U-46 high schools showcase student art
Elgin Area School District U-46 high school students will showcase their artwork in the Vision 2015 Juried Exhibition Wednesday, April 29, through May 6, at Elgin State Bank, 1001 Randall Road, Elgin.
About 25 pieces from each high school will be on display. U-46 families, students and community members are invited to attend the closing reception on Wednesday, May 6.
Prizes for first, second and third place and People's Choice awards will be given in the following categories: drawing/printmaking, painting, photo/digital, and 3-D/jewelry. Community members are encouraged to vote on the People's Choice winners from April 29 to May 5 during bank hours.
The award reception will be from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 6.
Judson alumnus wins inaugural 'Shark Tank' contest:
George Heller, 25, of Elgin, a 2012 Judson University business marketing graduate, and his team won the $1,000 grand prize in Judson's inaugural "Shark Tank" competition for creating an automated home fire suppression system.
The team made its pitch to a five-judge panel of entrepreneurs before a packed audience in the Thulin Performance Hall April 15 at Judson's Elgin campus.
Heller's business plan for a home fire protection system that can detect and put out a fire rose to the top during the two-hour business pitch contest.
The other contestants were current Judson students including Helen Perez, 23, of Elgin, who presented a business plan for healthy "Prep-n-Go" meals for health club members; Briana Williams, who presented a plan for an on-campus fair trade store; and Gavin Buckland, who was part of a team that presented a plan for a multimedia company. Buckland's idea won the Audience Choice honor.
Heller's team - including four University of Illinois mechanical engineering graduates - already has incorporated the business, FireStrike Industries based in Elgin. They have a design patent pending on the system, which they have tested at a facility on the University of Illinois campus.
"The team at FireStrike Industries has worked very ambitiously to bring our idea to a reality," Heller said. "We put our best foot forward in the competition and are very excited for the road ahead."
The judges were: Fred Broling, retired president and owner of US Precision Glass Company and a Judson University trustee; Glenn Earl, associate professor of entrepreneurship at Elgin Community College; Benjamin Glunz, founder and CEO of Anguleris Technologies, co-founder of Jerry's Café, and chairman of Judson University's Alumni Association; Seth Temko, a seasoned business executive; and David Thompson, founder of Green Light National.
The Judson "Shark Tank" event was part of the larger CREATE 2015 initiative that included film presentations at the beginning of the school year, and special guest speakers, David Ziegler, former chairman of Ace Hardware Corp., and Rob McCleland, executive director of Dr. John Maxwell's EQUIP Leadership, Inc.
A second "Shark Tank" contest has been scheduled for November 2015.