Emily Young, Elevate Wellness win Hormel Competition

Winners of the 2024 Hormel Entrepreneurship Competition include: Emily Young, Elevate Wellness, LLC (first place); Mayson Tyerman, Imperial, Tyerman Turf Care (second place); and a tie for third place between Champion Grass Fed Beef, Kelsey and Peyton Owens, Champion; and Country Chill, McCook, Kristine and Gabe Stritt, Bartley.

 

Four checks totaling $25,000 were awarded Friday for the 2024 Hormel Entrepreneurship Competition.

Emily Young, Elevate Wellness, LLC received the first-place award and received a check for $15,000.

Mayson Tyerman, Imperial, Tyerman Turf Care won second place and received $7,000. There was a tie for third place between Kristine Stritt, Bartley, Country Chill (McCook); and Kelsey Owens, Champion, Champion Grass Fed Beef. Those enterprises both received $1,500.

This competition runs every other year and residents in seven southwest Nebraska Counties are eligible: Furnas, Frontier, Red Willow, Hayes, Hitchcock, Chase and Dundy counties.

Elevate Wellness, LLC, (801 West C, Suite 3, McCook) won for their business expansion plan. The business is a healthcare and wellness clinic with 11 employees providing primarily physical therapy with contracted services for medical care, personal training, health coaching, yoga, chiropractic, speech and occupational therapy and message therapy. They plan to expand opportunities to create a community that elevate the standards of life and healthcare for patients and providers. 

Tyerman Turf Care, (538 W. Fifth, Imperial) is a multi-service lawn and landscaping company that does mowing, edging, small tree, branch and hedge trimming and aeration. It started with three regular mowing customers in 2019 and has expanded to 70 customers. Tyerman plans to use his money toward building a shop and expanding to Grant and purchasing or financing a new zero-turn mower, trailer and an additional mower and trimmer.

Country Chill, (114 East C, McCook) was established in 2023 as a specialized business offering cryotherapy then diversified to include an oxygen bar, compression therapy, salt cave, sauna and cold-plunge tub. The Stritts want to expand business and services to include a Styku scanner to assess health risks and a mobile trailer to offer services in an expanded area.

Champion Grass Fed Beef, (32547 733 Road, Champion) grew from a herd of three in 2014 when Kelsey and Matt Owens purchased high-quality America Aberdeen (Lowline Angus) and expanded to buy land and 23 more cows and two bulls in 2019. They added free range chickens through a partnership of their oldest daughter, Peyton, and her FFA project, Flock Yeah Free-Range Poultry. They want to add a certified kitchen, walk-in coolers and equipment to add free-range turkeys, with the goal of becoming USDA inspected.

After completing the application process in time for the Nov. 1 deadline, semifinalists were selected to attend mandatory orientation Nov. 30. They all also received scholarships to attend the mandatory eight-week, online Entrepreneurship Business Plan writing class this spring offered by Mid-Plains Community College. The McCook College Foundation paid for tuition and BCE covered book costs. In that class, applicants evaluated their business concepts, created a business plan, applied research data, prepared financial projections and evaluate various resources available for funding.

Sponsors of the 2024 Hormel Entrepreneurship Competition included: Mid-Plains Community College, McCook College Foundation, McCook Community Foundation Fund, MNB, Community Hospital, McCook Economic Development Corporation, Pinnacle Bank and Coyote Country.