Entrepreneurship Event at Cleveland State

Andrea Byerly
Monday, February 12, 2024 12:00 AM
Press Releases, Community, Events, All

CLEVELAND, TN - The George R. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Cleveland State Community College will host an Entrepreneurship Event on March 4-5, 2024. The two-day event is open to the public and sponsored by the Lynn Jones Foundation, the Cleveland Bradley Business Incubator and the Small Business Development Center. 

Local small businesses will display products and services at the vendor expo each day, 5:00-8:00 p.m. in the George R. Johnson Cultural Heritage Center on the Cleveland State main campus. On Monday at 6:00 p.m., local business owners will share ideas and information during a panel discussion.  

Six students will compete in the third annual Student Pitch Competition on Monday, March 4, 3:00 p.m. The Lynn Jones Foundation will award $2,000 and $1,000 to the first and second-place winners, respectively. The Cleveland Bradley Business Incubator will award $500 to the third-place winner.

The second annual Community Pitch Competition will be Tuesday, March 5, 6:00 p.m. The Lynn Jones Foundation will award $7,500 to the first-place winner, $4,000 to second-place and $1,500 to third-place. Community Pitch finalists are:

• Arctic Snacks - Bethany Humberd (Bradley County)
• Cleveland Disc Golf - Justin Spears (Bradley County)
• Endless Printwork, LLC - Michelee Parrott (McMinn County)
• Euchee Meadows Nursery - Daniel & Denise Talley (Meigs County)
• Premier Physical Therapy - Bryan Clary (Polk County)
• Ruddles's Bread and Book - Kaylee Brown (Bradley County)
• Shandy's Mean Greens - Shandy & Justin McDonald (Monroe County)

Judges for the Community Pitch Competition are Dr. Corey Campbell, Cleveland State Vice President for Academic Affairs, Jim Fairweather, owner of Fairweather Financial in Monroe County, and Margaret Schenck, founder of United Knitting in Cleveland and an advisory board member of the George R. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Sandra Godsey, Cleveland State Dean of Business and Health Professions, said, “We are excited to provide this opportunity to the community, as well as the faculty, staff and students of Cleveland State. We want to be a resource for the small businesses of our five-county service area which is the goal of the George R. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.”

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit mycs.cc/entr, call (423) 478-6224 or email entrepreneurship@clevelandstatecc.edu.