Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase Announces Top 25 Teams

Top 25 to compete and sell their products January 18, 2013 at Park Plaza Mall

Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase (Y.E.S.) for Arkansas, a statewide business plan competition for fifth to eight graders, announced the top 25 teams today. The teams were selected from a field of 204 teams made up of more than 600 students from across Arkansas. All of the teams created a business plan for a new concept so they could compete for an opportunity to turn their ideas into reality. Top 25 team names, schools and home cities are as follows:

3GB Bookmark-it Cache River Picks CaraBooTique Color Vision Concession Value, Inc. Cone Cookie Company Drew’s Awesome Soap Duct Tape Wallets, Inc. Flower Fresh Girls’ Gourmet Pretzels Interchangeables kNOT Slit Shirts Lovely Lips Magnetic Attractions Magnetic Jewelry Inc. Pillow Pack Poof Unlimited T-shirt Company Pucker Pops S.L.A.K. Survival Packs The PB&J Style Company The Ultimate Locker Shelf Top Secret Spices Waki Wax

Washington Middle School M.D. Williams Intermediate School Hazen Elementary School Pinkston Middle School Springhill Elementary School Holt Middle School Prairie Grove Middle School Carlisle Elementary School McCrory Elementary School Cutter Morning Star Elementary School Omaha Middle School Christ the King Catholic School Greenbrier Junior High School Fountain Lake Middle School Holt Middle School Christ the King Catholic School Lakeside Middle School Immaculate Conception School Omaha Middle School Omaha Middle School Immaculate Conception School Christ the King Catholic School Greenbrier Junior High School Omaha Middle School Greenbrier Junior High School

El Dorado Pocahontas Hazen Mountain Home Bryant Fayetteville Prairie Grove Carlisle McCrory Hot Springs Omaha Little Rock Greenbrier Hot Springs Fayetteville Little Rock Hot Springs Fort Smith Omaha Omaha Fort Smith Little Rock Greenbrier Omaha Greenbrier

Now in its 8^th year, the Y.E.S. for Arkansas business plan competition was initiated in 2005 for middle school students. It is sponsored by the Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation (AEAF), an affiliate of the Arkansas Capital Corporation. Annually, more than 50 Arkansas business leaders serve as volunteer judges to assist in the selection of the qualifying team finalists and winning teams. “I’ve had an entrepreneurial career that came to me by chance. I realized we can expose young people to entrepreneurial activities very early in life, resulting in maximum opportunity to achieve success,” said C. Sam Walls, chief executive officer of the Arkansas Capital Corporation Group and Chairman of AEAF. “The Y.E.S. competition provides that early exposure, and I’m inspired by the potential of the youths who participate in the competition.” For the second round of the competition, the top 25 teams are tasked with creating a comprehensive marketing piece and display booth to showcase their product or service at Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock on Friday, January 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Winning team members for first place teams in each category will receive a $100 cash prize. The teachers of the first place teams receive $500. Trophies are awarded for all first, second and third place winners in each category, with teams eligible to compete in multiple categories. The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group (ACCG) is a privately held group of for-profit and non-profit corporations dedicated to improving the lives of Arkansans. ACCG and its affiliate companies empower entrepreneurs by providing capital to businesses through its lending programs and advocating for entrepreneurs through capital, educational and technological improvements. ACCG serves as the platform from which new opportunities are launched and today includes eight affiliates including Arkansas Capital Corporation (ACC), Six Bridges Capital Corporation (6BCC), Arkansas Capital Relending Corporation (ACRC), Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation (AEAF), Diamond State Ventures (DSV), Heartland Renaissance Fund (HRF), Connect Arkansas, and Pine State Capital (PSC). Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation (AEAF), established in 1999, is a private, 501(c)3 non-profit corporation dedicated to education-based initiatives that promote and foster the development of innovation and entrepreneurship within Arkansas. With broad support from the state’s business community, AEAF’s purpose is to nurture people and ideas to generate future Arkansas entrepreneurs. AEAF established and now manages the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup, a collegiate business plan competition, as well as business plan competitions for grades 5-8 via the Youth Entrepreneur Showcase (Y.E.S.) and grades 9-12 through the Youth Entrepreneur Showcase 2.0 (Y.E.S. 2.0).