Winners for the 2017 YouthBiz competition have been announced! $2,100 in prize money was awarded to students in southeast Saskatchewan for their efforts in describing their business ideas and developing business plans. This year, 233 students from 14 schools registered to compete in the youth contest. YouthBiz is a program offered by Community Futures (CF) Sunrise.
In the Grade 6 – 8 category, first place and $500 in prize money was awarded to Andrew Altwasser of Yellow Grass for his business Prairie Ag Drone. Second place and $300 went to Madison Knoll and Rilyn Murray of Yellow Grass for their trendy slime making business Slime Co. Third place and $150 was awarded to Wyatt Hanson of White City for his company Exotic Car Spot.
In the Grade 9 – 12 category, first place and $500 went to Jordyn Byrns and Jessica Christopherson of Yellow Grass for their venture Cool Beans Coffee Shop. Brady Bourassa and Megan Guest of Yellow Grass earned second place and a prize of $300 for their retail business Big and Little Clothing. Third place and $150 was awarded to Chrisgia Fesalbon of Weyburn for her home décor company Illumine.
“This is the 11th year for YouthBiz and over the years we’ve seen almost 2,000 young people in southeast Saskatchewan discover the world of small business. YouthBiz allows students to develop entrepreneurial skills in a very practical way. By exploring a business idea that they are interested in, students are engaged in the business planning process, and they can more easily identify challenges and rewards of owning their own business,” comments Verna O’Neill of CF Sunrise.
Achievement Awards were given to students whose entries displayed outstanding qualities, worthy of special recognition. Students from St. Michael School in Weyburn earned an award for Product Prototypes. Yellow Grass School won for the Detailed Income Calculations they submitted. Mazy Hillrud and Tennessee Wolter from St. Olivier School in Radville were awarded the Best Floor Plan for their work on the business Cowgirl Up Horse Stables. A Business-Ready Idea Award was given to Donald Alexander from Queen Elizabeth School for his idea The Walking Canteen. Another Business-Ready Award was given to Hayley Copeland, Madison Hortness and Reese Madsen from Spruce Ridge School in Estevan for their outstanding clothing line Idk Apparel. The award for Business Motivation was won by Natalie Butz of Weyburn for her venture Wonderland Cupcakery.
YouthBiz winners and samples of their entry materials are featured on the CF Sunrise website: www.cfsask.ca/sunrise .
Special thanks to the mentorship provided by schools in the region, the time and expertise of the volunteer judges from the business community, and the generous support of sponsors: Information Services Corp, Weyburn Credit Union, SaskTel, SaskEnergy and Affinity Credit Union.