Governor's Giant Visions Business Competition Winners Announced

Sioux Falls, SD - As host of the Governor's Giant Vision Business Awards Program, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry President David Owen announced the five winners of the 2007 business competition and three winners of the student competition.

After a preliminary competition that reduced the field of applicants to 16 qualifying entries, the competition concluded with day-long judging activities Thursday, April 12 at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls with Lt. Governor Dennis Daugaard presenting the top prizes in both competitions. The following were selected as the 2007 Governor's Giant Vision winners.

The $20,000 winner was Chad Maxwell for his company Natural Farrowing System (NFS) of Vermillion. NFS is a patented, standardized alternative to confinement hog production, with producers raising pigs in seven different states, producing 17,000+ antibiotic free and "compassionately raised" pigs per year. NFS is dedicated to bringing an economically viable, ecologically sound and socially responsible method of hog production back to the family farm and fundamentally changing the way swine are raised in the USA and the world through a low cost and low labor, odor free system that works with the animals natural instincts.

Two second place prizes of $10,000 each were awarded to the following.

Dakota Ties, Dennis Kisch and Tim Frohreich of Yankton
Dakota Ties will be a manufacturer of construction related, patent-pending products called "REDI-Built" headers and construction components. These environmentally friend or "Green Build Products" can be utilized in the construction of single or multi-family dwellings, as well as light commercial projects. Manufacturing operations are planned to be set up in Yankton, South Dakota.

Art of the Hills, Ray Berberich, Deborah Casey and Kristin Donnan Standard of Hill City
Art of the Hills is a magazine of high production values, beautiful photography, creatively conceived editorial content and a multi-faceted approach to embodying what is irresistible about this corner of the world. Through national distribution and marketing of Art of the Hills, the artistic and cultural contributions of Midwesterners, their fine art and cultural venues and their historical legacy will be offered to a wider audience than has previously been achieved.

There were also two third place prizes of $2,500 each awarded to the following businesses.

Octaflex, Richard Gross of Timber Lake
OctaFlex Environmental Systems is a manufacturing company specializing in metal and fabrication. Liaisons have been established with the United States Army, Navy and Marines in manufacturing vehicle service ramps and wash systems for environmental cleaning. Research and development is another facet of OctaFlex and they have been the recipients of numerous Small Business Innovative Research awards.

Glamme^Systems, Lance Glammeier of Colton
Glamme^Systems is a patent-pending system, when implemented will prevent or greatly reduce needle sticks. Needle stick injuries can happen whenever you are using a syringe. With 300 health care workers dieing each year from contaminated needle sticks, it is imperative that we all do what we can to prevent as many accidents as possible. The Glamme Clamps are a simple effective solution to the problem. It holds all bottles securely, both hands on syringe, that's complete control.

Founders of the Giant Vision program are Governor Mike Rounds and the State of South Dakota; Black Hills Corp., Rapid City; Christiansen Land & Cattle Ltd., Kimball; Dacotah Banks, Aberdeen; Daktronics, Inc., Brookings; First National Bank SD, Yankton; Home Federal Bank, Sioux Falls; Toshiba America, Mitchell; US Bank, Sioux Falls, Aberdeen and Rapid City; and Wheeler Manufacturing, Lemmon.

"The goal of this program is to encourage people to explore being a business owner and to create an exciting future while also expanding South Dakota's economy. We have worked hard to produce an event that will benefit all of the businesses participating. While the prize money will help the finalists, the contacts and rigor required to be a qualifier will prepare each entrepreneur to advance their business idea" said David Owen, President, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry. To qualify for this competition, businesses must have been in operation for no more than two years.

A new component of the program for 2007 was the addition of a student competition. Entries were received from numerous colleges and universities across South Dakota. From the original applications, the top eight were selected to compete April 12 and the judges then chose three that received cash prizes. The winners of the student competition were:

$5,000 - Flight One Corporation, Kelly Patnoe, Augustana College
Flight One Corporation's primary focus is on helping the traveling athlete or recreational enthusiast explore the world without sacrificing their love of sport. When Flight One's founder, Kelly Patnoe, spent a semester studying abroad she was heart-broken when she could not bring her tennis racket on the long journey for fear that it would bet cracked or broken. She realized the tennis industry needed a protective case that would guard fragile rackets as they traveled through airport security and customs' check points.

$2,500 - Pro mAGs, Eric Hesla, University of South Dakota
Pro mAGs are planter gauge wheels designed primarily to save farmers time and effort. The unique design features allow farmers to plant in wet soil conditions where other gauge wheels are prone to plugging up. Additional benefits include easier maintenance and better accessibility to other planter parts.

$2,500, Whoa Doggie Co., David Napolitano, University of Sioux Falls
Whoa Doggie Company will manufacture and distribute the Whoa Doggie to retail pet stores throughout the nation. The Whoa Doggie is a shock absorbing leash accessory invented by the Napolitano family in rural Mt. Vernon, South Dakota. The company plans to continue creating unique products of utility and innovation, becoming a brand name producer of products in the pet industry.

Governor Mike Rounds and the State of South Dakota have supported this program financially, along with Citibank of Sioux Falls, Ken Stork, President and CEO as the corporate sponsor.

The Governor's Giant Vision Business Awards and Governor's Giant Vision Student Awards were established to help citizens realize that South Dakota is the very best place to start a successful business. The program was designed as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to compete for seed money and a chance to achieve their dream.

This South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry program is chaired by Brad Wheeler, President of Wheeler Manufacturing in Lemmon. Wheeler commented "We are fortunate to have successful entrepreneurs take time to be judges and really work hard to examine all of these new ideas. This is an exciting day with high energy people working hard to share in the American dream."

The Governor's Giant Vision Business Competition is an annual event held in April.