Heather Greenwood, center, owner of Florine Swim Co., receives the first-place check from (left to right) Mark Harmon, Regions Bank branch manager; Michael Jessup, Illinois Small Business Development Center director; SIU Chancellor Austin Lane and SIU System President Dan Mahony. (Photo by Erasmus Tornye)
December 17, 2025
SIU’s 2025 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase honors announced
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase held recently at Southern Illinois University Carbondale drew scores of people to celebrate some of the region’s most impressive new innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs.
The December event featured a variety of awards and special recognitions at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center. One of the highlights was the announcement of the winners of the 2025 Southern Illinois Business Plan Competition Powered by Regions Bank, which invited entrepreneurs with new business concepts, pre-venture plans or an existing small business in Alexander, Clay, Crawford, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Marion, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, Union, Wabash, Wayne, White and Williamson counties to compete for a share of more than $20,000 in cash and in-kind services.
“We were genuinely inspired by the creativity and determination these entrepreneurs brought to the competition,” said Michael Jessup, director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at SIU. “This year, 40 businesses started the program, and 23 participants from 11 counties pitched their businesses at the local competitions, with 12 advancing to the regional competition. Each winner represents a fresh solution to a real community need, and we are excited to support them as they take the next steps in launching and growing their businesses. Events like this highlight the strength of our region’s entrepreneurial spirit and remind us why we are so committed to helping small-business owners succeed.”
Intense competition
The business plan competition included several components. A trio of workshops imparted considerable information and advice to participants who then created business plans incorporating all of the vital data, including financial strategies. They also crafted 90-second “pitches.”
Heather Greenwood took the top prize with her fashion/E-commerce business, Florine Swim Co. She earned $5,000 in cash along with services, including 10 hours of marketing consulting/coaching with Dennis Poshard from the Arthur Agency (with a $2,000 value), a one-hour strategy session and five hours of legal work with Legal Advocacy (valued at $1,000) and a professionally produced promotional video of less than 2 minutes from Brand Advocacy (valued at $3,500).
Also earning top honors were:
- Second place — Teri Rice, with Rent-A-Kid, a goat party rental business. Her prizes include $3,000 and a one-hour strategy session and three hours of legal work from Legal Advocacy Headquarters (valued at $700).
- Third place – Emmalee Williams with WP Meat Company, a meat processor. She won $2,000 and a one-hour strategy session and one hour of legal work from Legal Advocacy Headquarters (a $300 value).
To earn a spot in the regional competition, participants had to place in the top two in one of the local competitions held earlier this fall in Carbondale, Harrisburg, Marion, Mount Vernon and Robinson, Illinois. First prize in each local contest was $1,000, while second place garnered $500.
Winners of the local competitions, listed by towns in which the first phase of the competitions were held, included:
Carbondale – home to two separate groups, the green and blue cohorts.
Green Cohort
- First – Alex Heidbreder, Heidbreder Utility Mapping and Consulting, offering mapping services and strategic planning to local water districts.
- Second – Andrew Taylor, Sandstone Adventure Guides, rock climbing guide services.
Blue Cohort
- First – Teri Rice, Rent-A-Kid.
- Second – Kevin Quinn, Chilly Jilly, food service/ice cream.
Harrisburg
- First – Emmalee Williams, WP Meat Company.
- Second – Maribeth Black, Hero Haulers, a roll-off dumpster rental enterprise.
Marion
- First – Lynne Weeks, Reading By The Weeks, dyslexia tutoring.
- Second – Octavia Torres, Mother Tree Therapeutic Interventions, yoga/mental health services.
Mount Vernon
- First – Heather Greenwood, Florine Swim Co.
- Second – Stephanie Chmkyhalov, Seeing Sensory, a sensory playroom and handmade sensory retail business.
Robinson
- First – Lisa Schaefer, Ellioh Designs, a graphic design and social stationery studio.
- Second — Jaleigh Peterson, Mochi Munchies, produce and value-added foods including ice cream and other prepared foods.
Additional presentations
The evening featured other special honors as well. Robert Patino, executive director of SIU SI and director of the SIU System Office of Technology Management and Industry Relations, recognized the recipients of two new patents involving soybean production enhancements. A new patent for compositions and methods to increase oleic acid content in soybeans is held by Khalid Maksem, professor of crop, soil and environmental management; Naoufal Lakhssassi, associate scientist in the School of Agricultural Sciences; and Dounya Knizia, postdoctoral researcher. Another new patent for soybean lines with low saturated fatty acid and high oleic acid contents is now held by those three, along with Zhou Zhou.
In addition, SIU’s Illinois Economic Empowerment Center recognized representatives of the area businesses who recently completed and graduated from the comprehensive 10-week Launch That Business “fast-track” training program, designed to help home-based and small business entrepreneurs take their business concepts to the next level. Recent graduates of the Carbondale Accelerator program, an initiative from the City of Carbondale and the SBDC, were honored as well.
Organizers of the event included SIU’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development, the SBDC and the SIU Foundation.
Learn more about the SIU Office of Innovation and Economic Development and the numerous services it provides by visiting the website, calling 618-536-4451 or emailing lindberg@siu.edu.