The Lebanon Valley Chamber Foundation awarded $5,000 to Wildflowers on Fox and $3,000 to LE’s Cupcakes through the fourth annual Great Lebanon County Pitch in the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 20.
The Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce Women in Business committee also awarded $2,000 to Wildflowers on Fox for being a woman-owned and -operated business that supports women in the community.
“It is a competition. And with a competition, you have winners, and you have some that don’t win — that does not mean that you are still not successful at your business, at your concepts,” Karen Groh, president and CEO of the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Lebanon Valley Chamber Foundation, said before announcing the results.
“We are still here as a community to support you, to encourage you to continue on, to seek help and advice and mentoring when you need it.”
Wildflowers on Fox and LE’s Cupcakes competed against four other finalists — Savory Nutrition, Pourable Arts by Goldie P, The Haunted Whimsy, and the St. James Players — for grant funding to grow their small businesses.
As part of the competition, finalists developed a business plan using free monthly workshops from the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence and free mentorship from the Lancaster-Lebanon chapter of SCORE. Finalists submitted a business plan along with their final application by Nov. 1. Judges used these materials to determine 60 percent of the finalists’ grades.
At the Nov. 20 event, finalists pitched their business plans to a panel of judges and live audience for up to five minutes before answering the judges’ questions for up to 10 minutes. Judges used these presentations to determine the remaining 40 percent of the finalists’ grades.
This year’s panel of judges consisted of Oneida DeLuca from the Lebanon Valley Chamber Foundation, Hugh MacMaster from the Lancaster-Lebanon chapter of SCORE, Julie Osborne from the Women in Business committee, Lebanon City Mayor Sherry Capello, and Thomas Shenk from Fulton Bank.
Read More: 4th annual Great Lebanon County Pitch to award $8,000 to local entrepreneurs
Last year’s first-place winner and the Women in Business committee’s grant recipient, Melissa Maillet updated the audience via video on how Honeybee Pampering has been using its grant funding — to upgrade its equipment and product packaging.
This year’s first-place winner and the Women in Business committee’s grant recipient, Wildflowers on Fox is a natural cosmetics brand designed to enhance customers’ natural beauty. Samantha Gettle is the creator and owner of the business – and she also happens to be the 2006 Lebanon Area Fair Queen.
The small business plans to use the $7,000 in grant funding to first purchase a larger steam distiller to increase production capacity, and a laser printer. It also plans to use the funds to cover wages and inventory, build a Shopify website, and advertise its products on social media platforms.
Samantha Gettle, creator and owner of Wildflowers on Fox, accepts the $5,000 grant funding as this year’s first-place winner. (Lexi Gonzalez) Samantha Gettle, creator and owner of Wildflowers on Fox, accepts the $5,000 grant funding as this year’s first-place winner. (Lexi Gonzalez) Samantha Gettle, creator and owner of Wildflowers on Fox, accepts the $2,000 grant funding as this year’s Women in Business committee’s pick. (Lexi Gonzalez)
This year’s second-place winner, LE’s Cupcakes, is a home-licensed bakery based in Newmanstown. Lydia Eberly is the creator and owner of the business, which has been certified since 2017 and has owned its original, smaller trailer since 2021.
Read More: LE’s Cupcakes and Fat Puppy Coffee Roasters open in downtown Myerstown
The small business plans to use $3,000 in grant funding to expand its offerings to include beverages and more baked goods as well as to renovate and equip its recently purchased, larger trailer.
Savory Nutrition is a proposed plant-based weight-management meal delivery service for clients in the Lebanon area. Pourable Arts by Goldie P sells handcrafted items and The Haunted Whimsy sells books focused on marginalized groups in the Lebanon Farmers Market, which will be auctioned off in December. The St. James Players is a theatre company based in the Lebanon Valley Mall.
Savory Nutrition performs a skit as part of its live pitch at the Nov. 20 event. (Lexi Gonzalez) With the help of Hugh MacMaster from the Lancaster-Lebanon chapter of SCORE (standing, left), Pourable Arts by Goldie P presents its handcrafted items to the live audience. (Lexi Gonzalez) The Haunted Whimsy speaks to its lineup of products and services as part of its live pitch. (Lexi Gonzalez) The St. James Players shares its origin story as well as the vision for its future as part of its live pitch. (Lexi Gonzalez)
Fulton Bank and the Lancaster-Lebanon chapter of SCORE invested in the fourth annual Great Lebanon County Pitch. The Nov. 20 event concluded with picture opportunities, refreshments, and a time for networking.
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