photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

Aspiring young entrepreneurs will have a chance to show off their business savvy and win prize money during Douglas County’s upcoming Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.

Douglas County is seeking applications for its sixth Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, which is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to noon on Feb. 16 at the Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center, 2920 Haskell Ave.

The competition, open to students in grades 6 through 12 who live in Douglas County, consists of preparing an executive summary, giving an elevator speech and formal presentation, and having a trade show display. Students compete for $3,000 in prize money. The students’ work is judged by local entrepreneurs, teachers and community leaders. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Feb. 2.

During past competitions, students have pitched businesses that offer swimming lessons, resale clothing, jewelry, baked goods, pet sitting and more, according to a news release from the county.

The Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is sponsored by Network Kansas, Douglas County and Lawrence’s chamber of commerce. Douglas County is one of many communities across Kansas to host an event designed to give students a hands-on experience. Douglas County’s first-place winner will get the opportunity to participate in a statewide competition and earn more prize money and honors.

“The Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is one of the coolest events Douglas County gets to be part of each year. I love that we can help showcase local youth who are endlessly creative and who have neat ideas to share,” Douglas County Commissioner Shannon Reid said in the release. Reid has served as a judge for the local event.

An informational meeting will be available from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 28 at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Flory Meeting Hall, 2120 Harper St. Besides Douglas County, the following partner agencies plan to be at the event: Network Kansas, Lawrence’s chamber of commerce, KU Small Business Development Center, Black:30, CORE, K-State Research and Extension, Haskell Indian Nations University and Baker University.

For more information or to register for the informational meeting and the YEC event, visit: http://dgcoks.org/yec2024.