Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 2-24-17

Local
Winners Chosen In 4th Annual Teen Business Challenge
dows 10 tablet computer and keyboard which they used throughout the competition.
“The Pitch” Challenge was conducted in front of a group of celebrity judges, parents and friends.
The celebrity judges in- cluded David Bellini, co- founder and Managing Director for Connectwise, which was also the Title Sponsor for the event, Pete Slade, President/CEO and founder of Nitro Solutions, a local software company that has been involved with Com- puter Mentors Group for sev- eral years, Bob Francis, Managing Partner with Mil- ford Communications and
mentor for Tampa Bay WaVe, and Deborah Alverez Neff, Director of Operations at Sourcetoad, and entrepreneurship ac- tivist who is heavily involved with initiatives such as Start Up Week.
Teen Business Challenge (TBC) is an annual event where teens challenge them- selves over an inspiring weekend of creation, compe- tition and community. Teens submit applications for entry and are then nomi- nated by their mentors, guided by instructors and coaches, motivated by each other and empowered with skills and tech to compete.
Members of the winning Blue Team are: Bruce Wilson, Hamza Chouaibi, John Walton, Joseph Gutschmidt, and Odette Del Valle.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The 4th Annual Teen Busi- ness Challenge took place February 18th and 19th, at the Hillsborough Community College, Ybor Campus. Dur- ing the competition, 19 high school students had the op- portunity to vie for top prizes.
Computer Mentors served as host for the compe- tition. Ralph Smith, Founder and President of
Computer Mentors said, “This year, more than 70 vol- unteers and several sponsors helped to make the program a success.”
This year, the winning team, consisting of members Bruce Wilson, Hamza Chouaibi, John Walton, Joseph Gutschmidt, and Odette Del Valle, were awarded the top prizes.
They jumped to the fore- front with their “Big Idea” Challenge by coming up with an idea that would save lives
by encouraging safe teen driving. They then held on as the Red Team won “The Biz Model” Challenge and the “MVP” Challenge, and The Yellow Team won the final “The Pitch” Challenge.
As winners of the over-all competition, each member of The Blue Team received a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 tablet with keyboard worth over $1,000. However, none of the participants left empty-handed. All of the participants received a Win-
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2017