Entrepreneurship Competitions Come to a Close

Stafford County Economic Development has spent this spring season traveling across the state with two Stafford High School students to present at entrepreneurship challenges. Bobby DeLeon, senior and Coben Hawkins, sophomore presented their business “Scan From the Past” at three different events where they’ve accumulated almost $2,000 in prize money.

​On Monday, April 17th, the team presented at the Kansas Entrepreneurship Challenge hosted by Kansas State University’s Business Department. DeLeon and Hawkins were amongst the four finalist presentations and traveled home with a fourth place prize of $1,500.

The following week, DeLeon and Hawkins represented Stafford County’s NetWork Kansas E-Community Partnership on Monday, April 24th at Fort Hays State University where the NetWork Kansas State Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge took place. 33 individuals and teams from across the state presented their business concepts with a written executive summary and a 2-minute elevator pitch to judges. Although they did not make it to the finals round, they gained public speaking experience and met other young entrepreneurs like themselves.

"These two students have gained so much experience by competing in these events this spring. Most high school students don’t get the opportunity to compete in events like this, and if they do they shy away from the idea. I’m proud of all of the Stafford High School students that chose to participate,” said Ashlee Bevan, Program Director.

​For more information, contact Ashlee Bevan, Stafford County Economic Development at (620) 549-3527 or ashlee@staffordecodevo.

For more information about Kansas State University’s event, visit https://cba.k-state.edu/ or contact Chad Jackson at cjackson@k-state.edu.

For more information about NetWork Kansas or the E-Community Partnership, visit www.networkkansas.com.