BOLIVAR, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University Enactus matched its best result in the Enactus U.S. National Exposition by placing in the top eight after finishing runner-up in its league in the semifinals at the competition held May 21-23 at the Kansas City Convention Center.
“This year’s team is very special,” said Dr. Angie Brown-Peterson, department chair and assistant professor of business administration. “They have worked tirelessly to serve and better the Bolivar community. They truly embody SBU’s mission of being Christ-centered, servant leaders.
“We are so blessed with amazing students at SBU.”
The last time SBU finished top eight in the nation was under Trevor Parrish’s leadership
as president of Enactus in 2013. This year, his brother, Taylor, led the team as president
to another top-eight finish. SBU President Dr. C. Pat Taylor, Provost Dr. Lee Skinkle
and his family, plus several of the team’s family members, were among the supporters
at the national competition.
SBU Enactus qualified for nationals after winning a regional championship at the April 10 competition in Dallas. It was the team’s 32nd regional championship out of the past 33 competitions.
“We have had a phenomenal group of student-leaders this year,” said Dr. Nathan Wright, assistant professor of business administration. “They have made a sustainable difference in our local community. The judges recognized this by placing our team in the top eight in the country. I am so proud to work with this group.”
The team presented the following three projects it has identified and pursued:
Downtown Bolivar
SBU Enactus learned that many small businesses that open in downtown Bolivar close within the first five years of operation because they do not understand the basic practices of marketing, financial management and sustainability.
The team began working with two businesses – The Corner Shoppe and B-Town Custom Apparel. A survey of 25 participants was conducted to help determine the target market for The Corner Shoppe. Calendars also were designed to better inform customers about upcoming classes. The team assisted B-Town Custom Apparel in moving locations and re-branding, as well as generating an inventory system for more than 350 shirts, streamlining its accounting processes, and creating an internship for students to gain practical experience.
In addition, the team increased the number of businesses it was working with from one to three, adding Wee Create and increasing that business’ participants from four to eight. SBU Enactus also has helped improve the economic state of the downtown area by assisting and empowering local businesses in improving their practices.
Sentrepact
Through its Sentrepact initiative, SBU Enactus has empowered students at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Mo., to put entrepreneurship and free enterprise skills to use in their community.
The team has sustained and expanded a program at the high school level that is similar to what Enactus is at the collegiate level, and has assisted Lebanon High School seniors and juniors as they partner with businesses in the Lebanon area.
As a result, Enactus has helped both The Lunch Lady and Thistlewood with their advertising, as well as assisted The Mighty Oak in working on bookkeeping. Eleven Sentrepact students enrolled for college credit, and the program is expanding to two schools for the 2017-2018 school year.
Community Outreach Ministries
SBU Enactus is in its second year of assisting Community Outreach Ministries (COM) in Bolivar. COM operates a food pantry for Polk County and serves more than 500 families per month.
SBU Enactus helped COM by organizing its inventory, creating informational material to promote community involvement, developing a new logo to increase consumer awareness and implementing a new inventory organization system to track sales in the thrift store.
Through these efforts, COM is better able to utilize its increased warehouse space and identify popular merchandise. Also, through increased revenues, COM is able to provide food to more families.
The team
The team’s mission is: “Southwest Baptist University Enactus is a team of servant leaders that promotes free enterprise as a critical means of preparing others to lead rewarding, self-sufficient lives in a global society.”
The presentation team included: Samantha Martin, a sophomore marketing major from O’Fallon; Stephen Pierce, a sophomore marketing major from Lee’s Summit; Ashley Bell, a sophomore computer information science major from Dodgeville, Wis.; Erin Corner, a junior public relations major from Green Bay, Wis.; and Taylor Parrish, a senior management and marketing major from Blue Springs.
The 2017 Enactus officers include: Parrish, president; Jordan Price, a senior marketing and international business major from Wichita, Kan., vice president of projects; Hannah Louvier, a senior management major from Salem, Ill., vice president of competition; and Emily Raines, a sophomore management major from Marshall, vice president of operations.
Project leaders are: Larissa Duckworth, a sophomore elementary education major from Eldon, who leads the “Sentrepact” project; Colton Masters, a sophomore management major from Troy, Ill., who leads the “COM” project; and Adriana Gallaher, a sophomore management major from Quincy, Ill., who leads the “Downtown Bolivar” project.
“I am proud of our team and their commitment to our community and improving lives where we live,” said Dr. Levi Bridge, Master of Business Administration director and instructor of business administration. “They represented themselves and SBU well by remaining focused on Christ and being servant leaders.”
What is Enactus
Enactus, formerly known as Students in Free Enterprise and with headquarters in Springfield, Mo., is an international non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring students to improve the world through entrepreneurial action. More than 69,000 students at more than 1,740 universities in 36 countries plan and implement community development projects to improve the world around them. At the end of each school year, the teams present their projects at a regional competition. Select teams, including SBU’s team, advance to the U.S. national competition, with the winner advancing to the Enactus World Cup in the fall, where one team is chosen the winner among all participating universities.
Photo cutline: (Front row, left to right): Emily Raines, Adriana Gallaher, Larissa Duckworth, Samantha Martin, Hannah Louvier and Ashley Bell; (Back row, left to right): Christine Winkelman, Colton Masters, Stephen Pierce, Taylor Parrish and Erin Corner.