Grow Wabash County recognized by Mid-America EDC for student entrepreneurship

Grow Wabash County recognized by Mid-America EDC for student entrepreneurship Main Photo

28 Feb 2022


WABASH COUNTY, IN – Grow Wabash County has been selected as the recipient of the 2021 Entrepreneurial Award by the Mid-America Economic Development Council (MAEDC) which represents 13 states in and around the Midwest.

The Entrepreneurial Award was presented to Grow Wabash County in recognition of the Wabash County High School Entrepreneurship Collaborative, which Grow Wabash County has spearheaded to expand entrepreneurship opportunities in Wabash County classrooms.

“The comprehensive approach to building a local entrepreneurship ecosystem was especially impressive to our panel of judges,” Brandon Marshall, MAEDC’s Award’s Committee Chairman, said. “One of the overarching goals of the Mid America EDC is to elevate the economic development profession.  Wabash County has provided us all a great example with this effort.”

The collaborative has grown since Grow Wabash County’s establishment in 2017 when the organization helped Wabash City School launch its Incubator EDU program. Since then, student entrepreneurship has flourished in Wabash County thanks to the ongoing work of Grow Wabash County to secure funding for these programs, organizing the annual INnovate Wabash County pitch competition and provide all six Wabash County high schools with the CO.STARTERS Generator curriculum and a comprehensive library of books from Dave Ramsay’s “EntreLeadership” collection.

“As one of our five pillars of service, entrepreneurship has long been a primary focus of Grow Wabash County,” Keith Gillenwater, President & CEO of Grow Wabash County, said. “We have proudly paved the way for many local students to not only explore the possibilities of starting their own businesses but actually turn those ideas into profitable ventures. This is the next generation of innovation in Wabash County and we are proud to provide them with the tools to take their talents and make an impact in this community.”

This achievement was presented during MAEDC’s annual Economic Development awards ceremony, part of the 2021 Mid-America Competitiveness Conference held in Chicago on Dec. 3.

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