After weekly sessions over more than two months, local entrepreneurs formally graduated from the mayor's Jumpstart Academy and will receive $5,000 grants and free one-year memberships to the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, organizers said.

Charlotte Wright, a staff member who addressed the graduates at the event, said, "These local entrepreneurs officially graduated from the mayor's Jumpstart academy." She said the mayor started the academy "with the help of sponsors as a way to give small business people from underserved communities a leg up as they enter some very competitive markets."

Organizers described the academy as both a business-training program and a network. Participants run a range of small businesses — "from marketing to scented candles," the organizers said — and the program included weekly classes. In addition to course lessons, graduates are receiving $5,000 grants to invest in their businesses and a free one-year membership to the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. The transcript did not specify how many graduates attended, the names of sponsors, or the exact dates of the sessions.

The mayor was credited with starting the academy with sponsor support; the transcript did not identify the mayor by name or list the sponsors. "You're joining a network of of of entrepreneurs," Wright said during the remarks.

This is Sheryl Conn reporting for WPB TV.