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NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Awards Six Scholarships to Connecticut Students

CONTACT: Andy Markowski, 203-626-5815 or Jason Brewer, 202-406-4435

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Federation of Independent Business Young Entrepreneur Foundation today announced the Connecticut recipients of the sixth annual NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards, a scholarship program designed to reward and encourage entrepreneurial talents among high school students. The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Award recipients will attend the university, college, community college or vocational/technical institute of their choice with $1,000-$10,000 in tuition assistance from the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation.

The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards program, which encourages students to consider a career in small business, made its debut in 2003 when it awarded a total of 110 scholarships nationwide. This year over 400 $1,000-$2,000 scholarships will be awarded, thanks to the financial support from numerous small business leaders, corporate and foundation supporters. This year's major corporate sponsors are Visa and The McKelvey Foundation.

"We are overjoyed by the tremendous amount of interest in our scholarship program. This year more than 8,000 students applied to receive a NFIB YEF Award, demonstrating that today's youth embody the entrepreneurial spirit and seek a place in tomorrow's free enterprise system," said Don V. Cogman, chair, NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Board of Directors. "NFIB congratulates this year's winners for their tremendous accomplishments and hopes the scholarships will assist these young entrepreneurs as they continue on their paths towards successful futures."

In addition to recognizing these outstanding young entrepreneurs, NFIB YEF and Visa awarded four $5,000 scholarships and one $10,000 scholarship to the student selected as the "2008 Young Entrepreneur of the Year."

To earn a scholarship, students were required to write an essay describing their entrepreneurial endeavors and future goals. Standardized test scores, GPA and class rank were also considered. NFIB members around the country nominated applicants for the Young Entrepreneur Awards.

The 2008 YEF Award winners from Connecticut are:

NFIB Young Entrepreneur Awards:

    • Thomaston High School senior Christopher Laliberte of Thomaston
    • Wilbraham & Monson Academy senior Adam Reed of Shelton
    • Branford High School senior Matthew Rosen of Branford
    • Newton High School senior Christopher Snow of Newton
    • North Haven High School senior Shao Bo Zhou of New Haven


NFIB/VISA Young Entrepreneur Award:

    • Bethel High School senior Jake Miner of Bethel