"Experience is the best teacher," Champlain College President David F. Finney told the 18 Elevator Pitch finalists last Tuesday as they anxiously awaited their turn to impress the business person or "suit" inside a mock elevator at Champlain College.

The third annual Elevator Pitch Competition, presented by Champlain College's Bring Your Own Business (BYOBiz) program and KeyBank gave students 90 seconds, the time of an average elevator ride, to pitch their idea. It's a unique event that "embodies a lot of the values we have here at the college," Finney said.

Students from all majors of academic study, including five freshmen, participated in the competition. The top three finalists placing in three different categories- non-profit/social advocates, job/internship seekers and entrepreneurs each received cash prizes thanks to KeyBank's President Scott Carpenter.The top winners received $500, $300, $100 based on the judges' view of the quality of their presentation.

A panel of community and business leaders scored finalists on both delivery and content. In addition each member of the audience was able to cast a vote for their favorite finalist in each category with a hand held radio-frequency keypad.

Director of BYOBiz Robert Bloch said he was very impressed by the level of performance from the finalist this year.

Third place winner in the Nonprofit/Social Advocates category Justine Riegel learned a lot from the experience. Riegel practiced in front of her Non-Profit and Social Marketing class all week to get past her stage fright and refine her pitch.

"I was so nervous I can't believe I actually won something," Riegel said. She's a strong advocate for sustainability at the college and plans to use the money she won to create a documentary highlighting eco-friendly students at the college.

The competition, hosted by Champlain Alumni Tim Kavanagh, gives students a unique experience to better articulate their passions in a spontaneous moment of opportunity. KeyBank's Carpenter said "Doing business with someone becomes very personal, you are not talking at them but with them."

The 2010 student winners are:

Non-Profit/Social Advocates: 1st-Jenna Londynsky ('11) of West Milford, NJ, Secondary Education; 2nd-David Gormley ('13)of Freeport, ME, International Business; 3rd Justine Riegel ('10)of Reading, PA, Public Relations.

Job/Internship Seekers: 1st-Van Dang ('11)of Burlington, VT, Accounting; 2nd-Elisha Kottler('10), of Westborough, MA, Social Work & Business; 3rd-Brendan Anson-Pritchard ('11) of Wilmington, VT, International Business.

Entrepreneurs: 1st-David Muse ('13), of Hollis, NH, Criminal Justice; 2nd-Aaron Millet ('12) of Newark, VT, Electronic Game Programming; 3rd-Molly Michalenoick ('13), Lebanon, NH, Business.

The judges for the competition were: Trustee Emeritus and Owner of Debby Bergh Consulting and Coaching Debby Bergh; Champlain Trustee and President of KeyBank Scott D. Carpenter; Chairman of the Board for Landstar Systems Inc. Jeff Crowe; BYOBiz Executive Advisory Board, Entrepreneur and Co-Founder Internet Telephony Exchange Carrier (ITXC) Mary Evslin,; Champlain College parent Christine Stiller; and Head of Consultant Relations for Dwight Asset Management Lisa Trubiano.

The businesspeople or "suits" were played by Senior Development Officer for Development and Alumni Relations Moneer Greenbaum, Director of the Champlain College Center for Service and Civic Engagement Kyle Dodson,and Director of BYOBiz Program Robert Bloch.
The event was taped to air on RETN Channel 16 later this spring. For more information about Champlain College and its programs for entrepreneurial students student contact, Bloch at (802) 862-6490 or rbloch@champlain.edu.

For more information about Champlain College, visit www.champlain.edu