Winners for the 2018 YouthBiz competition have been announced! $2,150 in prize money was awarded to students in southeast Saskatchewan for their efforts in describing their business ideas and developing business plans. This year, 388 students from 17 schools registered to compete in the youth contest. This was an all-time high for YouthBiz entries! 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 Conner Piche and Sydney Clausen of Estevan for their business S and C Photography. Second place and $300 went to Lucas Dzeryk and Logan Dalziel of Estevan for their obstacle-course gym Ninja Bootcamp. Third place and $150 was awarded to Ella Tanton, Mila Marquart and Caoimhe Mullins of White City for their bakery Frosted Crown Cupcakes. In the Grade 9 – 12 category, first place and $500 went to Natasha Wiebe and Delia Wall of Midale for their educational business EDU Rewind. Lonna Erickson and Jamie Neufeld of Midale earned second place and a prize of $300 for their pet business Pawsome Puppies. Third place and $150 was awarded to Fisher Hauglum for his computer company Fishers Custom Computers.
“This is the 12th year for YouthBiz and over the years we’ve seen over 2,350 young people in southeast Saskatchewan discover the world of small business. YouthBiz allows students to explore the business world by developing skills needed to be an entrepreneur. They write about a business idea that they’ve dreamed up and evaluate the potential profitability of their venture. Students are totally engaged in the business planning process, and they learn a lot along the way,” comments Verna O’Neill of CF Sunrise.
Achievement Awards were given to students whose entries displayed outstanding qualities, worthy of special recognition. Students from Assiniboia Park Elementary School in Weyburn earned a group award for focusing on their Business Motivation. Wynter Cowan from Carievale had many great business ideas and won the Serial Entrepreneur award. An award for the most Effective Commercial went to Megan Field from Radville for her M & M Coffee Shop idea. Aimee Bourassa, also from Radville, won an award for her Pricing Strategy in her business plan. The award for Detailed Financial Research was won by Autumn Osmak of Emerald Park for her venture Perfect Confections.
YouthBiz winners and sample of their entry materials are featured on the CF Sunrise website: https://cfsask.ca/sunrise/sunrise-services#YouthBiz . Special thanks to the mentorship provided by schools in the region, and the generous support of sponsors: Weyburn Credit Union, Affinity Credit Union and SaskTel.