Covington is 2004 Bernstein Achievement Award Winner
Tuesday May 4, 2004
SALISBURY, MD---Joel Covington of Salisbury, an MBA student in the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University, is this year's winner of the Bernstein Achievement Award for Excellence, the main prize in an annual competition seeking to further entrepreneurship among SU students. Covington received $5,000 to aid the start-up of his Salisbury-based film production company, Carapace Entertainment.
Along with presenting his business plan during the competition finals Saturday, May 1, the entrepreneur screened a clip of the company's first film, Mirror, Mirror, for the judges. "The film is about Kaya, the main character, who wakes up in a bad dream-or a bad reality-and has to find her way out before it's too late," Covington said.
The Pocomoke City native said his wife, Samantha, a film production student at American University and former producer at WMDT-TV, inspired his filmmaking career. He currently is shooting his second movie, Sunrise, a short-film tragedy, in Laurel, MD. Mirror, Mirror was filmed mostly in and around Washington, D.C. Covington plans to use the Bernstein Award prize money to produce copies of Mirror, Mirror in hopes of selling the film to distributors.
The Bernstein title also grants him the chance to compete in the invitation-only FSB Student Showdown, a national business plan competition sponsored by Fortune Small Business magazine. The winner receives $50,000. This year's Bernstein competition garnered some 22 proposals.
Other finalists included runner-up Sassafras River Vineyards by senior finance major Rob Davis Jr. of Galena, MD; and honorable mentions Blown Away Glass Inc. by sophomore business administration major Tim McFadden of Baltimore; and Grip N' Rip driving range by accounting major Darren Kramer of Annapolis and business administration major Craig Moulton of Commack, NY, both seniors.
Judges for the competition were Warren Citrin, co-founder and CEO of Solipsys Corporation and Maryland's 2003 High-Technology Entrepreneur of the Year; Dennis J. Hebert, vice president of Shore Bank and former director of the Eastern Shore Small Business Development Center; and Michael C. Kleger, CPA, a partner with the public accounting firm Pigg, Krahl, Stern and Co. For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.
Along with presenting his business plan during the competition finals Saturday, May 1, the entrepreneur screened a clip of the company's first film, Mirror, Mirror, for the judges. "The film is about Kaya, the main character, who wakes up in a bad dream-or a bad reality-and has to find her way out before it's too late," Covington said.
The Pocomoke City native said his wife, Samantha, a film production student at American University and former producer at WMDT-TV, inspired his filmmaking career. He currently is shooting his second movie, Sunrise, a short-film tragedy, in Laurel, MD. Mirror, Mirror was filmed mostly in and around Washington, D.C. Covington plans to use the Bernstein Award prize money to produce copies of Mirror, Mirror in hopes of selling the film to distributors.
The Bernstein title also grants him the chance to compete in the invitation-only FSB Student Showdown, a national business plan competition sponsored by Fortune Small Business magazine. The winner receives $50,000. This year's Bernstein competition garnered some 22 proposals.
Other finalists included runner-up Sassafras River Vineyards by senior finance major Rob Davis Jr. of Galena, MD; and honorable mentions Blown Away Glass Inc. by sophomore business administration major Tim McFadden of Baltimore; and Grip N' Rip driving range by accounting major Darren Kramer of Annapolis and business administration major Craig Moulton of Commack, NY, both seniors.
Judges for the competition were Warren Citrin, co-founder and CEO of Solipsys Corporation and Maryland's 2003 High-Technology Entrepreneur of the Year; Dennis J. Hebert, vice president of Shore Bank and former director of the Eastern Shore Small Business Development Center; and Michael C. Kleger, CPA, a partner with the public accounting firm Pigg, Krahl, Stern and Co. For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website at www.salisbury.edu.