2019 Business Competition Gives Students Real World Experience

On April 9th, Ohio Christian University’s School of Business and Government hosted the annual awards banquet for its Business Plan Competition. Five finalists in the competition were awarded recognition as well as cash awards for their business plans. This annual competition gives Business students a chance to put into practice what they are being taught in classrooms. Its purpose is to give students a real-world opportunity to develop a business plan and present it to a panel of distinguished businesspersons.

This year’s first-round competition judges were Dr. Monty Lobb, Dean, and Professor Dale Lear, Business Program Director. Final-round judges were Michael Linton, owner of Accurate Heating & Cooling, John Roberts, professor at Ohio University and tenured executive with over 25 years of experience primarily in Financial Services where he spent over 24 years with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Curt Crocker, Managing Partner at Reservoir Venture Partners.

Brooke Lezotte, winner of the first-place prize said “I am so thankful to go to a university that offers opportunities like this. I was so excited to discover that my business plan is something that I can actually do, and the judges believed I would be successful at it in the future, which is a dream come true. It was such a blessing to participate in this event and I am so grateful for the experience I gained in doing so.” 

Other prize winners included Allen Mattam, Britt Piorkowski, Nick Kulaga and Rachel Hicks. Ohio Christian University strives to equip students with real-life experience that gets them out of the classroom and outside of their comfort zones.