03/30/2026
🍕 Innovation + Entrepreneurship in Action! 🍕
On Friday, March 6, 2026, Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio hosted another incredible JA Innovation Challenge, and it was a HUGE success! 🙌
In partnership with Pizza Joe's hosted at Kent State University at Trumbull, we welcomed over 200 young entrepreneurs who stepped into the world of business by creating their own pizza concepts—complete with branding, pricing, and sales pitches. 💡📊
🏆 1st Place
Lakeview Team 9 – “The Meat Express”
(Luke Miller, Finn Schussler, Adayln Gyure, Lily Nichols)
👏 As the winners, Pizza Joe’s will be visiting Lakeview to bring their pizza creation to life for the entire school to enjoy!
🥈 2nd Place (Very close finish!)
Bristol Team 1 – “The Pizzaco”
(Nate Grabowski, Logan Shaum, Tyler Kattler, Makenna Christlieb, Isabell Bailey)
🔥 Due to the tight competition, Pizza Joe’s has ALSO committed to making their pizza for their school!
🥉 3rd Place
Girard Team 5 – “Hispanic Hot”
(Jamal Amireh, Brooks Barta, Camden Bozin, Maddox Collins, Markeith Grays, Wyatt Miller)
👏 Volunteer Appreciation 👏
A special thank you to our volunteers from FactSet who played a core role in mentoring and judging:
Anne Coleman, Shanna Chasebi, Christian Febinger, Christopher Mulidore, Christopher Zador, Lindsay Helbley, Jenna Gregory, Ross Fabrizi, Jacky Cretkorich, Andrew Cvetkovich, Elaine Fabrizi
👏 Another huge thank you to the many volunteers who gave their time and expertise to inspire our students:
Julia Powell (The Boulevard), Ryan Silvashy (Ohio CED), Kaitlynn Dailey (HBK CPAs & Consultants) Anushka Konduri (YSU Student)
We also want to recognize the amazing schools that encouraged creativity, teamwork, and innovation throughout this experience:
Liberty , Jackson-Milton, Girard, Bristol, Brookfield, Howland, Lakeview, and Sebring!
We extend our sincere thanks to the Burton D. Morgan Foundation for their generous support. Their commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship helps make impactful student experiences like this possible.
