Alex Remy of Westmoreland, NH, is on winning team of Saint Michael's College Enterprise Plan Competition

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Saint Michael's College Enterprise Plan Competition Winners, Alex Remy with teammates, Emily Magee and Nora Moore

COLCHESTER, VT (04/26/2013)(readMedia)-- Committed to helping culinary enthusiasts showcase their cooking talents, and to helping inspired chefs succeed, the savvy students who created the compelling and thorough business plan titled "Culinary Connection" took top honors in the Saint Michael's College 2013 Enterprise Plan Competition.

Alex Remy, son of Linda and Peter Remy of Westmoreland, NH, was on the three-person winning team that earned $5,000 in prize money for their project. Mr. Remy graduated from Keene High School before coming to Saint Michael's.

The three senior business administration majors, Emily Magee of Queensbury, NY, Nora Moore of Cheshire, NH, and Alex Remy, beat out superb competition to be named winners when they presented their plan before judges at the finals held April 19, 2013, in the Hoehl Welcome Center at Saint Michael's College.

The competition challenges students to develop and market sustainable business plans to a panel of business leaders serving as competition judges.

The 2013 winning teams and the titles of the plans are:

• 1st Place $5,000: Culinary Connections, Emily Magee, Nora Moore, Alex Remy; Faculty Advisor: Dr. Karen Popovich

• 2nd Place $2,500: Shuttle Safety, Cassie Crockett, Julianne Vesciglio, Allison Graf: Faculty Advisor: Professor Joanne Scott

• 3rd Place $1,000: Vermont Revamp, Teresa Lautenschlager, John Slane: Faculty Advisor: Professor Tamara Mularaky

The student plans were developed over a semester, sometimes two semesters. Seventeen plans were read by Saint Michael's faculty and narrowed to the five finalists that were presented to a panel of business executives who served as judges.

Enterprise Plan history

Established in the year 2000 and supported ever since by founders Peter and Kareen Worrell, the plan challenges SMC undergraduates to develop and market sustainable business plans to a panel of business leaders who serve as competition judges. Peter Worrell, managing partner of the Bigelow Company, is a former SMC trustee, and a 1979 graduate of Saint Michael's; Dr. Kareen Kendrick Worrell is a 1977 SMC graduate. They are residents of Portsmouth, N.H.

"Culinary Connection: Kitchen Leasing & Event Center"

The winning team presented a professional business plan, cogent, eloquent, filled with graphs, charts, balance sheet, set up costs, and more. Their business provides a certified commercial kitchen where culinary enthusiasts can produce meals and take advantage of the venue to showcase their talents to the public. The business also provides cooking classes and a full service dining room.

They serve various users: start-up businesses in catering, food cart vending, food product development and others. They also serve ethnic groups selling cultural foods, foodies, community groups and organizations and families. Their vision statement explains: "Culinary Connection strives to build a community helping inspired chefs succeed in the greater Burlington area."

And they claim, as a slogan, "We cater to all your culinary needs."

The highly detailed, creative and insightful plan covered everything from mission and vision to an outline of marketing strategy, positioning statement, promotion strategy, marketing programs, and a detailed 20-page financial plan, plus appendices. It's all spelled out in specifics with competitive comparisons, graphs and pictures.

Judges:

Jennifer Douglas, principal and CEO of Knowledge Wave Training of South Burlington, a certified software training company founded in 1984, known for providing cutting-edge technology training solutions for businesses of all sizes.

Eric Hounchell, VP of Optics for Revision where he oversees manufacturing, logistics and supply chain management. He has played a key role in developing global operations for a number of start-ups, and he served as a Marine Corps officer, following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Hattie Johnson, director of development for Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, former director of development for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and development officer for the Ronald McDonald House. A 2006 graduate of Saint Michael's College, and 2011 master's graduate of Saint Michael's.

Tocher Mitchell, banker who started at Chase Manhattan (now JP Morgan Chase) in NY, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Bangkok, then worked as a financial analyst for the Asian Development Bank, and in 1984 joined Chittenden Bank where he worked for nine years as VP and Regional Manager. He has been a banking consultant for the last 15 years for development projects in Bosnia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Tunisia and elsewhere.

Emily Piper, graphic designer, now with Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, and director of Burlington Young Professionals. She co-founded LaunchVT, a statewide business competition aimed at identifying and incentivizing comorrow's most promising businesses.

Saint Michael's College www.smcvt.edu  students are challenged to do their best, find their niche, take on opportunities to grow, and immerse themselves in academic pursuits. Intellectual rigor, compassion, teamwork, caring-these characterize a Saint Michael's experience. A residential Catholic college, Saint Michael's is steeped in the social justice spirit of its founding priests, the Edmundites. Saint Michael's is located three miles from Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top 10 college towns. Headed by President John J. Neuhauser, the college has 1,900 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students. Identified by the Princeton Review, 2013 as one of the nation's Best 377 Colleges, and included in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013, Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Goldwater, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's top-100, Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report rankings.

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