Press Release

For Immediate Release 
 

Phone: (888) 322-6613
Contact: Michelle Tjelmeland, Owner
E-mail: info@e-websmart.com
Company: E-websmart  
Web site: www.e-websmart.com 

Local Woman Named as Readers' Choice for Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc.com

Springfield, IL, December 26, 2007 – Michelle Tjelmeland, owner of Springfield-based E-websmart and founder of the Cochlear Implant Awareness Foundation, is one of ten business owners named as a Readers' Choice winner in the annual Entrepreneur of the Year competition sponsored by Inc.com.   

The national competition attracts hundreds of thousands of entries each year.    Editors read each entry, select their favorites and then post brief biographies on the company's Web site for reader voting throughout the year. 

Michelle's selection stands in stark contrast to fellow competitors, not only as the only female nominee and the only solo professional, but also for what she has overcome to accomplish her business success.  

In 1997, at the age of 23 and pregnant with her first child, Michelle became deaf.    Unable to maintain her occupation as an eighth grade language arts teacher, Michelle turned to technology as an alternative career and as a means of supporting her family  

She returned to the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana to obtain an on-line Master's Degree in Computer Technology and Education and ultimately launched e-websmart.

Today, Michelle hears the world again through a cochlear implant and e-websmart boasts a thriving Web site clientele.   Recently, the company added additional design services, including logo creation, stationery design, print and Web-based newsletters, and signage.

"The public support that has come in during the course of this competition lets me know that I'm running my business and living my life with the right priorities," explains Michelle.   "It has been both a huge honor and a very humbling experience at the same time."

Inc.com is the official website for Inc. magazine, delivering advice, tools, and services to help business owners and CEOs start, run, and grow their businesses more successfully.   Published for over 26 years, Inc. is the only major business magazine edited exclusively for CEO's of fast-growing companies.  The Web site has an average of 574,000 unique visitors every month and 5.5 million monthly page views. 

To learn more about Michelle Tjelmeland or e-websmart, contact the company at (888) 322-6613.

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