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SKOWHEGAN — Skowhegan Savings Bank and town revitalization organization Main Street Skowhegan recently announced winners of two local business competitions.
Amanda Leigh Clark was winner of the Main Street Skowhegan Savings Entrepreneur Challenge.
Clark will receive more than $23,000 in benefits and incentives, including a $10,000 forgivable loan from Skowhegan Savings Bank to start her business, River Trail Counseling and Wellness Center.
Matthew Gallant, a junior at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, was the winner of the Junior Entrepreneur Challenge for his business idea, Gallant Media. He plans to use his first-place prize money, awarded via a grant from Skowhegan Savings Bank, to fund his startup.
Both competitions included components that provided entrepreneurs with information about the nuts and bolts of owning a business. Junior entrepreneurs took entrepreneurship classes and met with local business leaders. Participants in the Main Street Skowhegan Savings Entrepreneur Challenge attended business seminars where they learned about insurance needs, required permits, cash flow and financial analyses, and marketing strategies.
Clark, a licensed clinical social worker with a concentration in child and family therapy, developed her business plan over the course of five Entrepreneur Challenge business seminars in the fall. She met with the Main Street Skowhegan Business Enhancement Committee to further refine her plan before making her final pitch to a selection committee made up of local economic development professionals.
She will open her business this summer, specializing in helping clients overcome challenges and set goals that will improve their quality of life, personal capacity and productivity. In addition to counseling, River Trail will offer health and wellness services.
Gallant, a participant in Mt. Blue High School’s Entrepreneurial Program, pitched his startup idea in early March to the Main Street Skowhegan Business Enhancement Committee, which served as the selection committee for the three student finalists. Gallant plans to use the $1,000 first-place prize to a business that will provide computer services — including website and mobile app development and computer network and software installations — to businesses in western Maine. Gallant’s all-in-one tool, Gallant WebMaster, will also allow clients to build and manage their own websites.
Second place went to Smart Planner, an organizational app for students conceived by Madison High School students Emily Edgerly, Shelby Belanger and Katie Worthen. Madison High School will receive $450 of the $750 second-place prize, and the remaining money will be split among the three students.
L. Enright Photography, a business idea developed by Skowhegan Area High School sophomore Lauren Enright, placed third. A portion of the $500 cash prize will be awarded to Enright as a college scholarship, and the remainder will benefit the Entrepreneurship Class at SAHS.
The Junior Entrepreneur Challenge was developed by Jobs for Maine’s Graduates in partnership with Skowhegan Savings Bank and supported by Main Street Skowhegan’s Business Enhancement Committee. Prize money for first, second, and third place winners came from a grant from Skowhegan Savings Bank. Sixty-three students from the three schools participated in the pilot program.
