Check here often to hear the latest news
related to 40 Below !
Download the 2009 “outlook” for 40 Below Cortland ***
Breaking New Ground
Did you Hear the News?
Homer High School Student Wins The MDA $5,000 Business Idea Competition
Quick thinking inspires student’s business plan
By HOLDEN B. SLATTERY
Staff Reporter
hslattery@cortlandstandard.net
SYRACUSE — Homer High School senior Caleb Earl was home sick when his teacher called, reminding him of that day’s deadline to submit a mock business plan to a regional competition. Earl had forgotten the assignment, but within an hour, he created a plan and filed it.
Friday, his quickly conceived idea of manufacturing biodegradable fishing lures was announced as the winner of the $5,000 prize in the competition with nearly 100 entrees, many of them college students.
Earl became the first high school student to win the 5K Business Idea Competition, a contest held by the Metropolitan Development Association. This was the third year the competition took place. A panel of judges considered 98 entries from a 12-county region in central and northern New York, said Mitchell Paterson, an employee of the Metropolitan Development Association who managed the competition.
Read the full article at www.cortlandstandard.net
40 Below Cortland new and returning members "Gathered for Good" in March to outline the upcoming events for 2009. Many that attended had the opportunity to visit the new restaurant in Virgil for the first time. Many thanks to owner Debbie Leader for giving our group such a warm welcome!
40 Below Dunking for Dollars
40 Below Advisory Board Members David Kurtz and Scott Hopko raised money for local charities at the Polar Bear Dunk Tank during this year's Chillabration celebration. Their chilling efforts are much appreciated!!
40 Below New Year Kick-off
40 Below members met at Hobeau's early in the year to share ideas for what's next for 40 Below Cortland in 2009. Those that attended enjoyed food and happy hour and then put their collective thoughts together from 6-7pm. Some of the ideas put forth included: continuing "40 Below Presents" and "Entrepreneur Spotlight", helping with the annual Corn Ducky Derby, and moving forward with a WiFi initiative for downtown Cortland. Members also brought canned goods to the meeting to help the community food pantries.
40 Below helps Homer High School
Special Thanks to 40 Below members Steve Franco, Dann Gailor, Scott Hopko, Adam Megivern, Lauren Mossotti-Kline, Kira Read and Grant Wilder for volunteering their time to serve as judges in Joe Cortese's economics class at Homer High. The students were faced with the task of creating viable business ideas for Cortland county and received coaching from our members. Thanks for the impact you made!
Existing and new members of 40 Below Cortland gathered at the old Cortland Corset building for the first ever Entrepreneur Spotlight. Four home-grown new companies gave tours and tastes as an inside look to their work: Hopko Designs, Cortland Beer Company, Roger Williams Photography and GoVo BioFuels, LLC. All four companies have either current or future offices in one of the oldest, yet greenest spaces in town!
40 Below Cortland offered up an opportunity to members and friends to meet the local candidates running for office. Mark Suben, Dave Hartnett and Tim Armstrong shared information about their experience and vision with the group that gathered. Casual conversation coupled with thoughtful questions and answers helped create an informative evening.