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During a ceremony on December 4, PCHS announced winners in the second year of PCHS's "Aspiring Entrepreneurs" program. Five finalists were recognized and two of these were awarded $10,000 each to propel their entrepreneurial aspirations forward. Congratulations to these PCHS seniors who have demonstrated outstanding qualities of innovation, philanthropy, and creativity in developing their respective businesses:
$1,250 Finalists:
Douggie Kloeppel – D&K Pet Care: A Platte City-based service dedicated to caring for pets when owners need support for their cherished companions.
Brett Mueller – BM3 Edits: Using sports marketing skills to promote PCHS athletes and provide affordable services to the Northland community.
Darrell Smith – GTI Training: A business focused on physical fitness training.
$10,000 Grand Prize Winners:
Spencer Johnson – Happy Disciples: Spencer supports charitable causes by selling meaningful products across the region, and inspiring others.
Charles Forrester – Venture Fragrances: A unique line of fragrances designed to appeal to all ages.
Their entrepreneurial dreams will now receive a substantial boost, thanks to the generous support of a local, private entrepreneur who has funded the PCHS Aspiring Entrepreneur Award for this second year. Most of these start-up businesses are in their first stages of development. You can visit/contact Happy Disciples at https://www.happydisciples.org, D&K Pet care at https://www.dandkpetcare.com, BM3 Edits at @bm3_edits on Instagram, and GTI Training via email at [email protected]. You can find Venture Fragrances at local vendor fairs.
About the Aspiring Entrepreneur Award: Last spring, Platte County High School juniors learned of this unique opportunity, which encourages students who possess an entrepreneur mindset, and who are future-focused, philanthropic, and creative, to apply. Unlike many scholarships, this program does not consider grades, test scores, or financial need as criteria for selection. Instead, it values qualities like vision, creativity, and community impact. Fifteen impressive PCHS juniors completed applications in May, and ten candidates were chosen to advance to the next round to share their proposed entrepreneurial projects (to be executed during the summer before their senior year), and from this talented pool, five finalists were ultimately selected. These five finalists each received a $1,000 grant to develop their entrepreneurial concepts into viable start-up businesses, and then presented their progress to a panel of community judges this fall for the chance to be awarded a $10,000 award to continue their entrepreneurial dreams.