Rebecca Callaway (Skinny Lane Farm)

Skinny Lane Farm is a family owned farm located 30 miles east of Austin, in Elgin, Texas. The farm was established in March 2011 by husband and wife team, Bekki Callaway and Mike Moser. Bekki is the primary manager of the farm and Mike assists on a part-time basis.  The 13 acre farm currently has approximately a half acre of fields dedicated to vegetable production. In addition, their farm also supports a small herd of cattle and chickens.

Skinny Lane Farm was started because of a shared philosophy by Bekki and Mike, that successful and profitable food production does not need to depend on harmful chemicals or practices that  eventually destroy the productive capacity of the land.  They want to produce healthy, high quality food in a way that protects the environment and contributes to community involvement and local economic development.

Skinny Lane Farm believes that sustainable and healthy food production must rely on the earth’s natural rhythm’s and capabilities.  That farming and working the land is a complex ecosystem of interdependent parts that work together.  By allowing natural processes to drive practices, farmers can achieve highly productive soil that will deliver year after year.  Doing so eliminates the need for harmful chemicals or practices that may deliver short term yields, but over time rob the land of its capacity to produce.

They follow these same principles with their livestock.  Their cattle are grass-fed and allowed to freely roam the pastures.  The chickens are also allowed to free-range daily and their diet is supplemented with organic feed.  Skinny Lane Farm practices ensure that the animals are treated humanely and with respect and that their products are the healthiest possible.

Skinny Lane currently sells their produce and eggs direct to customers, through local famers markets and to Greenling.com.

Artmuse (Bonnie Glendinning)

Bonnie Glendinning is the Creator and Founder of Artmuse.com, an online curated gallery of affordable, contemporary fine art prints. The vision and inspiration for Artmuse is based on Glendinning’s firm belief that everyone benefits from having art in their lives. Through her direction, Artmuse increases the exposure and opportunities for artists to connect with a broader audience of art collectors, thereby, directly contributing to the artists’ career success.

Glendinning’s professional background includes marketing, creative direction, graphic design, and entrepreneurial endeavors. She discovered her passion for the arts while attending the University of Texas at Austin and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photography. Soon after graduating, her interests transitioned from analog to digital photography. This new direction ultimately led her to a career in marketing and graphic design which positively impacted a wide array of digital media and traditional industries.

Glendinning now sets her sights on building a business based on combining art, commerce, and technology. Specifically, she is motivated to connect artists and collectors, while expanding accessibility of the arts via the global reach of the Internet. Glendinning’s tenacity, enterprising spirit, innovative mindset, and insight into e-commerce and online art and design culture laid the groundwork for her successful launch of Artmuse.com.

Big Frog Custom T-Shirt’s and more (Dwight H. Miles, Jr.)

A strategic and top-performing sales and marketing professional, Dwight Miles commands 20 years of proven cross-industry leadership success on an international scale, which includes achieving organizational objectives, strengthening product position, gaining market share, revitalizing undeveloped sales, and driving overall growth.

In his present position as President/Owner of Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More in Round Rock, Dwight oversees all aspects of sales, marketing, planning, and business development, capitalizing on a niche market by making small order custom apparel printing convenient and affordable. With over 600 active customers, Big Frog is positioned to exceed all expectations.

Dwight started his professional career with Kraft Foods, while attending college and continued there after graduation, excelling in roles such as Account, Sales, and Customer Business Manager(s). Dwight also worked as Product Sales Manager for The Pillsbury Company, where he excelled to Customer Business Manager and Director of Progresso Foods and Old El Paso Mexican products.

While Director-Global Sales & Marketing for Eaton—Golf Pride, Dwight was selected to spearhead restructuring the sales and marketing organizations, develop strategic marketing plans for the Golf Grip business unit, and lead a 30-member global team.  During his tenure, he reenergized flat sales, grew revenues by $30 million, increased aftermarket share to 50%, and improved profits by 20%.

In his first entrepreneurial role, Dwight oversaw global business across North America, Europe, and Asia for Whirly Golf Limited, a start-up golf business geared toward families. Dwight oversaw strategic direction, maintained P&L accountability and improved cash flow through finalizing costs and renegotiating terms with a Chinese manufacturer.

Dwight holds an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and a BBA from the University of North Texas, with concentration in marketing. He is an active member of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce; lives in Round Rock with his wife Kelly and sons, Cameron, Jackson, and Carter.

Dom Cuellar & Raymond Rohde (Connally High School)

Intellect Gaming (Dom Cuellar & Raymond Rohde)-Dom is a senior and Raymond is a junior at John B. Connally High School. The concept that he and his partner submitted is an actual dream he wishes to make reality in the near future. Dom and Raymond are the co-founder and co-owner of Intellect Gaming. Intellect gaming is an educational gaming company that creates custom video games that are specific to the curriculum the requested teacher has asked to teach. Not only is each game one of a kind; they are made for all grade levels K-12. Intellect Gaming also provides certified game design teachers who are willing to go to schools and teach game design upon request. This is a first in the industry since other businesses do one or the other, but never both.

Dom participates in all media clubs at John B. Connally High School. His college hopeful is to attend St. Edwards University in the fall and major in Video Game Design Management.

Raymond is a member of Connally’s Marching Band, and a dedicated student to the Video Game Design and Development class. As well as furthering his education in the fields of Video Game Management, Programming in an assortment of types of software, and new and ever developing fields of Game design.

Shannon Smith (Connally High School)

Simpleeasy (Shannon Smith)- Shannon is a senior at John B. Connally High School.  She will be attending the University of Texas at Austin in the fall to pursue her degree in Business.  Shannon is a member of the National Honor Society, Business Professionals of America, and Treasurer of her senior class.  Shannon’s business concept is to provide an alternative, but economical method to purchase groceries. Simpleeasy is a grocery store designed to provide consumers a simple way to order their groceries and produce they need by using an online website with all the same choices available in a regular grocery store.  Once they have completed their order form, they will designate a time that is convenient for them to pick up their purchase at an easy drive thru location.  Their order will be packaged and loaded for them when they arrive.  In today’s fast paced society, time management is essential and this business plan will not only reduce the time and stress involved in grocery shopping, but it will provide a healthy alternative to fast food drive thru restaurants. Simpleeasy also donates perishable food items daily to local non-profit organizations, to help people in need.

Simpleeasy will revolutionize the way people shop for groceries and improve their quality of life by saving valuable time, reducing stress and providing a way to purchase healthy fresh food with a simple click of a button and an easy efficient drive thru pick-up service.

Ryan Carlisle (Westlake High School)

Urban Nourishment (Ryan Carlisle)- Ryan’s business concept centers around the idea of urban farming, which is the practice of cultivating plants in a city. Urban Nourishment Would build rooftop gardens as well as sell business and people the materials to build their own. Rooftop gardens have numerous benefits. They can provide people living in a big city to have access to fresh, locally-grown produce and they can cut down on a buildings heating bills. Also, as fresh food is made more available, the nation’s food supply could be more secure.

Ryan Carlisle is currently a junior at Westlake High School. He will be gradating in June 2013 and plans to pursue a career in either architecture or engineering. During his high school career, Ryan has been actively involved in the Texas State Junior Classical League Convention, the Association of Texas Photography Instructors, and the Texas Art Education Association. His main hobbies include photography and art.

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