TSBDC Cleveland

Congratulations to Josh Flory of Flory Custom Woodworking for being named Tennessee’s 2026 Rural Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The George R. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Cleveland State Community College will host an Emerging Innovators Competition on March 3, 2026.

The event is open to the public and sponsored by the George R. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Cleveland Bradley Business Incubator, and the Small Business Development Center.

Five students will compete in the fifth annual Emerging Student Innovators Pitch Competition at 12:00pm. First and second place winners will be awarded $2,000 and $1,000 respectively, and the third-place winner will be awarded $500.

Seven new businesses will compete in the fourth annual Emerging Community Innovators Pitch Competition at 5:00pm. First place will receive $7,500; second place will receive $4,000, and third place will receive $1,500.

Pitch finalists are:
Access to Success Learning Co.- Owner Monica Crandell Stone
Blended and Branded- Owners Adrienna Varlack, Tess Varlack, Noelle Allgood, and Glynis Allgood
Math IQ- Owner Jeremy Higdon
Roam Wild LLC - Owner Nichole Vild
ROCKY POPS, LLC- Owners Dee Lancaster and Tammy Lowry
Take Root Studio- Owners Bryson Killian and Canaan Bowling
Trailhead Counseling and Consulting, PLLC- Owner Kristi Rice

Judges for the Emerging Community Innovator Pitch Competition are:
-Dr. Corey Campbell, Cleveland State Vice President for Policy and Strategy
-Jim Fairweather, owner of Fairweather Financial in Monroe County
-Margaret Schenck, founder of United Knitting in Cleveland and an advisory board member of the George R. Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

The pitch competitions are free and open to the public. For more information, visit mycs.cc/entr, call (423) 478-6224 or email [email protected].