2013 Governor's Giant Vision Winners Announced
As host of the Governor's Giant Vision Business and Student Business Competitions, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry President David Owen announced the 2013 top winners during the GOED Conference Banquet in Sioux Falls.
After a preliminary competition that reduced the field of applicants to 12 qualifying business and 12 qualifying student entries, the competition concluded with day-long judging activities Tuesday, April 16 at the Ramkota in Sioux Falls. The awards were presented as part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) banquet with Governor Dennis Daugaard presenting the top prizes in both competitions. The following were selected as the 2013 Governor’s Giant Vision winners.
BUSINESS COMPETITION:
The first place $20,000 winner was CalxAqua, Mat Peabody, Rapid City
CalxAqua is commercializing proprietary technology for coating limestone with iron to enhance its capability of absorbing arsenic and heavy metals. We will partner with Pete Lien & Sons, a leading company in the limestone and aggregate business to build a stand-alone company selling our proprietary material to municipalities and water treatment operations to enable their compliance with federal regulations limiting arsenic concentrations to a maximum level of 10 ppb. Later, we will expand to offer point-of-use systems for home/commercial use and eventually systems for remediation of mine tailings and fracking fluids.
STUDENT COMPETITION:
The Student Competition ended with a tie for first place. The first and second place money was pooled and divided equally. The two $4,250 winners were Alexander Thomason, Braced With Style, Sioux Falls (Washington High School) and Aaron Zaug & Melisa Rudd, SkinBait, Brookings (South Dakota State University)
Braced With Style manufactures and distributes affordably priced, customized, stylish fabric covers to enhance the look of scoliosis braces. Scoliosis is a side-to-side curvature of the spine combined with rotation of the vertebrae. Many scoliosis patients are required to wear braces for corrective action and pain relief. Since braces are visually bland, unattractive and unappealing to wearers, these brace covers will help boost morale of scoliosis patients who are outfitted with these white, hard plastic contraptions. No such product currently exists and Braced With Style will meet this unmet need, especially for teenage girls, the primary wearer of scoliosis braces.
SkinBait was founded in 2010 by Aaron D. Zaug, an Entrepreneur from Brookings, SD. SkinBait is a growing developer of state of the art fishing lures located in Brookings. The proprietary design and function of this lure will change the fishing industry, and give SkinBait a competitive advantage in the market. Our future plans include developing lures in the ice fishing and jig lines, as well as adding fishing poles, tackle boxes, and apparel to our product line.
Click here for a complete listing of event winners.
2013 Giant Vision Competition.