Seymour High School senior Maggie Connell had just come off of a two-week quarantine from the volleyball team when one of her teachers reminded her of an assignment.
Dawn Jones encouraged students in her Principles of Marketing class to participate in the 10th annual Jackson County Maverick Challenge, a business planning competition for high school students.
Jones posed a question to the class: What does our community need that would impact it?
Connell’s answer was a retirement community like ones seen in Florida.
“We don’t have anything like that around here,” she said. “That’s just kind of how the idea came up. It was sprung on last second, but that’s just the idea that came to my head, and we made it a reality.”
Sunset Vistas is a retirement community for people ages 55 and older with the option of a one- or two-bedroom apartment or condominium.
“It’s isn’t a retirement home,” Connell said. “The difference is that a retirement home, you would have nursing staff to take care of you. This is a free, independent living community. It will have golf, a swimming pool, indoor activities, outdoor activities, classes so that you can keep learning, reading time — anything you want.”
Her business plan wound up producing a winning result, as a panel of judges awarded her first place. Eleven 10-minute presentations were given virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the judges had $7,000 to split between the participants.
“After my presentation, I kind of walked away from it thinking I didn’t really do that good,” Connell said. “I kind of thought to myself, ‘I could have done this better.’ I didn’t make eye contact with them. I really couldn’t. I didn’t get that one-on-one feel with the judges.”
One day while taking a test on her Chromebook at school, an email popped up from Jones announcing the Maverick Challenge winners, and she saw her name first.
“I literally stopped my test, and I looked at my teacher and my teacher looked at me and they go, ‘You won,’ and I was like, ‘I did win.’ I honestly couldn’t believe it,” Connell said, smiling.
Taking the top prize, Connell recently was presented a check for $2,500. She said she plans to put that money toward college, where she wants to study marketing and play volleyball.
This was Connell’s first time doing the Maverick Challenge.
“In the very beginning, it was just an idea I had on my head. I didn’t really think I would be able to ever even do it,” she said.
But after talking to Marvin Veatch and Jim Gray with JCB, Connell said, “It really kind of put a spark underneath me like, ‘I can do this.’ Even though I’m 17, I can pursue this in my future. Wanting to be a marketing major, this is the kind of stuff I will be doing for the rest of my life, so I do have a passion for it, and I think it would be unbelievable and great if I could.'”
This year, written plans were submitted by individuals and duos from Seymour and Brownstown Central high schools, said Jackie Hill, workforce partnership director for Jackson County Industrial Development Corp.
JCIDC is a sponsor of the county program along with the Seymour Chamber of Commerce and Brownstown/Ewing Main Street, while JCB is the funding sponsor.
Local business professionals helped narrow it down to 11 business plans — from 15 total students — to be presented virtually Jan. 20 and then split the monetary prizes between them.
Connell advances to the regional competition Feb. 20, which also is virtual. Students from Jackson, Bartholomew, Brown, Dearborn, Franklin/Ripley, Jennings and Scott counties each will have 10 minutes to pitch their idea. Judges will award money to the top three.
The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce started the Maverick Challenge in 2008. High school students from 12 area counties are invited to participate.
Dan Robison, president of the Seymour Chamber of Commerce, was part of the program for the first time, while Arann Banks, a Brownstown/Ewing Main Street board member, has been involved for several years.
“Super impressed by the whole process,” Robison said during the recent presentation at Seymour High School. “All of these students, you represented yourselves and our community very well. Keep those thoughts going, be creative and go after your dreams, go after your goals.”
Banks said the county competition went better than expected considering the switch to virtual.
“I just love the fact that all of you stepped up to the plate and still did your thing and did it well and stayed with it,” she told the students. “I just really admire the fact that you guys did so well. Thanks for staying with the program.”
Veatch said JCB has been a funding sponsor for a number of years and is extremely happy to be a part of the program. Since 2011, Jackson County students have earned more than $62,000.
“It’s really great to see young people really step up and have the creativity, have the initiative, have the drive to put forth a lot of these business ideas,” he said. “I think that that will certainly be beneficial for you as you go on in your careers. These are principles and the foundation that you can take these lessons for the rest of your life.”
Seymour took the top two spots in the competition with Caley Monnier placing second and earning $1,550, while Brownstown Central High School’s Evan Rohlfing placed third and earned $1,050. The other individuals received $200, and the duos were given $100 apiece.
Jones was proud to see 12 of her students place in the top 11.
“I am so proud of all of your efforts and the working outside the box and being creative and following through on any kind of direction I’ve given you this year,” she told her students. “All students put their heart and soul into this, and it shows.”
SHS Principal Greg Prange said it has been good to see the Maverick Challenge grow over the years.
“Mrs. Jones has taken this to heart,” he said. “She lives and breathes this. I hear about it a lot from her. She’s always really excited, and her exuberance has really come over into you guys. I’m very proud of you girls and guys for representing Seymour High School, and I look forward to the Maverick Challenge in the future.”
Along with praising the mentors, judges, sponsors and students, Hill gave special thanks to JCIDC’s intern, SHS senior Lauren Knieriem. She met with mentors and judges to develop a resource website for the program and created a video featuring interviews with past Maverick Challenge participants.
“Lauren has been the face of the Maverick Challenge,” Hill said. “Anything I’ve suggested to her, she keeps telling me, ‘I’ve got it,’ and she runs with it. She has been wonderful, so kudos to the work-based learning program at Seymour. She has been a huge help for us.”
Looking forward, Connell said she expects the Maverick Challenge experience to provide many benefits.
“Especially with it being a dual-credit class, I’ll get credits for Principles of Marketing going into college, so I’ll be one step ahead of everybody else wherever I plan to go,” she said.
“Then just being able to put this on résumés and getting amazing internships, either during the school year or during the summer, and showing them that I have this experience as well as my past internship with United Way doing some stuff with them, virtual marketing things, it’s just going to be great,” she said.