Winners for the 2015 YouthBiz competition were announced on December 10, 2015. $2,000 in prize money was awarded to students in southeast Saskatchewan for their efforts in describing their business ideas and developing business plans. This year, 255 students from 13 schools registered to compete in this youth contest. YouthBiz is a program offered by Community Futures (CF) Sunrise.
In the Grade 6 – 9 category, first place and $500 in prize money was awarded to Lorynn Labbie of Weyburn for her athletic business Live Fit Athletics. Second place and $300 went to Savannah Pohl and Emma Bitz of Weyburn for their youth-focused gym called PBYG. Third place and $150 was awarded to Skyler Kreger of Weyburn for her theme park Skyhigh Amusement Park.
In the Grade 10 – 12 category, first place and $500 went to Olivia Bocian of Weyburn for her handmade candle business Carefully Crafted. Chrisella Fesalbon of Weyburn earned the runner-up prize of $300 for her restaurant Casa Corazon.
“This is the ninth year for YouthBiz and over the years we’ve seen over 1,500 young people in southeast Saskatchewan discover the world of small business. YouthBiz allows students to develop entrepreneurial skills in a fun and exciting way. By writing about a business idea that they’ve dreamed up, they 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 Pleasantdale school in Estevan earned an award for Online Promotions. Cooper Walbaum and Seth Deis of Weyburn won the Outstanding Marketing award for their sporting goods business CS Sports. The Product Development award went to Kailey Kowalchuk of Estevan for her company Burgers Gone Wild. The Business Invention award was won by Dara Irwin of Carievale for her venture King of Spades. An award for Exceptional Extra Work went to Taylor Rooney and Paris Lyon of Yellow Grass for their business Designalize.
YouthBiz winners and sample 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, and the generous support of sponsors: Information Services Corp, SaskTel, and Weyburn Credit Union.