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It is Safe to Say the First Ever Safety Pitch was a Success

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Contestants pose together for group picture at the 2025 Safety Pitch Competition

Safety Pitch Competition Winners gather together for a group photo at Evansdale Crossing

On April 9, 2025, the Morris L. Hayhurst LaunchLab hosted its first ever Safety Pitch Competition, sponsored by Ray Zinn. A total of ten student contestants gave their five-minute pitch and had three minutes to answer questions from the panel of four judges, all with the same goal of winning up to $20,000 for their ideas or businesses revolving around safety.

The panel of judges consisted of: Data Driven WV, West Virginia University John Chambers College of Business and Economics, Hannah Bailey; Founder of Plug-In Promotions, Entrepreneur, Seth McLain; Assistant Professor, WVU Safety and Health Extension, JannaBeth Raynes; and Director of INNOVA Commercialization, Michele O’Connor.

Followed by the line-up of contestants: Nikola Lighting LLC , Luke McConnell; SafeSaw, Rhianne Markovchick and Gabe Koelzer; Door2Dumpster, Lex Meyers; Toor Equestrian LLC, Eva Toor; Laced Vintage 304, Shelby Cavender; Drone Assist Services, Sean Keane; Green Plastics, Kassidy Blatt; Nibblin, Trent Morris; Tidy Tails, Hasten Pinkerton; WVU Engineers Without Borders, Cameron Taylor and Logan Decker.

Winners and award amounts:

PANEL-DESIGNATED AWARDS

Sean Keane Drone Assist Services - $8,000

Luke McConnell Nikola Lighting - $2,600

Cameron Taylor and Logan Decker WVU Engineers Without Borders - $1,750

Lex Meyers Door2Dumpster - $1,500

Kassidy Blatt Green Plastics - $1,150

Rhianne Markovchick and Gabe Koelzer SafeSaw - $1,000

Eva Toor Toor Equestrian LLC - $1,000

Shelby Cavender Laced Vintage 304 - $1,000

Trent Morris Nibblin - $1,000

Hasten Pinkerton Tidy Tails - $1,000

POPULAR VOTE

Taylor and Logan Decker  WVU Engineers Without Boarders - $250

A special thank you to the emcees of the night: Serena Reeves and Zach Taylor. Serena is a sophomore biochemistry major and the LaunchLab’s Marketing Specialist. Away from the LaunchLab, she is an undergraduate researcher working towards creating a safe alternative to traditional MRI contrast agents. Zach is junior dual computer and electrical engineering major and currently serves as the LaunchLab’s senior prototype engineer, assisting our clients in fabricating physical prototypes and also serves as the outreach coordinator for the IEEE chapter at WVU.

Thank you to Ray Zinn for sponsoring the 2025 Safety Pitch Competition.