����vlog���� has established the Town Square Collaborative (TSC), a regional ecumenical initiative to serve and support rural communities, congregations, and their leaders.

In conjunction with TSC, the University has announced programmatic partnerships with three area nonprofits — Community Action Partnership, Winthrop Rockefeller Institute and Innovative Poverty Solutions. These organizations will receive grants from the University to support the work of rural congregations in their communities, bringing the expertise of the non-profit into collaboration with the local presence of rural churches.

Based on the U of O campus in Clarksville, Ark., TSC was made possible by a trio of grants to the University from Lilly Endowment Inc., totaling more than $6.8 million from 2021 to 2024. The TSC’s new website can be found at

The Rev. Phillip Blackburn, director of the TSC, said the new collaborative brings all of the components of the previous Lilly Endowment grants as well as new initiatives under one program. Among those components are pastor and lay pastor cohorts, ruling elders in ministry, internships, thriving congregations, and a new Rural Ideas Conference.

“I am thrilled to be involved in this work and to be doing it from the geographical heart of the Presbytery of Arkansas,” Blackburn said. “Rural churches play a vital role in our national culture and in their own communities and the opportunity to bring all the work we do for rural churches and their leaders together in one place is exciting. We want to make it as easy as possible for congregations, pastors and communities to take advantage of our resources.”

U of O President Richard Dunsworth cited the University’s long association with the Presbyterian Church as a reason TSC is a good fit for Ozarks. The University has been affiliated with the Presbyterian Church since its establishment in 1834 in Cane Hill, Arkansas.

“Today, ����vlog���� is in a position of responsibility and obligation of Christian service to step into this place of need within rural churches and communities and provide a leadership role that will build bridges and enhance rural communities,” Dunsworth said. “We’re a university of the church, and we’re a rural university in Arkansas. It just makes sense for us to support congregations and rural communities throughout our region.”

One of the key components of the TSC is the inaugural Rural Ideas Conference, scheduled for July 16-18, 2025, on the U of O campus. The annual conference is open to rural church pastors and leaders and will focus on how rural churches can embrace their role as anchor institutions in their communities. It will feature speakers from across the country who specialize in rural congregations as well as non-profit programmatic partners who can help churches better support their communities and neighbors.

Blackburn said the nonprofit programmatic partners will play a role in the collaborative through their respective areas of focus — Community Action will work with food insecurity, Innovative Poverty Solutions will work with antipoverty efforts and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute will work in the area of civic engagement. He said the Lilly grants will allow the University to allocate nearly $3 million over five years to their nonprofit partners.

“The relationship with our programmatic partners will be a key to our work,” Blackburn said, “We want to create meaningful collaboration between nonprofits who have the proved ability to affect change in the lives of people and congregations who have served their communities for generations. We believe that through true partnership both non-profits and churches can benefit and, in so doing, better enrich their communities.”

Blackburn said the goal of TSC is ultimately to “bring people together from rural areas all over the region to celebrate the things that make small communities wonderful.”

“If you’re a rural church, we want you to go to our new website and explore the different resources that are available to you,” Blackburn said. “We want you to come to the conference in July and see how we can be assistance to you, your congregations and your communities.”

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����vlog���� has received a grant of $4,877,803 from Lilly Endowment Inc., through its Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns Initiative. The grant will support the University’s efforts to help rural churches embrace their calling as anchor institutions within their communities.

The aim of the Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns Initiative is to provide resources to help churches in rural areas and small towns enhance the vitality of their ministries and strengthen the leadership of the pastors and lay leaders who guide them.

Building on the work funded with of previous Lilly Endowment grants, U of O will establish a program that focuses on cultivating, developing and sustaining a mutual relationship of support for rural congregations in the Presbytery of Arkansas, according to U of O President Richard Dunsworth.

