Wednesday is the deadline for the 1 Putnam business contest named the Dr. Ifti Ahmad Spirit Awards.

The nonprofit 1 Putnam is offering up to $5,000 to owners of businesses that opened Jan. 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group is also offering up to $5,000 to owners of existing businesses who have expanded or want to expand services in Putnam County during the same time period. The businesses must be in Putnam County to qualify.

Entries must be completed by 5 p.m. Wednesday at visitpalatka.com/2021businesscontest.

Rusty Starr, co-chairman of 1 Putnam’s Business Challenge and a former publisher of the Palatka Daily News, said there has been a good response from new and existing business owners to the challenge. He encouraged business owners who have not entered to do so. Robert Mills of Riverside Wealth Advisors is the co-chairman of the Spirit Awards.

“We’ve gotten several entries and they are about evenly split between new and existing businesses,” Starr said Monday. “I’m aware of other new businesses out there that have not entered.

“One of the keys (of) existing businesses is that it’s offered to people who are expanding during the pandemic. For example, a restaurant that maybe have established outside seating or invested more money into increasing takeout orders during the pandemic.”

Starr said a committee of judges from 1 Putnam will decide challenge winners by the end of July. The group is helping guide revitalization efforts in the community.

“We’re getting a lot of good comments about what 1 Putnam is trying to do in the community,” Starr said. “A lot of what 1 Putnam is trying to do really got derailed by COVID, as everything did, and slowed down the process.

“But once we get this thing behind us, there’s still a lot of excitement. A lot of business owners entering the challenge have told us thanks for thinking of them.”

The business contest is named for Ahmad, who moved to Palatka in 1973 to open his medical practice. Ahmad, who died in 2020, became a community leader largely because of his involvement in the Rotary Club of Palatka.

Starr said the Spirit Awards contest is a fitting tribute to Ahmad. He said the much-trusted physician from Pakistan was a leader in making Putnam County a better place to live and work.

“If you had the pleasure to meet Dr. Ahmad, you soon learned the dynamic power that could spring forth from a humble man,” Starr said.

For printed entry forms or for more information, email rustystarr419@gmail.com or call 546-9769.