On August 9th, 2018, Youth Ventures celebrated the 21st Annual Youth Ventures Awards, presented by the CBDC. During this afternoon event, young entrepreneurs were recognized for their excellence throughout the summer program. 2018 was an amazing year for many youth in our province and we’re ecstatic to be part of their entrepreneurial journey. To learn more about the amazing, young entrepreneurs thriving in this province, check out their businesses below!
2018 Venture of the Year
The winner of the Youth Ventures award for Venture of the Year, sponsored by NL Association of CBDCs, is Kimberley Dunphy.
This award is given to the business that was overall the most successful and well established business of that year. This business is quite visible, profitable, well known and the participant usually works full time. The nature of the business usually has the potential for longevity.
KMD DESIGN started in 2015 as just a home-based business where she only sold on Facebook and Instagram. Since then her Facebook grew to 16,000 likes, she created a website and opened up her own store at 193 Water Street in Carbonear. You can buy all her items in the store items include; wine glasses, coffee mugs, travel mugs, tumblers, saving jars and makeup brush holders. You can buy right off the shelf or work together with Kimberley and design your own custom creation. You can also purchase items on her website at any time, and she ships worldwide.
When she first opened the store she just sold her items, and now she sell items from 4 other women entrepreneurs – 3 of which are made right here in Newfoundland. The others are jewelry, children’s accessories, sea glass creations, bath bombs and cards.
Sponsored by CBDC
2018 Excellence in Financial Management
The winner of the Youth Ventures award for Excellence in Financial Management, sponsored by BDC – Business Development Bank of Canada, is Matthew Lawrence.
This award is given to a business with outstanding financial record keeping. The nomination materials should show how the business owner used any profit, repaid loans or ran a cost effective business.
Established in 2017, TutorNL provides professional educational services to students of all ages in the Conception Bay South, Paradise, Mount Pearl, St. John’s and surrounding areas. TutorNL is staffed by bright students of Memorial University and only has top performing students on their team. TutorNL’s services are managed out of their office at 120 Conception Bay Highway, CBS Commons.
TutorNL’s services include private tutoring, test review, midterm exam review, final exam review, resume and cover letter writing, paper editing and review booklet packages.
“At TutorNL, our mission is to provide a safe, reliable, and educational experience that meets the goals of our clients. That goal may be to pass a course, graduate and or become an educated member of society. We install an innovative teaching approach for various individual learning styles within the K-12 system, in order to push education in the right direction.”
Sponsored by BDC
2018 Excellence in Marketing
The winner of the Youth Ventures award for Excellence in Marketing, sponsored by Commonwealth Pharmasave, is Justine Anderson.
This award will be given to the business that used outstanding marketing to develop the business’s brand. Creativity in attracting customers and determining pricing are examples of excellent marketing initiatives.
Justine is the owner of Wild Flower Company in Port aux Basques. She makes and sells producs that focus on nourishing the Mind, Body & Spirit. Wild Flower Co.’s mission is to create all-natural handmade skincare that is safe for sensitive skin and not harmful for the Earth or it’s people. The skincare line includes Soaps, Bath Bombs, Bath Salts, Scrubs, Healing Salves, Lotions, Body Oils, Rose Facial Spray, & Tick Repellents all made from plants grown right here in Newfoundland. Wildflower Co. also caters to our Spiritual side and carries a selection of mystical handmade Dreamcatchers and Aromatherapy Candles.
Sponsored by Commonwealth Pharmasave
2018 Outstanding Venture (17 years and under)
The winner of the Youth Ventures award for Outstanding Venture (17 years and under), sponsored by Newfoundland Power Inc., is Dariya Sooley.
This award will go to a business owned by a youth, 17 years and under, who has experienced significant achievement during the current year and stands out amongst the crowd. By reading the application, the judges should get a good understanding of what makes this particular business different and exceptional.
Dariya started with Youth Ventures this year focused selling eggs, ducks and chickens from her home with her business called “Bills and Beaks”. She became interested in this 2 years ago at the young age of 10 when she searched the internet for information on homesteading!
Dariya is unique. She has a passion for animals, the earth and environment, and also possesses an incredible amount of drive. Over the past 2 years she has taught herself to make jam, skin animals & preserve the pelt, harvest antlers for dog chews, refine salt from the sea, and also care for an incredible number of animals and birds. She has a variety of breeds of ducks, chickens, roosters, guineafowl, and quail. She recently purchased a 45 lb turkey for her farm. She also has a variety of pets from dogs, geckos, a kitten, a corn snake, and a goat. Her care of these animals is nothing short of incredible.