“As a Presbyterian-affiliated university which exists in a rural place, we feel we have the unique perspective on the role anchor institutions can play, and we hope to bring our experience in this area to bear, as well as to reaffirm our commitment to partnering with and supporting congregations,” Dunsworth said. “This project will establish a regional hub to support rural congregations and will involve recruitment, curriculum and support, collaboration, and communication to develop and implement a renewed theological identity to engage communities and bring vitality back into their congregations.”

In 2020, the University established the Thriving in Rural Ministry Program through a grant of $997,322 from Lilly Endowment. The Thriving in Rural Ministry Program supports pastors of rural and minority-serving Presbyterian Churches throughout Arkansas. In 2023, a $966,099 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., helped the University create the Thriving Rural Congregations Program to support rural congregations within the Presbytery of Arkansas.

The Rev. Phillip Blackburn, director of the Thriving in Rural Ministry Program at Ozarks, said the latest initiative will focus on supporting churches as anchor institutions through three interconnected areas: the creation of a learning network of partners from across North America to explore ideas and programs for rural congregations; engaging programmatic partners in the non-profit world to support regional congregations as they revitalize their connections to their communities; and thirdly, establishing an annual Rural ideas Conference.

“The conference will serve as an orientating gathering for our work, an entrance into our program and a place for our network to think alongside congregations and partners about important issues facing rural communities,” Blackburn said. “These three areas will create a self-reinforcing ecosystem to support rural congregations in our service area.”

����vlog���� is one of 20 organizations from across the United States receiving grants through the initiative, including colleges and universities, denominational agencies, church networks, and parachurch organizations, among others.

“Our hope is that these grants will provide much needed resources and support to rural and small-town churches to help them address their challenges and enhance and extend the many ways that they serve their communities, ” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.

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����vlog���� has received a $966,099 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., to help establish the Thriving Rural Congregations Program to support rural Presbyterian Church (USA) congregations within the Presbytery of Arkansas.

The program is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to encourage the flourishing of congregations by helping them deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other, and contribute to the vitality of their communities and the world.

The new program will work in tandem with the University’s existing Thriving in Rural Ministry Program, which was established on campus in 2020 through a previous grant of $997,322 from Lilly Endowment. The Thriving in Rural Ministry Program supports pastors of rural and minority-serving Presbyterian Churches throughout Arkansas.

Building on relationships formed through this program, the Thriving Rural Congregations program will seek to collaborate with congregations to develop resources, renew congregations’ theological identity, and build bridges between congregation and the University campus. The program will emphasize a holistic approach, according to the Rev. Phillip Blackburn, director of the Thriving in Rural Ministry Program at Ozarks.

“The Thriving Rural Congregations program will enable us to expand our work with PC (USA) congregations in the Presbytery of Arkansas by focusing on the congregants themselves,” Blackburn said. “The program will seek to form geographical cohorts of rural congregations that, in collaboration with ����vlog���� staff and one another, will work to revitalize their theological foundations. I am beyond excited to expand the work we have already begun, and I believe this grant will pave the way to an entirely new means of support for and initiative within PC (USA) churches in the Presbytery of Arkansas.”

Blackburn said that engaging in the traditional six “Great Ends of the Church,” as articulated in the PC (USA) Book of Order, congregations will “contextualize their core Presbyterian beliefs within their congregation’s practices, ministries and broader community.” 

As part of this new program, some congregations will be invited to host a student intern from the University and the collaboration will involve University staff and students visiting participating congregations and participating congregations visiting the University. The churches will incur no expenses in participating in the program.

University President Richard Dunsworth said the student internship component of the new program is, in a way, a return to the University’s roots within the Presbyterian Church. 

“In earlier eras, Ozarks students spread throughout rural Arkansas to serve congregations as preachers and worship leaders,” Dunsworth said. “While building on these roots, Thriving Rural Congregations will update them for the modern era, utilizing the gifts and talents of the existing student population.”

����vlog���� is one of 105 organizations that has received grants though a competitive round of the Thriving Congregations Initiative. Reflecting a wide variety of Christian traditions, the organizations represent mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, peace church and Pentecostal faith communities.

