Overview

With one of the largest cash prize pools in America, the Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup graduate & undergraduate business plan competition is designed to encourage students of Arkansas's universities and colleges to act on their ideas and talents in order to produce tomorrow's businesses. 1148 students representing 19 Arkansas colleges and universities have participated and over the past eight years $789,000 of cash has been awarded to student teams and their faculty advisors.

Students involved in the competition gain access to networks of successful entrepreneurs, lenders and investors, team building opportunities, business planning skills, and media exposure.

One of the goals of the competition is to encourage the development and commercialization of ideas and technologies being discovered in our universities. Multi-disciplinary teams that combine members from technical disciplines with members from the Colleges of Business are encouraged. Multi-disciplinary teams bring together the pieces necessary for bridging the gap between technology and the marketplace.

Cash Awards

The 2009 Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup will offer $114,000 in cash prizes during its Spring 2009 competition to be held in Little Rock, Arkansas. Prize amounts are listed below:

First Place (Graduate & Undergraduate): $20,000, divided among the team members, and $1,000 for the team's faculty advisor(s)

Second Place (Graduate & Undergraduate): $10,000 to be divided among the team members, and $1,000 for the team's faculty advisor(s)

Third Place (Graduate & Undergraduate) $5,000 to be divided among the team members, and $1,000 to the faculty advisor.

Innovation prize (Graduate & Undergraduate) $5,000 to be divided among the team members.

Agricultural prize (Graduate & Undergraduate) $5,000 to be divided among the team members.

$1,000 is awarded to the twelve undergraduate semifinalist teams and the six graduate finalist teams.

In the Undergraduate competition, a semi-final selection will be held February 20-March 5, 2009. Announcement of the semifinalists will be made by conference call (March 6, 2009). Call-in instructions for the conference call will be e-mailed to the faculty and team leaders using the contact information provided on the official business plan entry form.

From the twelve undergraduate semi-finalist teams, six will be selected as finalist teams, who will then compete for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes awarded in the final round of the competition. Undergraduate finalists do not receive an additional cash prize.

Six finalists in the graduate competition will be selected February 20-March 5, 2009. Announcement of the graduate team finalists will be made by conference call (March 6, 2009). Call-in instructions for the conference call will be e-mailed to the faculty and team leader using the contact information provided on the official business plan entry form.

Faculty advisors of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams will each receive a cash award.

Entrants will also compete in a competition for the "Best Business Plan Involving Innovation" as well as another prize for the "Best Business Plan Involving Agriculture."

The plans that best demonstrate "Innovation" and "Agriculture" (as defined below) in both the undergraduate and graduate competitions will receive a cash award. Recipients of the "Best Business Plan Involving Innovation" category need not have won at any other level.

Innovation Definition: The conversion of knowledge and ideas into a benefit, for commercial use, the benefit may be new or improved products, processes or services.

Agriculture Definition: The production of food, feed, fiber, and other goods by the art and science of systematic growing and harvesting of plants, animals, and other life forms. It also comprises the entire range of technologies associated with the production of these life forms.

Competition Timeline

Eligibility

The competition is open to all faculty-sponsored, full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at any of Arkansas's four year universities or colleges. The business plan must be for a seed, start-up or early stage venture and must address the entire business concept (including implementation). At least one team member must have a key role in the company's management team. Proposals for the buy-out or expansion of an existing company, tax-shelter opportunities, franchise, real estate syndications, and other consulting projects and analyses are not eligible.

Teams comprised of at least one student enrolled in the graduate school should compete in the graduate competition (even if undergraduates are members of the team).

Graduate students may compete if they graduated in December of the year prior to the date of the competition (example: a graduate student graduating in December 2008 may still be entered in the spring 2009 competition).

Judging

The Competition takes place in two parts. A panel of judges evaluates written plans three to four weeks prior to the competition, and selects the twelve undergraduate semifinalist teams and six graduate finalists. Each entry is evaluated in whole by at least three judges. Preliminary judges will provide individual team teleconference feedback sessions for the twelve undergraduate semi-final and six graduate final teams.

Two new panels of five judges then evaluate the twelve undergraduate semi-finalist teams based upon an oral presentation by each team (20 minutes for presentation and fifteen minutes for a question-and-answer session) and selects the six finalist teams. After each presentation, each team will receive up to ten minutes of feedback from the judges.

The final phase consists of two new panels of five judges, one for the graduate track and one for the undergraduate track, who will evaluate the finalist teams (six graduate and six undergraduate) based upon an oral presentation. This panel selects the first, second, and third place teams.

A separate panel of judges will review plans for the Innovation Award. Undergraduate and graduate finalists will be chosen and will make oral presentations to a panel of judges on Friday, April 3, 2009.

The judging is based both subjectively and objectively on the evaluation guidelines and the impressions formed by the business experiences of the judges. All judges ultimately consider the entire business concept looking at overall feasibility, combined with significant capital gains potential, attractive investment possibilities and actual implementation. The most compelling business plan is one that effectively integrates all components of the plan, rather than simply forming a strong sum of parts.

Sponsors of the 2009 Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup

Summit Level

Chairman's Level

President's Level

Sponsorship Information

To learn more about how your organization can support the growth of entrepreneurship in Arkansas, please contact Kerri Daniels at (501) 374-9247.

• Sponsorship Levels

2008-2009 Chairman & Luncheon Speaker



Karl "Danny" Kennedy, Chairman 2009
President & Chief Executive Officer of Riceland Foods, Inc.


Danny Kennedy is president and chief executive officer of Riceland Foods, Inc. Mr. Kennedy joined Riceland as executive vice president and chief operating officer on August 1, 2000 and was named president in 2004.

