Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Prairie Grove Students Make Top 25
LITTLE ROCK — A special gadget to give “nerds” an easier and more stylish way to hold a pencil behind their ears, a video game teaching western literature and a coconut oil-based toothpaste are among the business ideas advancing to the final round of the 11th annual Youth Entrepreneur Showcase (Y.E.S.) for Arkansas business plan competition.
The Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation (AEAF) today announced the Top 25 finalist teams for the business plan competition.
Prairie Grove Middle School had two teams make it into the top 25. Robot Cafe is comprised of team members, Carter McKenzie, Sarah Myane, Corey Cook and Nicole Hendricks. The Quizzicals has seventh-graders Gabriel Foster, Brinden Bristow, Nick Shrum and Carter Scates.
Other teams include schools from El Dorado, Bradford, Little Rock, Searcy, Fort Smith and Cotter.
The teams will compete in the 2016 Y.E.S. for Arkansas Business Expo on Friday, Jan. 22, at Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock, third level. The expo is open to the public.
Each team and its teacher/ advisor will have a booth to showcase their business ideas and sell products to Park Plaza Mall patrons between 10 a.m. and noon. Judges will visit the teams during this period to select first- through fourth-place winners in the following categories: Best Business Plan, Most Innovative Product, Best Marketing Piece, and Best Retail Booth Display.
The Foundation will announce the winners in a 1:30 p.m. ceremony at Park Plaza Mall, second level. Cash prizes will be awarded to members of the top teams. Advisors also will receive cash prizes.
The Y. E. S. competition was launched in 2006 for all fifth-eighth-grade students in Arkansas. This year, 224 business plans were submitted from 29 schools in 17 counties, engaging 662 students. More than 70 judges volunteered to read and score the plans in the preliminary round.
Since 2006, 7,067 elementary, middle, and junior high students have participated in Y.E.S. AEAF and Arkansas Capital have awarded more than $66,500 in cash prizes to students and teachers.
Arkansas Capital created Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation in 1999 as a private, non- profit corporation dedicated to education-based initiatives that promote and foster the development of innovation and entrepreneurship within Arkansas.