Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) student Joe Eisenhauer has been selected as the student winner in the seventh annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Collegiate Business Concept Challenge, a component of the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards (EIEA) program honoring business and entrepreneurship in Southern and Eastern Kentucky.
Eisenhauer, a non-traditional student from Fayette County who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in construction management with a minor in entrepreneurship, will receive a $1,000 cash award for his creation of a business concept for “Home Delivery Laundry Service,” a residential home pick-up and delivery laundry business. Eisenhauer’s advisor, Dr. Rita Davis, also will receive a $250 cash award.
“Small business is the propelling force of the American economy,” Eisenhauer said. “Without entrepreneurs willing to risk their own money and livelihood to meet a need that exists in the community, America never would have become a pillar of economic freedom to prop up the rest of the world.”
The Excellence in Entrepreneurship Collegiate Business Concept Challenge invites students from Southern and Eastern Kentucky universities, colleges, and community colleges to submit business ideas and compete for cash awards and professional consultation.
Eisenhauer said his business concept would greatly benefit EKU students and staff, young professionals, senior and disabled citizens, as well as families with two working adults. Home Delivery Laundry Service would assist aging and disabled residents struggling with their laundry and offer a time- and effort-saving alternative to busy families and working professionals.
In addition to Eisenhauer, two other student teams were recognized. The team of Randal Napier and Holly Angel, representing EKU’s Corbin campus, presented a business concept for a strategic recycling distribution and collection proposal targeting the Corbin-Whitley County area. Hong Zhang Durandal of Berea College introduced a business concept for an energy-efficiency consultant business.
Napier is a business major with environmental health science as his minor. Angel will graduate in May with a bachelor of arts degree in paralegal science and a minor in political science. Both are from Corbin.
Durandal, originally from Cochabamba, Bolivia, is studying business administration and applied math and science at Berea College. He plans to open his own business, Energy Exposure Agency, in the next three months.
The EIEA program celebrates success in entrepreneurship by recognizing businesspeople and entrepreneurs in 55 Kentucky counties who have created and are managing a successful enterprise. EIEA is sponsored by Eastern Kentucky University’s (EKU) College of Business and Technology, Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, and The Center for Rural Development.
Eisenhauer of Fayette County will be recognized for his winning concept at the 2010 EIEA luncheon ceremony scheduled for Sept. 13 at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset.
In addition to the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Collegiate Business Concept Challenge, Eisenhauer represented EKU in April at “Idea State U,” a statewide business plan competition sponsored by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, entering his business concept for “Home Delivery Laundry Service” in the undergraduate business plan competition. A combined 17 graduate and undergraduate teams from Kentucky’s public universities competed in the contest, which was held at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington.
For more information about the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Collegiate Business Concept Challenge, go to http://www.eiea.eku.edu/collegiate.php.
The Center for Rural Development—the Center of Excellence for rural Kentucky and the nation—provides economic and community development programs to residents in a 42-county primary service area of Southern and Eastern Kentucky, and is home to several statewide and national technology-based programs. For more information on programs available through The Center, visit www.centertech.com.
Photo Caption 1: Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) student Joe Eisenhauer, second from left, has been named the winner of the seventh annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Collegiate Business Concept Challenge for his creation of a business concept for a residential home pick-up and delivery laundry business. Congratulating Eisenhauer on his win for “Home Delivery Laundry Service” business concept are Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award (EIEA) partners Stephen Taylor, far left, development director for Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation of London; Ian Mooers, third from left, executive director of EKU’s Center for Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Technology; and Jim Tackett, at far right, associate vice president of leadership and education for The Center for Rural Development. Eisenhauer, a non-traditional student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in construction management with a minor in entrepreneurship, will be recognized as the student winner of the Business Concept Challenge at the 2010 EIEA luncheon ceremony scheduled for Sept. 13 at The Center in Somerset.
Photo Caption 2: The student team of Randal Napier and Holly Angel, second and third from left, represented Eastern Kentucky University’s Corbin campus at the seventh annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Collegiate Business Concept Challenge. Napier and Angel presented a business concept for a strategic recycling distribution and collection proposal targeting Corbin-Whitley County area. Napier is a business major with environmental health science as his minor. Angel will graduate in May with a bachelor of arts in paralegal science and a minor in political science. Congratulating the team members for their business concept as a finalist in the competition are Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award (EIEA) partners Stephen Taylor, far left, development director for Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation of London; Ian Mooers, fourth from left, executive director of EKU’s Center for Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Technology; and Jim Tackett, at far right, associate vice president of leadership and education for The Center for Rural Development in Somerset.
Photo Caption 3: Hong Zhang Durandal, second from left, represented Berea College at the seventh annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Collegiate Business Concept Challenge. Durandal, originally from Cochabamba, Bolivia, introduced a business concept for an energy-efficiency consultant business, Energy Exposure Agency, which he plans to open in the next three months. He is studying business administration and applied math and science. Congratulating Durandal for his business concept as a finalist in the competition are Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award (EIEA) partners Stephen Taylor, far left, development director for Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation of London; Ian Mooers, third from left, executive director of EKU’s Center for Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Technology; and Jim Tackett, at far right, associate vice president of leadership and education for The Center for Rural Development in Somerset. |