“Congregations play an essential role in deepening the faith of individuals and contributing to the vitality of communities,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “We hope that these programs will nurture the vibrancy and spark the creativity of congregations, helping them imagine new ways to share God’s love in their communities and across the globe.”

U of O has been affiliated with the Presbyterian Church since its establishment in 1834 in Cane Hill, Arkansas.

“Given our heritage as a Presbyterian institution of higher learning, it was important to the leadership of ����vlog���� to support Presbyterian congregations in the Presbytery of Arkansas in this season,” Blackburn said. “Cultivating a two-way-street between the rural parish and this institution creates exciting new opportunities for growth, collaboration and renewal for both the congregations and the University itself.”

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.

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����vlog���� was named Employer of the Year during the 102nd annual Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce Awards Ceremony, held on Oct. 14 at The Levee in downtown Clarksville.

In addition, University President Richard Dunsworth was honored with the 2023 Pillar of Progress Award and Matt Bewley, director of career services, received the 2023 Volunteer of the Year. (Dunsworth is pictured receiving the University’s award from Abby Asencio, vice president of the chamber and a 2022 U of O graduate.)

The Employer of the Year Award recognizes “a business that displays a commitment to staff and that invests in its team in order to succeed.” In introducing the award recipient, the University was praised for its efforts “to help its employees grow and succeed, not just in their professional life, but in all aspects of their lives. They truly care about the individuals they employ and want Clarksville to be more than just where their workplace resides.”

The University, which was named a “Great College to Work For” in 2022 by The Chronicle of Higher Education, was noted by the Chamber for its efforts to help employees find housing in Johnson County.

“The University appreciates the recognition of the work done to support our employees,” Dunsworth said. “When we established the employee home buying program and the housing investment buy-back guarantee, it wasn’t done to garner accolades.  It was created to support our colleagues and our community.  We hoped it would stimulate more employees to live and invest in Clarksville and Johnson County and by all accounts it has been an amazing success.  To be recognized nationally and locally as a great employer is affirmation we are doing many things well and we strive to achieve such year after year.”

Dunsworth was honored with the Pillar of Progress Award, which is presented to a chamber member who “possesses leadership qualities and whose outstanding actions over a period of years have enhanced the quality of life of the citizens of Johnson County.”

“I find it hard to believe that Holly and I have been in Clarksville and Johnson County for nearly 11 years,” Dunsworth said. “Nicolas was nine and Matthew and Emma were only seven when we arrived. As I shared at the awards presentation, this is our home and we act and invest as though it is.  Clarksville is important to us because the people, organizations and institutions invested in our children.  I feel humbled and blessed to serve the ����vlog����. When the Board of Trustees encouraged us to think differently about our relationship with Clarksville, I was excited.  Fast-forward and we have built a health clinic, Pressed Ink and Prestonrose restaurant and mercantile and the Mountaineer Tap Room.  We are thankful for being welcomed into this amazing community.”

The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented to an individual that is a community champion. In presenting the award, Bewley was lauded for being “intentional in being involved in the community outside of work. He has a love for Clarksville, Johnson County, and all of those that reside here.” 

Bewley served as executive director of the Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce from July 2022 until he took the position at Ozarks in March of 2023.

“We are privileged to be part of an extraordinary community of people who selflessly dedicate their time, resources, and efforts to assist those in need,” Bewley said. “Receiving the Volunteer of the Year award is deeply meaningful for me. Yet, I realize that I am merely one member of a compassionate collective working to uplift our community to make it truly exceptional.”

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As a way of celebrating the work they do in our community, ����vlog���� continued a recent Christmas tradition last week by donating a total of $3,000 to four local nonprofit organizations in Johnson County.

This year’s beneficiaries included the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Johnson County, Johnson County Youth Coalition, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Johnson County, and the Ozark Rape Crisis Center.

In 2015, the University began a new Christmas tradition of allocating funds normally spent on the production and mailing of thousands of University Christmas cards to support local 501c3 agencies. The nonprofits were nominated and selected by University faculty and staff members.

