WittConsultants reveal Freshwater Farms of Ohio as the 2011 EBAward winner

April 28, 2011

Springfield, OH—Senior WittConsultants Brendan Corrigan, Maggie Curtis, and Julianne Lininger have spent the spring semester facilitating the selection and the promotion of the winner of 2011 Entrepreneurial Business Award, Freshwater Farms of Ohio. Freshwater Farms, located in Champaign County, is a five-acre fish farm that raises more than 100,000 pounds of fish yearly.  The judging panel consisting of local business managers, government officials and past EBAward winners choose Freshwater Farms for its culture of innovation and environmental sustainability efforts which has made it the largest fish hatchery in Ohio.  Since Dr. Dave Smith opened Freshwater Farms in 1986, it has proven to be a leader in the fish hatchery industry and Dr. Smith has served as a mentor to numerous other fish hatcheries.

The team participated in the scripting, filming, editing, and production processes of the video working with Jim Kragel of Cedartree Productions in the filming and editing processes. 

In addition, the team worked with Junior Achievement president Louise Lambert to write video scripts and guide the filming process for the Junior Achievement Living Laureate and Posthumous Laureate award videos. This year’s Living Laureate, R. Andy Bell, is an owner, executive committee member and a senior commercial account executive for Consolidated Insurance, an affiliate of Brower Insurance Agency, as well as an active member of the Springfield community. The Posthumous Laureate, Robert C. Henry, owned and operated the Robert C. Henry Funeral Home and served as Springfield Mayor 1966-1968. The process for creating both of these videos was very different than that of the EBA video, as the team interviewed family, friends, and community leaders as well as gathered pictures and crafted scripts.

The team also developed teaching notes for copies of the EBAward video which will be provided to area middle and high schools, and for the announcement PR campaign for this year’s winner.

The award winner was honored and the EBAward and Junior Achievement Laureate videos premiered to an audience of more than 300 people at the annual Junior Achievement Hall of Fame event on May 5^th, 2011.

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Meet the WittConsultants:

Brendan Corrigan ’11 is a senior business major at Wittenberg University from Westlake, Ohio. This past summer, he interned at American Wire and Cable working to improve the company’s environment, health and safety management systems. At Wittenberg, he has successfully advertised and promoted Class of 2011 events as well as his own student senate and class elections. He can be seen giving campus tours and working in the business department.  He also serves as treasurer for the Class of 2011, Student Senate and Tau Pi Phi (business honorary society). Last school year, Corrigan was awarded Greek Male of the year and Alma Lux, the highest Wittenberg honor bestowed upon a junior male student.  After graduation, Corrigan plans to join a volunteer service group or attend graduate school for accounting.

Maggie Curtis '11 is a senior at Wittenberg University from Louisville, Kentucky.  She is a Business major with Political Science and Communication minors.  Working for the University Office of Admission, she organizes visits for prospective students, coordinating class, professor, and coach schedules with a campus tour.  She is active in Alpha Delta Pi sorority as the Finance Vice President, and works for the Business department on campus as a faculty aid.  She also participates in intramural athletics and has captained teams in dodgeball, volleyball, and basketball.  The summer of 2009, Curtis spent six weeks in Bregenz, Austria where she studied Business Ethics and was able to travel throughout Western Europe.  She has completed a WittCam project for TorchAds, selling and creating advertisements for On-Campus organizations.  In the future she hopes to pursue a career in marketing and advertising.

Julianne Lininger ’11 is a senior management major with a minor in statistics from Springfield, Ohio. She currently serves as student director of Wittenberg’s Center for Applied Management (WittCAM) and as treasurer of Wittenberg’s Habitat for Humanity. Lininger has gained experience in public relations and advertising through her roles in WittCAM and Habitat for Humanity.  In addition to her job at WittCAM, Lininger also has worked in the Accounting Office at Wittenberg for four years. Last year Lininger worked on a WittCAM project requiring marketing research that developed recommendations for new industry targeting for Pallas Systems, a high-technology startup company.  She is a member of Wittenberg’s Honors Program, Omicron Delta Kappa honor society, Tau Pi Phi Management honor society, Mortar Board honorary, and has been on the Dean’s List each semester. Lininger is very passionate about giving back to the Springfield community and has volunteered with The Ark (a Christian after-school program) and the Clark County Habitat for Humanity Restore. She plans to pursue a career in the business field and earn a masters degree in business.

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Entrepreneurial Business Award: The EBAward was initiated by Louise Lambert, President of Junior Achievement, Ed Levental, General Manager of Valco Industries, and Pamela Schindler, Director of the Wittenberg Center for Applied Management in 1997. Together their common interest in education and business vitality led to the idea of showcasing local business success stories. The EBA recognizes and encourages the entrepreneurial spirit and practices of area companies by recognizing businesses that have implemented innovative ideas to better serve their customers, enhance the skills of their employees, improve their competitiveness or benefit the community. The EBAward has been a student-managed project in the Wittenberg Center for Applied Management (WittCAM) since its inception. Past winners include: Oxiem Marketing Technologies , Comfort Keepers, Safety Through Engineering, The Happy Soul, Young’s Diary, Freedom Feeds, Kapp Construction, Ohio Feedlot Inc, Rothschild Berry Farms, Rittal Corporation and Acusource.

Wittenberg Center for Applied Management (WittCAM): The Wittenberg Center for Applied Management offers alternative coursework to upper-level students who are focused in business. As an alternative to a classroom-based course, WittCAM students serve as consultants to businesses, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations. Students and organizations have a choice of opportunities, including: Small Business Institute, WittConsultants, Management Internship, and the Creative Advertising Partnership. Students work as groups on projects. Some projects require specific management course prerequisites; these vary depending on the nature of the project. Directed by Professor Pamela Schindler, more than 496 students have been involved in WittCAM projects in the last 30 years.