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News Releases May 9, 2008: Judges Selected, Sponsors Secured for Oswego County's "Next Great Idea" Business Plan Competition OSWEGO, NY-- The panel of judges and major sponsors have been secured for The Next Great Idea (NGI) 2008 Oswego County Business Plan Competition, said Austin Wheelock, economic development specialist for Operation Oswego County (OOC). “NGI is the result of business and community leaders joining together to launch this competition that encourages entrepreneurs to commit to new business development in Oswego County and offers a $25,000 prize to help make a dream come true,” Wheelock said. Judges for the event are Bill Lovell of Cayuga Community College, Heidi Hazen-Forte of Hazens Athletic, L’Quentus Thomas of Stonehedge Capital, Steve Thomas, local entrepreneur; Tom Delduchetto of the SUNY Oswego School of Business, David E. Mckeon of Cobblestone Financial Group, and Shawn E. Seale of Key Bank, Oswego. Platinum Level sponsors, who have donated from $3,000 to $5,000 in money or services for the event, are Operation Oswego County, the New York Small Business Development Center, Key Bank, and PathFinder Bank. Gold Level sponsors, who have donated from $1,000 to $2,999 in money or services for the event, are Alliance Bank, Entergy, National Grid, C&S Companies, News 10 Now, SUNY Oswego and Chirello Advertising. Silver Level sponsors, who have donated from $5,000 to $999 in money or services for the event, are Mitchell Printing & Mailing, Broadwell Development, Fulton Tool Co., Inc., and the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board. The
event announcing the winner will be held at Noon, Nov. 10 at the
American Foundry, Oswego. The top two finalists will each receive a free submission to New York’s’ Creative Core $100,000, 2009 Emerging Business Competition. May 1, 2008 was the deadline for eligible teams to submit an executive summary of their idea. On June 1, a team of judges will evaluate the executive summaries and up to 10-15 semi-finalists will be selected for round two. On June 16, semi-finalists will be notified that they have qualified for the next round. These semi-finalists are required to submit a business plan that follows competition requirements by Sept. 1, 2008. To assist the semi-finalists, SUNY Oswego’s Office for Business and Community Relations will offer a free optional workshop June 30 to provide additional support for the business plan submission. On November 10, the finalists must give a 20-minute presentation on their business plan in-person to the panel of judges. Following the presentation, a luncheon and awards ceremony announcing the winner will be held. The $25,000 prize must be used to start or expand a business in Oswego County. “Our organizing team believes that Oswego County offers a wealth of resources and opportunities for businesses to start and flourish here. We are all extremely excited to see what great ideas competition participants generate,” Wheelock said. For more information, visit the web site at www.oswegocounty.org/bizcomp.htm, or Wheelock can be contacted at 315-343-1545 or at awheelock@oswegocounty.org. Jan. 30, 2008--Website for Oswego County's "Next Great Idea" Goes Live OSWEGO, NY--The web site for “The Next Great Idea: 2008 Oswego County Business Plan Competition” (NGI) is now on line with all the details for entrants, said Austin Wheelock, economic development specialist for Operation Oswego County (OOC). “NGI is the result of business and community leaders joining together to launch this competition that encourages entrepreneurs to commit to new business development in Oswego County and offers a $25,000 prize to help make a dream come true,” Wheelock said. Entries are due May 1 and the event announcing the winner will be held at Noon, Nov. 10 at the American Foundry, Oswego. The web site, www.oswegocounty.org/bizcomp.htm, includes an overview of the event, a competition timeline, guidelines, details on the $25,000 prize, sponsors, partners and contact information. In addition, the $25,000 can potentially be leveraged to borrow up to $250,000 in partnership with local banks, the Oswego County Industrial Development Agency, the cities of Oswego and Fulton community development offices, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and other economic development agencies. The winner will also receive two free submissions to New York’s’ Creative Core $100,000, 2009 Emerging Business Competition. Wheelock added that the event now has a graphic identity as well. “Chirello Advertising donated their services to design a 4-color logo that will assist us in branding this event,” he said. The timetable calls for eligible teams to submit an executive summary of their idea by May 1, 2008. On June 1, a team of judges will evaluate the executive summaries and up to 10-15 semi-finalists will be selected for round two. On June 16, semi-finalists will be notified that they have qualified for the next round. These semi-finalists are required to submit a business plan that follows competition requirements by Sept. 1, 2008. To assist the semi-finalists, SUNY Oswego’s Office for Business and Community Relations will offer a free optional workshop June 30 to provide additional support for the business plan submission. On November 10, the finalists must give a 20-minute presentation on their business plan in-person to the panel of judges. Following the presentation, a luncheon and awards ceremony announcing the winner will be held. The $25,000 prize must be used to start or expand a business in Oswego County. “Our organizing team believes that Oswego County offers a wealth of resources and opportunities for businesses to start and flourish here. We are all extremely excited to see what great ideas competition participants generate,” Wheelock said. Media sponsor for the event is Time Warner’s News 10 Now. For more information, visit the web site at www.oswegocounty.org/bizcomp.htm, or Wheelock can be contacted at 315-343-1545 or at awheelock@oswegocounty.org. Nov. 16, 2007: BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION SEEKS TO SPUR ‘NEXT GREAT IDEA’ FOR OSWEGO COUNTY OSWEGO, NY-- Business and community leaders have come together to launch a $25,000 business plan competition that encourages entrepreneurs to commit to new business development in Oswego County, said Austin Wheelock, economic development specialist for Operation Oswego County (OOC). "OOC and the Small Business Development Center at SUNY Oswego (SBDC) worked together to form an organizing committee from a variety of backgrounds," said Austin Wheelock, economic development specialist with OOC. “We call it ‘The Next Great Idea’ and our goal is to raise $25,000 plus enough to cover event expenses and promotion through local sponsorships,” Wheelock explained. “The $25,000 will be awarded to the team with the winning new business plan. Our timetable calls for eligible teams to submit an executive summary of their idea by May 1, 2008. A team of judges will evaluate the executive summaries and up to 10-15 semi-finalists will be selected for round two. These semi-finalists are required to submit a business plan that follows competition requirements by Sept. 1, 2008. The winning team will be selected and announced at a luncheon in November, 2008.” In addition to Wheelock, committee members include: Shannon Mantaro, OOC; Jennifer Hill, Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce; Philip Reitz, Ritz Diner; Larry Perras, John Halleron and Bernadette Mroz, SBDC; John Trimble, C&S Companies, Steve Chirello, Chirello Advertising; Brian Caswell, Caswell & Associates, Amanda Baker, Alliance Bank; Will O’Brien, PathFinder Bank; Linda Goodness, City of Oswego Community Development Office; and Allison Nelson, Caraccioli & Nelson law office. “We
are still finalizing eligibility and rules for the competition,
but our fundraising committee will soon be contacting local businesses
to encourage their sponsorship and support,” Wheelock said. For more information, Wheelock can be contacted at 315-343-1545 or at awheelock@oswegocounty.org.
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