Governor's Cup 2009

I had the opportunity to go to the award's dinner on Tuesday night for the 2009 Governor's Cup Business Plan Competition. RSU had two teams enter this year, which is a first. Both teams had great products and amazing business plans - and both placed into the semi-finals!

One of the teams made it into the final round, which is the top six teams in the undergraduate level out of 32 teams total. They competed against OU, OSU, TU, OCU, UCO and many other universities. This team - Health Wise Systems - competed with the concept of using nanotechnology in sheets for the healthcare and hospitality industries.

Once again, RSU was the only regional university to place teams into the semi-finals and especially into the finals. Nearly 50 business plans (32 undergraduate) were submitted by about 150 students from across the state in the fifth annual event, competing for $200,000 in cash awards, $50,000 in free commercialization services, $40,000 in fellowships and $10,000 in scholarships.

I am so proud of all the students who competed. The time and effort that goes into this competition is impossible to describe and can only be appreciated by those who've done it before. The competition continues to be a great opportunity for RSU students and I look forward to next year.

Here's a picture of the Health Wise Systems team at the awards dinner in OKC. Pictured from left to right: (front row) senior Elisabeth Sanchez, senior Whitney Robison, senior Megan Pruitt, and junior Peter Woodson. (back row) Faculty advisor Chuck Atkins, sophomore Levi Milford and senior Kyle Beggs.