Among those who took part in the presentation last week were (from left), Reba Pridgin, representing Dolly Parton Imagination Library; Monica Price, representing Johnson County Youth Coalition; University President Richard Dunsworth; Sandy Nelson, representing Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund; and Dorinda Edmisten, representing the Ozark Rape Crisis Center.

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Pressed Ink, a ����vlog����-owned screen printing and embroidery business, will open in downtown Clarksville on Monday, Oct. 3.

The business is located at 100 N. Johnson Street. Hours of operation will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Pressed Ink will feature in-house designers and digitizers for services ranging from screen printing to engraving and embroidery. It will also have pre-designed clothing items, including T-shirts and hoodies highlighting local schools such as Clarksville, Lamar, Westside, Oark and Scranton 

Tina Lemons will manage the store and Alexis Engel serves as the screen-printing technician. The business will also employ eight U of O students who will work 10-15 hours a week.

“We will offer custom tee shirts, and school spirit tees for the local and county high schools,” Lemons said. “We will also have engraving services for many items and custom trophies and plaques made in the store as well as embroidery services for shirts, bags, baby gifts and many other gift ideas for those who are hard to buy for.”

Lemons and Engel both previously worked in the embroidery business at Forrester-Davis Development Center’s M.A.C. Industries. Both Lemons and Engle were hired to lead the operations for Pressed Ink after the University purchased the screen-printing and embroidery equipment from M.A.C. Industries in 2021.

Lemons said the goal of Pressed Ink is to provide “the campus and local community a customer service experience unlike what they typically receive.”

She is also looking forward to working with the U of O students as they receive real-world experience working with a small business.

“This will be a real-world experience of what it is like to work in customer service,” Lemons said. “They will learn all of the aspects of operating and running a business and this will allow them to grown into their full potential of business leaders, not followers.”

The students who are currently working at Pressed Ink include, Angela Bray, engraver; Sarah Bureau, engraver; Michelle Gonzalez, customer service and embroidery; Lio Jean, screen printing; Ruudy Laguerre, engraving; Djouberj Mingot, screen printing; Fizza Tahir, customer service and embroidery; and Brittany Temple, screen printing.

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The ����vlog���� Athletic Department was recognized recently by the NCAA for the outstanding community service efforts of its student-athletes.

The NCAA announced last week that U of O finished third among NCAA Division III athletic programs in the Team Works Service Challenge.

NCAA Team Works, which coordinates community service efforts at the NCAA championships, launched the community service competition to recognize student-athletes who give back to their communities. The competition, which ran from September through November, is based on the number of service hours completed and the number of participating student-athletes. Helper Helper, a volunteer management and tracking platform, tracked the school participation data throughout the competition.

A total of 160 U of O student-athletes volunteered 693 hours of community service during the competition period. They participated in events ranging from trash pickup along local highways, to collecting and packing Christmas boxes for families in need, to opening doors and welcoming elementary students to school in the morning.

“Community service is important for the growth of the student-athlete,” said U of O Athletics Director Jimmy Clark. “Service gives them an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves and their team.  It is something we want them to continue after they graduate from Ozarks.  We are very proud of what our student-athletes do both on and off the court and field.”

Ozarks head baseball coach Aaron Gentry’s team opened car doors and greeted children as they arrived for school in the fall. The entire team wrapped up the service project with a book give-away at the school.

“It makes me extremely proud to watch our baseball team open car doors and greet young children as they come to school,” said Gentry. “I appreciate the Clarksville Primary School for allowing us to come out and serve in this way for almost the entire fall semester. For us, it is a great way to start the day, especially knowing it could have a positive impact on a child’s life. I know it makes a positive impact in my life and the lives of our players. It’s hard to leave there without a big smile on your face.”

The University’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) volunteered its time and resources to assist in Operation Christmas Child, which involved packing a shoebox full of toys, hygiene kits, clothing and other needed items for impoverished children around the world.

