Jasper Chamber offers free AI workshop for local business owners

A Jasper business owner wondering what AI can actually do beyond the headlines will get a free, local answer on May 15, when the Jasper Chamber of Commerce hosts a workshop focused on tools that can help with marketing, customer service, content creation and daily office work.

The session is scheduled from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Jasper Chamber of Commerce, 302 West 6th Street, Jasper, Indiana, and it will be offered both in person and virtually. The chamber says no tech experience is required, a detail aimed at owners and entrepreneurs who are curious about artificial intelligence but do not know where to begin. Free coffee and donuts are also planned, part of the chamber’s effort to make attendance easier for small operations that often cannot spare much time away from the shop, office or counter.

Grant Sherfick, an Indiana Small Business Development Center ecosystem navigator and business advisor, will lead the presentation. Sherfick serves as the ecosystem navigator for the South Central Small Business Development Center at Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington, Indiana. His focus will be practical, easy-to-use AI tools designed to save time, boost sales and streamline day-to-day operations, a pitch that fits the needs of many Dubois County employers working with small staffs and limited administrative capacity.

Registration goes through the chamber by phone at 812-482-6866, and virtual attendees can request a link through the chamber as well. The event also highlights a support network already in place at the chamber office. The Jasper Chamber hosts the Dubois County Small Business Resource Office, which provides access to Indiana SBDC services for businesses in Dubois County and the surrounding area. The Indiana SBDC says it offers no-cost business advising, training, referrals and a library of tools and resources for companies from startup through sale or retirement.

The timing places the workshop near National Small Business Week, which runs May 3-9 this year, with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s virtual summit set for May 5-6. Jasper has seen this subject before, too. The chamber hosted a similar AI-for-small-business seminar on May 9, 2025, signaling that local interest in the technology is not a one-time curiosity but part of a broader effort to help small businesses adopt new tools without getting overwhelmed by them.