Rich Najuch (left), board president of the Huntington County Visitor Bureau, and Tina Bobilya (right), the bureau’s executive director, stand in front of the building the Visitor Bureau is offering to a business rent free for a year. Photo by Cindy Klepper.

The Huntington County Visitor and Convention Bureau has kicked off a contest to give away a year's free rent on a building it owns at 401 N. Jefferson St., in downtown Huntington.

The contest is open to new and existing businesses, says Tina Bobilya, the visitor bureau's executive director, and entrants do not need to live in Huntington County.

The application deadline is Jan. 9. Finalists will be asked to present an in-depth business plan, and a winner will be announced by March 1.

The goal is to develop the downtown by adding new business that will attract visitors, Bobilya says.
Information and application forms are available online at www.visithuntington.org [1]. For information, call the Huntington County Visitor and Convention Bureau at 359-8687.