Under the direction of head women’s soccer coach and senior woman administrator Natalie Dreyer, the athletic department has provided approximately 300 boxes the last four years.

“Operation Christmas Child impacted me because I can help those in impoverished conditions that I’m otherwise not able to physically be there to help,” said tennis player TJ Saniseng. “By helping fill shoeboxes, I was able to still contribute to those around the world. The reason I love helping with events like this is because it is heartwarming knowing that there are selfless people willing to contribute to people they don’t even know.”

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota took top honors in NCAA Division III in the Team Works Service Challenge and Shenandoah University finished second. Student-athletes across all NCAA divisions completed a total of 60,881 hours of community service through the challenge.

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As part of an annual Christmas tradition, ����vlog���� this week donated a total of $3,000 to five local nonprofit organizations in Johnson County.

This year’s beneficiaries included, Safe Haven Ministries, Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Johnson County, Johnson County Youth Coalition, the Dolly Parton Imagination Library of Johnson County, and The CALL of Johnson County.

Six years ago the University began a new Christmas tradition of allocating funds normally spent on the production and mailing of thousands of University Christmas cards to support local 501c3 agencies. The nonprofits were nominated and selected by University faculty and staff members.

Among those who took part in the presentation this week were (from left), Reba Pridgin, representing Dolly Parton Imagination Library; Megan Scott, representing The CALL; Kathy Bartlett, representing Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund; University President Richard Dunsworth; and Sharon Garrett, Abigail Garrett and Sarah Bolduc, all of Safe Haven Ministries. Pridgin, Bartlett and Sharon Garrett are all graduates of U of O.

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Ethan Hefley, information technology network manager, is leading the University’s efforts in producing ear guards for masks on four 3-D printers in the Innovation Hub, which was established last semester.

The ear guards help healthcare workers who experience discomfort from extended use of protective masks. The ear guards were designed by Quinn Callander, a 12-year-old Canadian boy scout who was searching for a simple but effective device that would prevent the elastic bands on a mask from rubbing against the backs of people’s ears.

Callander’s design, a wide plastic strap that goes around the back of the head, has notches so the wearer can loop the mask’s elastic straps around whichever notches are most comfortable, allowing them to adjust the tension while keeping the mask firmly in place. He made the strap’s design available for others to download from the open-source 3D printing community Thingiverse.

Hefley said he has printed about 150 ear guards as of Thursday afternoon and has distributed almost 100 to healthcare providers in Clarksville.

“I was looking for a way that we could utilize our 3-D printers in this effort to fight the coronavirus and I looked into masks, but that just wasn’t going to work,” Hefley said. “My wife saw (Callander’s) prototype on the internet and brought it to my attention. I felt like this would be a perfect way to utilize the 3-D printers to assist our healthcare workers.”

Hefley said the four 3-D printers can produce a combined 20 ear guards every two and a half hours at a cost of about 35 cents a mask in material, which is a corn plastic filament.

Hefley delivered about 20 ear guards to the Clarksville Medical Group on Thursday morning, much to the delight of administrator Jeri Williams and her medical colleagues.

“These ear guards will help tremendously for the nurses who are having to wear masks all day long a daily basis,” Williams said. “Our personnel have no choice but to wear masks right now at all times and the constant rubbing has become a real problem. The ear guards are the perfect solution. We are extremely excited and appreciative to get these.”

Hefley said he also dropped off 30 ear guards Thursday at the Johnson Regional Medical Center for their healthcare workers to try out. Before he even had time to get back to the office, hospital administrators called and requested 30 more.

“The neat thing is that the ear guards are making a difference and the healthcare workers are excited to be receiving them,” Hefley said. “It’s rewarding to know that the we can play a small role in assisting them in this fight against the virus.”

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Four local Johnson County business owners recently received marketing and promotion recommendations for their businesses, courtesy of ����vlog���� students in Marketing Instructor Jaime Encinas’ Promotion Strategies class.