Riceland Foods, Inc., headquartered at Stuttgart, Arkansas, is a farmer-owned cooperative providing marketing services for rice, soybeans, and wheat grown by its 7,000 farmer-members primarily in Arkansas and Missouri. Riceland is the largest U.S. rice miller, one of the nation's top 10 grain storage companies and annually market more that 125 million bushels of grain as raw grains and products, including rice, food oils, soybean meal, rice flour, and lecithin.

He previously was with Monsanto Company and has extensive experience in sales, marketing, executive management, and strategic planning.

Mr. Kennedy is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a youth, he spent his summers in the Mississippi Delta working in agribusiness. He has a B.S. degree in agriculture from Mississippi State University and an M.B.A. degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Danny and his wife, Michele, have three children and make their home in Stuttgart, Arkansas.

Richard L. Bond, Speaker 2009
President and Chief Executive Officer, Tyson Foods, Inc.


Richard L. Bond was named President and Chief Executive Officer of Tyson Foods, Inc. in May 2006 and oversees all operations and sales for the company. He is also a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

Bond, 61, served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Tyson Foods from 2003 to 2006 and was Co-Chief Operating Officer and Group President, Fresh Meats and Retail, from 2001 to 2003.

He previously served as President and COO of IBP, inc. from 1997 until the acquisition of IBP by Tyson in September 2001. He was also a member of IBP’s board of directors.

Bond joined IBP in 1980 as an administrative assistant and served in several other management positions, including President of IBP’s Fresh Meats Division, Vice President-Boxed Beef Sales and Group Vice President-Beef Sales and Marketing. He was appointed an IBP president and named a director in 1995, and became Chief Operating Officer in 1997.

A native of New Jersey, Bond holds a degree in business administration from Elizabethtown College of Pennsylvania. He worked for several other food companies, including Pet, Inc., before joining IBP. He has been involved in the food industry since 1969.

Previous Chairmen & Luncheon Speakers

2007 - 2008

Walter Hussman, Jr. Chairman
President & CEO of WEHCO Media, Inc.. Walter Hussman, Jr. is president and chief executive officer of WEHCO Media, Inc. (the Walter E. Hussman Company, which was established in 1973 by his father, Walter E. Hussman, Sr. Mr. Hussman followed in the family footsteps, first earning his bachelor's in journalism at the University of North Carolina and then an MBA from Columbia University.

Peter T. Grauer, Speaker
Chairman of the Board and President, Bloomberg. Peter T. Grauer is Chairman and President of Bloomberg L.P., the global financial media company that was founded in 1981. He has been a member of the Bloomberg board since October 1996 and was named Chairman of the Board in March 2001 succeeding Michael R. Bloomberg. Mr. Grauer joined Bloomberg full time in his executive capacities in 2002. Mr. Grauer graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1968 and the Harvard University Graduate School of Business, Program for Management Development in 1975.

2006 - 2007

Bill Clark, Chairman
Chairman of the Board and CEO, CDI Contractors. William E. Clark is Chairman of the Board and CEO of CDI Contractors, which was established in 1987. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and holds a degree in Electrical Engineering.

Bill Harrison, Speaker
Chairman of the Board, JP Morgan Chase. Mr. Harrison is Chairman of the Board of JP Morgan Chase, where he has also served as Chairman, President and CEO. Previously, Mr. Harrison was Chairman and CEO of the Chase Manhattan Corporation, where he has served as President and also Vice Chairman, responsible for all wholesale banking operations.

2005 - 2006

Thomas F. McLarty III, Chairman
President, Kissinger McLarty Associates. Thomas F. McLarty has a distinguished record of business leadership and public service, including various roles advising three U.S. Presidents: Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter.

Michael L. Eskew, Speaker
Chairman & CEO of UPS. Mike Eskew serves as chairman and chief executive officer for UPS, the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services.

2004 - 2005

Scott T. Ford, Chairman
President & CEO, Alltel Corporation. Scott Ford is President and Chief Executive Officer for Alltel, a customer-focused communications company with nearly 13 million customers and $8 billion in annual revenues. Alltel provides wireless, local telephone, long-distance, internet and high-speed data services to residential and business customers in 26 states.

Fred W. Smith, Speaker
Chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees. As the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Fred W. Smith is responsible for the philanthropic endeavors of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the nation.

2003 - 2004

John H. Tyson
Chairman and CEO, Tyson Foods, Inc. Board of Directors, Member of the Executive Committee of Tyson's Board of Directors. John Tyson was born in Springdale, Arkansas, the son of Don and Jean Tyson and the grandson of John Tyson, founder of Tyson Foods. He graduated from Springdale High School in 1971, and received Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1975 from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX.

2002 - 2003

Howard Putnam
Former CEO, Southwest Airlines & Braniff Airlines. Howard Putnam's ultimate objective is "Bottom Line Improvement." He believes that cultures that place people as their #1 piority have the greatest long term impact and success.

2001 - 2002

Donald G. Soderquist
Retired Senior Vice-Chairman
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The man for whom the Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics was named, Donald G. Soderquist's life has exemplified honorable leadership and servant hood, both personally and professionally.

2000 - 2001

Warren A. Stephens
Stephens Inc. Warren A. Stephens, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stephens Inc., is a graduate of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he received his bachelor of arts in economics degree. He later received his master of business administration degree from Wake Forest University.

Wally Amos
Father of the Gourmet Cookie Industry. As inventor of Famous Amos cookies, Wally Amos' story is the quintessential American success story.