Winners of the 2009 Business Plan Competition honoured at awards ceremony

The winners and participants of the 2009 Halton Region RBC Business Plan Competition were honoured at a special awards celebration held on June 10 at the Halton Regional Centre in Oakville. The competition gave Halton secondary school students the chance to win cash awards for their business plans. The first place winner will now advance to the Central Region Regional Competition, where she will compete with the winners of other local competitions for the regional title.

“I commend all the students who took part in this year’s competition for the thought and creativity they put into their business plans,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr . “We are very pleased to be involved in programs like this that recognize the talent of our high school students and encourage the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.”

The top prize of $1,000 was awarded to Elyse Simpson of Iroquois Ridge High School in Oakville for Jangle Records.

Second prize of $800 was awarded to Eric Ganong and Alexander Dissaurer of Abbey Park High School in Oakville. Third prize of $600 went to Carly Hornyak of Nelson High School in Burlington. Fourth prize of $400 was awarded to Neshonda Lowe of Assumption Catholic Secondary School in Burlington. In fifth place, with a prize of $200, was Christine Shermet of Nelson High School in Burlington.

Elyse Simpson now advances to the Central Region Regional Competition, where she will compete with the winners of other local competitions for the regional title and an associated cash prize. In the final round of the competition, each of the four regional winners will compete to determine the Provincial Champion, a title that is accompanied by an additional cash prize.

Each year, the Ontario Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services (MSBCS) offers the Ontario Secondary School Business Plan Competition. Halton Region’s Business Development Centre holds its local Halton Region RBC Business Plan Competition in partnership with MSBCS and invites all Halton secondary school students to submit their best plans, which are then judged by members of the business community. The judges evaluate the plans based on the plan’s complexity, the quality of research, and the student’s ability to demonstrate how research results were used to shape the plan.

“Congratulations to all the winners in the 2009 Business Plan Competition. All the participants should be extremely proud of their accomplishments. The quality of the business plans was exceptional as it reflected the effort put into the plans by the students,” said Sarah Adams Vice President RBC Halton South. “We hope to encourage our youth to be business leaders of the future by giving them the opportunity to turn classroom learning into a real world, hands on, prospective business proposal. We at RBC salute the youth in Halton where we can see the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well!”

For more details on this competition or other youth entrepreneurship programs at Halton, contact Halton Region’s Business Development Centre at www.halton.ca/business.

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