Sponsored by Newfoundland Power
2018 Excellence in Customer Service
The winner of the Youth Ventures award for Excellence in Customer Service, sponsored by Jungle Jim’s, is Alyssa Barrett & Karlie Squires.
This award will go to the business that is outstanding in going over and above what is required in the area of customer service. In this award both letters of support should come from customers. This business usually promotes customer service as the cornerstone to its success.
The business A&K Candy Boutique is derived from the partners Alyssa Barrett and Karlie Squires. The business provides opportunity for local customers to avail of special hand-made candy bouquets, cotton candy and candy/caramel apples. Since opening their business in 2016, A&K Candy Boutique has attended many events and carnivals in the Trinity-Conception area which has proven their business to be very successful. They have also recently expanded their business to include cotton candy, caramel and candy apples. This has helped to grow their business venture even more. Last year they received the Excellence in Financial Management award through the Youth Ventures program and they are very excited to be back again.
Sponsored by Jungle Jim’s
2018 Trailblazer of the Year
The winner of the Youth Ventures award for Trailblazer of the Year, sponsored by I Design Ltd., is Jonathan Sacrey & Micah Sacrey.
This award will be given to a business that shows unique and forward thinking which leads the way for others whether it be a new method they implemented to achieve success in their business or as a new industry in their region.
Micah and Jonathan Sacrey live in Stephenville. Micah is 16 and Jonathan is 14. Their family had recently bought a 3D printer to print things as a hobby, but things changed when Micah heard about Youth Ventures through a presentation at his high school this past May. After telling his brother Jonathan about it, they decided that they wanted to use their 3D printer for more than just a hobby. By checking out ideas on the internet, they discovered lithophanes. A 3D lithophane is a piece of 3D printed biodegradable plastic, that is translucent which when put up to a light source, makes the hidden picture visible. Thus naming their business 3D Portrait Prints.
To advertise their business they created a facebook page, and were present at various public events in Stephenville this summer. After some success with lithophanes, they decided to expand their products to include other 3D printed items. Through their advertising efforts and a lot of support from their family, and Bobbi-Jo, their Youth Ventures Coordinator their business has taken off and is continuing to grow. Since beginning in June they have sold almost $1000 of 3D printed products. As they continue to expand their product line they look forward to seeing how far they can grow this company.
Sponsored by I Design
2018 Excellence in Arts and Tourism
The winner of the Youth Ventures award for Excellence in Arts & Tourism, sponsored by Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, is Logan Humby.
Businesses eligible for this category delivery a product or service in the visual and performing arts or cater to the culture and tourism industry. Businesses should demonstrate what makes them unique and how they excel in their industry.
Logan operates his business Logan’s Bergy Bits out of St. Lunaire-Griquet. Having been in operation for two summers, Logan has gone from selling his iceberg ice on the side of the road to having his own little shop where he sells the ice as well as bakeapple and partridgeberry butter. He has even started selling the bergy bits at the local Foodland in St. Anthony! Logan’s business is catching the eyes of not only locals, but people from all across the country and the world, having even had a customer from Italy.
Sponsored by Hospitality NL
2018 Star Coordinator
The winner of the Youth Ventures award for Star Coordinator is Gary Noseworhty.
This award goes to the Site Coordinator that has shown initiative and outstanding efforts in delivery of Youth Ventures in their area. This nomination should be completed by a staff member of the Delivery Site and should outline all activities that the Coordinator undertook to better serve their participants. Activities should include any combination of the following: creative marketing activities that generate awareness of the program, exceptional dedication to solving participant issues, achievement of two out of three Site Goals, etc. This nomination should consist of a letter of support and proof of achievements.
Gary has done an outstanding job delivering the Youth Ventures program in his area this year. Gary continuously works diligently to provide assistance, guidance, and support to the participants in his area. Always looking for new and creative ways to promote the Youth Ventures program, Gary began a video series featuring participants and demonstrating the entrepreneurial spirit that exists in our province.
2018 Mentor of the Year
The winner of the Youth Ventures award for Mentor of the Year, sponsored by Event 3 Sixty, is Virginia McNeil.
This award is given to an individual from the community that has shown tremendous support to one or more Youth Ventures participants. This Mentor respects students’ ambitions and helps them achieve their goals. He/she actively guides the YV participants in their decisions and provides a good model of professionalism. This award will require a letter of support from either the Site Coordinator or another staff member, and a letter of support from a participant.
Virginia is a multi-disciplinary artist, a musician, a community leader, superb communicator and an unrelenting support for the young people in her small town. She has experience across numerous fields of work and is committed to the social and economic development in her town of Trepassey.
For more information, please contact Ashley Pomeroy at ashley.pomeroy@cbdc.ca or 745-4406.
