Belleville, Ontario, March 15, 2012 – For the second year in a row, the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team from Loyalist College have been named TD SIFE Entrepreneurship Challenge Champions. The team competed for the title on March 12th in Toronto at the Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) Regional Exposition. Along with winning teams from Ryerson University and the University of Windsor, who were also named in the entrepreneurship category, the Loyalist team moves on to the national level of competition, which takes place from May 7th to 9th at the 2012 ACE National Exposition in Calgary, AB.
“On behalf of the entire College community, I’m very pleased to congratulate the Loyalist SIFE team,” said Loyalist President, Maureen Piercy. “They have been a force to be reckoned with since their start-up only three years ago. Winning the regional championships for a second time is a testament to their exceptional dedication and commitment to enhancing community prosperity and well-being.”
“This kind of recognition speaks volumes about the level at which these students are performing,” commented Professor Bob Millard, faculty member in the College’s School of Business and Management, and SIFE faculty mentor. “Early in the academic year, some of these students had difficulty speaking in front of a group of their peers. To see them now, as they make an outstanding presentation—on stage, and in front of hundreds—that is immensely satisfying for me. I am extremely proud of the SIFE presentation team, including Kim Harrison, Jean Ellis, Dave Pickett, Benoit Chartrand and Jessica Chartrand, and I am thrilled that SIFE Loyalist College will move on to the Nationals.”
Student teams from post-secondary institutions across central Canada showcased their entrepreneurship-focused initiatives to panels of industry professionals at the regional event on March 12th. The Loyalist team projects presented at the event included:
SIFE 4 Life / Techno Squad – Last year, the SIFE 4 Life / Techno Squad initiative helped grades 6 and 7 Quinte Mohawk Primary School (QMS) students to learn key business fundamentals to help them understand how to run their school’s Stage Crew and E-Messaging functions. That project’s extraordinary success prompted the QMS students to think about how they could use their new skills to produce a cultural awareness and educational video to help people better understand the Mohawk culture. This year, Loyalist’s SIFE team is helping the students to use the skills and knowledge gained from their Techno Squad experience to develop the video.
Helping Entrepreneurs Reach Complete Success (HERCS) – Seminars focused on educating and guiding members of the military and military families towards entrepreneurial endeavours are delivered by SIFE team members at CFB Trenton’s Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC). This initiative has grown to accommodate the needs of retiring members of the military.
Junk Genius: Turning Junk into Funk – This initiative helps at-risk youth to develop the five key business skills that will help them to build, market, and sell artistic creations using recycled and junk materials.
Loyalist student David Pickett, a member of the SIFE Loyalist presentation team, and Program Manager for the HERCS initiative, had this to say about his experience at the Regional competition, “It was inspiring to be among hundreds of passionate students from Ontario and Quebec, all of whom shared the same impressive vision of improving the quality of life of their community members through entrepreneurial-based initiatives.”
The students are looking forward to preparing for the National competition where they will introduce the exciting, newly launched SIFE Loyalist Angel Cloud initiative, which provides community members with the opportunity to develop their business ideas. With the help of Loyalist SIFE students, the idea may be pitched to prominent members of the Quinte business community.
If you would like information about the Angel Cloud initiative, please contact the SIFE Loyalist College team at: sifeangelcloud@loyalistc.on.ca
– 30 –
Contact: Kerry Lorimer, Media Relations Specialist, Loyalist College, klorimer@loyalistc.on.ca, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2536