2007 Entrepreneurship Award Winners

By Steven Nalley

“You can’t put in what God and Mom left out” is F. Michael Reilly’s guideline for seeking qualified employees.

Reilly, president and chief executive officer of Randall-Reilly Publishing Company in Tuscaloosa, spoke to award winners from across the state, many of whom were past or present students at UA.

Reilly emphasized the importance of showing up at work every day, and he said he had not missed a day of work in 32 years. He also said that passion was so important that a person who loses his passion for a job or business should give it to someone else.

Todd Sobel won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The president and

CEO of a motorcycle helmet company, Helmets Inc, Sobel said that his favorite day of the week was Monday because he could hardly wait to get to work. His comments exemplified Reilly’s emphasis on attendance and enthusiasm.

“I have no hobbies except for work,” Sobel said. “I love what I do, and it all pays off.”

 “You’ve got to start with vision, then you’ve got to have passion and determination,” Reilly said. “You’ve got to bloom where you’re planting. Whatever job you get is probably not going to be the job you end up at.”

Sam Mrocynski is a chemistry major, yet she and her team placed second in the Capstone Elevator Pitch Competition with their Cell-Sea Bandage company. Mrocynski says their bandage is twice as strong as other bandages, non-water-soluble and can be customized with additives.

Many entrepreneurs at the ceremony had also played sports.

The Outstanding Entrepreneurship Educator for K-12 was Ernestine Giles of Hillcrest High School. Katherine Adams of the Tuscaloosa City School system was the first runner up.

The Outstanding Entrepreneurship Educator for higher education was Lisa McKinney, an instructor in the Culverhouse School of Accountancy at The University of Alabama. She was recognized for her work with the Capstone Business Academy, a summer program for academically exceptional high school students.

The Social Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Sister Carol Ann Gray of the Catholic Family Services of Tuscaloosa.

The celebration also included an elevator pitch competition (a brief overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The pitch is so called because it can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride); and a minority business plan competition.

In the elevator pitch competition, first place went to Cameron Nott, a master’s student in aerospace engineering. His company is Intelligent Bio Design, which is in the early stages of developing new, lower cost prosthetics and devices for physical therapy.

Second place was awarded to doctoral student Scott Spear, Sam Mrocznski, Rebecca Paxton and Bethany Lindstrom for Cell-Sea.

In third was Graham Smith, an M.B.A. student, who has developed eTribute, an online service to facilitate charitable donations in honor of friends and relatives. 

Awards for the African American Graduate Student Association business plan competition went to:

Grand Prize – Terrance Meade for Elite Next Level, $2500.
First Runner-Up – Antwon Prince for Kingdom Enterprise, $1000.
Second Runner-Up – Dextor Lewis and Keon Little for UmBlah, $500.