The Fermanian School of Business of Point Loma Nazarene University named 2011 alumna Nitasha Stiritz and current seniors Arthur Cachero and Blake Harrison as Student-Entrepreneur of the Year during the annual Entrepreneur Enrichment Program (EEP) Banquet on April 4. The team received the top award for its innovative Launch Pad business plan, which will produce a web-based application to communicate critical firm startup information through enhanced video in 1-2 minutes to a prospective investor or backer. The Launch Pad product will allow small startups to use quick and efficient tools that typically have been available to only larger firms. From the Entrepreneur Enrichment Endowment, created concurrently with the launching of the EEP in 2007, a cash award of $2,500 was provided to the Launch Pad team. Receiving $1,000, including the $500 Dave and Dorothy Latter Free Enterprise Award, was senior business student Matt Joslyn for his “Plane & Simple Tours” project. His business plan is to provide students with inexpensive trips and services that cater toward their liking. By equipping all travelers with the basic tools to create their own unique adventure at low cost, he plans to attract a broader range of travelers. The four other participating projects each received smaller cash awards. In addition, Phil Herbig, chief financial officer of WesPak Sales in Dinuba, Calif., received the “Inspirational Mentor Award” chosen by his peers and entrepreneurs, and the Plane and Simple Plan he co-mentored with Robert Harp and Stephen Miller will receive a $15,000 comprehensive social media marketing plan provided by the San Diego-based firm ZBiz, founded by PLNU alum Zach Johnson. The banquet represented the completion of the fifth year of PLNU’s Entrepreneur Enrichment Program. The business plans this year represented a diversity of for-profit and non-profit interests from students and recent graduates from both the undergraduate and MBA programs at PLNU. For more information on the EEP and activities and programs of the Fermanian School of Business, visit www.pointloma.edu/Fermanian.