As part of a semester-long class project, students were divided into small groups to work with the local business owners to create ways to help market and promote their businesses. The groups presented their plans to the business owners on campus in December, as part of their final exams.

Working with the Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce, Encinas enlisted four local businesses to take part in the class project — King Gallery, La Michoacana Dulce Vida, KK’s Dance Company and Reveal Cabinet & Closet.

“This was an exciting exercise,” Encinas said. “The idea was twofold: One, exposing the students to working with real businesses in real situations, and taking just another step in getting the University closer to our local community. The project was to develop a promotion strategy for each of four local businesses, or clients, based on their own strategic goals. It represented the largest portion of the students’ grade, which highlights its importance.”

Encinas said the students put serious effort into the project.

“In some cases they went through significant but valuable changes from step to step, resulting in ideas quite different from what they had started early on,” he said. “But that is how the real world works.”

Dulce Baeza of La Michoacana said she was impressed with the students’ work and appreciated the perspective the students provided.

“To be able to get feedback on my business from the perspective of younger people is very valuable,” Baeza said. “Sometimes we think we know what people want but that’s not always the case. And, it’s not easy to think about these things when you’re busy just trying to run the business every day. It was great to hear their ideas and opinions on ways to promote the restaurant.”

The students who worked on the Reveal Cabinet & Closet project recommended the business expand its social media and digital presence by setting specific goals, something that caught the attention of owner Sheena Higby.

“I liked the idea of setting social media goals and then tracking the results, something I hadn’t really thought of,” Higby said. “Getting the unique perspective of this demographic is something we don’t have the luxury of doing, so I thought it was a great way to get some new ideas.”

The students also appreciate the opportunity to work on a real-world project.

“To be able to work with real clients on real problems, using research and then pitching our ideas to the clients was a great experience,” said senior Valeria Carias of Honduras. “When we were first told about the project, I was a little terrified because it seemed overwhelming. But once I met with the client and we started putting together a plan, it was exciting to know that you’re helping a real business succeed.”

Alexandria Corona, a senior psychology major from Houston, Texas, was part of a three-person team that worked on a strategy for King Gallery, an art gallery and store in downtown Clarksville. Their plan included creating awareness and appreciation for art in the area through events such as a “Night at the Museum,” and with the slogan “Enrich Yourself.”

“It was a great experience to work as a team with one main objective — help King Gallery grow its brand and its reach,” Corona said. “When you work on these projects, you start to understand the obstacles and challenges that small businesses face. I was definitely outside my comfort zone on this project, but I think it prepared me to do these types of things in the future.”

Tanner Young, a senior psychology major from Euless, Texas, said working on the project opened a new perspective for him.

“Even though I had experience doing quite a bit of research in the past, I had never conducted business research and it was quite different,” Young said. “When Professor Encinas told us that there were no due dates, only deadlines, I think it sunk in that this wasn’t just class work; this was like a professional project that we were working on. It was really quite humbling to know that the businesses trusted us to work with them and to help them.”

Seniors Denise Garcia of Clarksville and Barbara Yanez of Chile worked with KK’s Dance Company to help the business increase awareness and retain students.

“This project made me realize how these small companies really need help and how I can help make a difference for them,” Yanez said. “I plan to pursue a career in business and marketing so I thought this was extremely helpful for me.”

Encinas said he enjoyed watching the students make their final presentations to their clients.

“It was exciting to see some of the business owners nodding their heads in agreement and it was even more exciting to hear their positive comments at the end,” Encinas said. “Some of the clients may actually implement some of the ideas, perhaps even the slogans created by the students.”

“I must express my gratitude to the Chamber of Commerce for their support from the initial contacts with the clients to assessing the students’ presentations,” Encinas said. “And, of course, my sincere appreciation to each of our clients, the local businesses that worked with us, confiding their goals, and giving us the time both on campus and on their premises. Without their support, this project would have been impossible. This was indeed as close as the students get to work in a real business environment.”

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