FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ADVANTAGEWEST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP
MEDIA CONTACTS:
KATHI PETERSEN – 828-712-1286 or kpetersen@awnc.org (for background & to arrange interviews)
PAM LEWIS – 828-273-8295 or plewis@awnc.org (for background & to arrange interviews)
DALE CARROLL – 828-230-7510 dcarroll@awnc.org (for interviews)
HOW MUCH VALUE CAN YOU SQUEEZE OUT OF A THROWAWAY ITEM?
New competition wants college students to get their creative juices flowing
ASHEVILLE, NC -- Regional college students can turn a piece of trash into cash in a new competition designed to tap their imagination, innovation and collaboration.
The CREATIVE JUICE COLLEGIATE COMPETITION challenges student teams to create value out of a throwaway item and communicate a message of environmental responsibility. Teams chronicle their experiences on video and upload to YouTube for judging by some of the region’s top technology entrepreneurs and educators.
Teams are competing for thousands of dollars in scholarships, prizes and professional development opportunities, as well as a chance at the grand prize – a day at Google Headquarters in California.
The concept for CREATIVE JUICE was developed by Pam Lewis of AdvantageWest Economic Development Group along with Troy Tolle of DigitalChalk online learning system; Bryan Toney, director of Appalachian State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship; and Dr. Phil Sanger, director of the Center for Rapid Product Realization at Western Carolina University. CREATIVE JUICE was created as a way to encourage entrepreneurship and the vital role it plays in the economic growth of rural regions across the U.S. and around the globe.
“As part of AdvantageWest’s economic development strategy, we must continuously explore new and innovative paths to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship,” said CEO Dale Carroll. “We believe one of the best ways to accomplish this is by encouraging the use of technology and stimulating creativity in the young people of our region. They represent our future workforce and business owners.”
The competition begins Sept. 11 when the throwaway item is revealed during a live webcast from the Carolina Connect conference at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville. The conference provides professional development and networking to entrepreneurs and investors from across the Southeast.
Teams have 10 days from the time of the reveal to complete their video for judging. They will be evaluated in five areas: originality and creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation, environmental responsibility, critical thinking skills, and team building and leadership.
Judges for the regional competition are Erskine Bowles, UNC System; Rhett Weiss, Google Inc.; Ryan Allis, iContact; Kurt Mann, AmericanGreen TV; June Atkinson, NC Dept. of Public Instruction; and a representative of the NC Community College System.
Western North Carolina’s regional champion will face the winning regional teams from South Carolina, Oklahoma, Iowa and Oregon to compete for the CREATIVE JUICE grand prize trip to Google in January.
“Created by entrepreneurial students at Stanford University and today recognized as one of the world’s leading companies, Google is an ideal fit as the grand prize sponsor of the competition,” said Carroll. “The company recently opened a major data center in the AdvantageWest region and we are proud to have them as a corporate neighbor.”
On Aug. 20, 2008, Google Inc. in California released the following statement about the CREATIVE JUICE COLLEGIATE COMPETITION: "Google is excited to help support the Creative Juice competition. The contest promotes many of Google's core values such as innovation, environmentalism, and entrepreneurship, and we are proud to host the winning team at Google at the beginning of 2009."
CREATIVE JUICE is also sponsored by DigitalChalk, AmericanGreen TV and Jute Networks.
Go to www.CreativeJuiceCompetition.com to learn more and register your team.
# # # # #
How to participate in CREATIVE JUICE
-Students must be enrolled in a university or community college in an undergraduate degree program.
-Students should form a team of 3-5 members, create a team name that will identify their video project, and register at the CREATIVE JUICE website www.CreativeJuiceCompetition.com.
-Teams must be assembled and registered by 11:59 p.m. Sept. 10.
-The throwaway item will be revealed live at 9 a.m. Sept. 11 on the CREATIVE JUICE website. Teams may use as many of the items as they want for the project.
-Teams have until 9 a.m. Sept. 20 to complete the project and upload their videos to the YouTube group site http://www.youtube.com/group/creativejuice.
-Team videos should capture the 10-day experience and explain the created value using the throwaway object.
-Videos should be between 3-5 minutes in length. Content must be appropriate for the general public.
-Videos will be evaluated on content and creativity, not production quality.
-Teams will be judged on how well they perform in these five areas: originality and creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation, environmental responsibility, critical thinking skills, and team building and leadership.
What CREATIVE JUICE teams can win
The prize package for best video in Western North Carolina includes:
-$5,000 in scholarship monies to be divided among the members of the winning team. Sponsored by AdvantageWest and the Inception Micro Angel Fund (IMAF - West.)
-A Biltmore Estate/Land Rover Outdoor Experience with technology entrepreneur Ryan Allis, founder of iContact software company and author of the best-selling book "Zero to One Million.”
-A paid internship project with the Asheville Sustainability Center.
-A mentoring dinner and WNC recreational activity with the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council.
-An evening at Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, including lodging and dinner with the resort’s CEO, Craig Madison.
-Tickets to a Carolina Panthers home football game. Sponsored by Duke Energy.
-The chance to compete with other regional winners from across the U.S. for the grand prize of spending the day at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
