CHAMPION, Ohio – Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio, in partnership with Pizza Joe’s, hosted 223 fifth and sixth graders from eight schools at the JA Innovation Challenge.
The event, which challenged students to develop a pitch for a new flavor of pizza for a target market of their peers, took place Friday at Kent State University at Trumbull. It drew students from Bristol, Brookfield, Girard, Howland, Jackson-Milton, Lakeview, Liberty and Mineral Ridge schools.
Throughout the day, students participated in learning activities geared toward various phases of the production process, including concept creation, market research, cost analysis and pitch perfection.
After designing their advertisement, the students had to persuade a panel of local business professionals that their pizza deserved to move on to the final round of the competition.
During the final round, the top seven teams took the stage in front of a packed auditorium, including Pizza Joe himself, founder Joe Seminara, to make a final plea as to why their pizza deserved to be put into production.
The team from Seaborn Elementary in Mineral Ridge took top honors with its Nacho Ordinary Pizza, which featured barbecued pulled pork, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese. The pizza idea, created by students Ainsley Lowery, Samantha Stokes, Allison Dooley and Audrey Hodge, will be made and sold at their local Pizza Joe’s location during a special community day later this year, with proceeds going back to their school.
“This year exceeded our expectations, as every year does, and we loved seeing the increase in students and school districts,” said Jessica Seminara Tomczyk, chief operating officer of Classi-Co Foods and DayStar Marketing. “We appreciate their creativity and enthusiasm to build their perfect pizza, and we are excited to work with the team from Mineral Ridge to produce it.”
Pictured at top: From left are Seaborn Elementary students Ainsley Lowery, Samantha Stokes, Allison Dooley and Audrey Hodge; and Joe Seminara, founder of Pizza Joe’s.