Issue link: http://georgiancollege.uberflip.com/i/756864
EVENT MANAGEMENT, 2015 AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, 2015 INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURS LIAM SQUIRES AND JON GROOTVELD Winners of this year's smOffice contest Georgian College grads Liam Squires and Jon Grootveld were the winners of this year's smOffice contest, which was presented by Chad Ballantyne from The Creative Space in Barrie. Liam and Jon both received free office space for six months, advice from mentors, and $1,000 cash to help grow and promote their startups. Liam says his business calendar is filling up quickly. "We've built some great connections and have been receiving incredible mentorship from local business owners," he says. Tandempark helps to make volunteering more efficient, effective and enjoyable by creating an online network of volunteers and equipping organizations with the tools they need to recruit and manage their volunteer teams better. The company helps special events professionals find, schedule and communicate with their volunteers more easily, so they can focus their energy on running a more successful event or project. Tandempark also encourages and supports youth engagement in local community organizations that rely heavily on volunteers. Liam says he was inspired by his vision of engaged and empowered communities and hopes to motivate people and businesses to work together through volunteering. His classmate, Jon, is busy establishing his own socially- innovative business. Vertagro guarantees fresh, healthy local food and an assortment of leafy greens, herbs and other vegetables to local restaurants and consumers year-round. Georgian was among Jon's first clients and he also supports the college's new community garden. "Because our produce is local, and we're selling to local businesses, the produce stays fresh. We make healthy food accessible to people who live in cities and towns without access to local food," says Jon. "The produce is grown indoors, away from dangerous weather conditions, and we also use 90 per cent less water than regular farms, so there is minimal crop failure." GEORGIANVIEW 2016 18 ALUMNI IN ThE NEWS ALUMNI IN ThE NEWS