Edison Awards inspires innovation in our local youth

Special to SWFBT

Submitted by Karen P. Moore, Publisher

We’ve all heard the saying, “Innovators never stop asking why.”

The Edison Awards have taken this saying to the next level and are using numerous ways to encourage our youth of today to innovate, invent and inspire. To see how the Edison Awards are impacting local youth and encouraging innovation in our future generations, Community Day was created and takes place this year on Friday April 21 from 9:am – 1:pm. There is no admission fee and it is open to the entire local community. For more information, go to edisonawards.com .

Attendees are welcome to tour the Innovator’s Showcase, which includes new product exhibits from around the globe; watch a “Shark Tank” Professional Athletes Pitch Panel, meet the Young Edison Challenge winners and see the Student Pitch Panel. This year, the Edison Awards is also giving away 100 laptop computers, via a grant received from the Gates Foundation, to students who might otherwise be unable to purchase one.

Another way the Edison Awards is encouraging youth innovation is through the international Young Edison Challenge, sponsored by the Charlotte Community Foundation, which is based in Charlotte County Florida.

The Young Edison Challenge

The objectives behind the Young Edison Challenge, as part of the Edison Awards, are to build the winner’s resume and win funding for a project, while improving our communities and moving society forward through innovation.

Ashley Maher, Chief Executive Officer of the Charlotte Community Foundation, and which sponsors The Young Edison Challenge, has been a driving force behind the development of the Young Edison Challenge.

Maher joined the Charlotte Community Foundation in March 2017 as the Director of Development and Marketing. Shortly after in 2018, Maher served as the Interim Executive Director and was named the new Executive Director in August. The following year, Maher became Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation. Maher tripled the assets of CCF in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to provide significant year over year growth in assets while working through Hurricane Irma, the 2022 tornadoes, Hurricane Ian and Nicole.

She noted, “The foundation’s participation with the Edison Awards and the Young Edison Challenge specifically, is a testament to our foundation donors, who allow us to move forward, creating opportunities, making investments in people and the longterm.”

The Young Edison Challenge, Maher explained, came about because sponsors of the Edison Awards event asked the question, “How can we partner to better enhance and develop other areas of the Awards, such as encouraging innovation for our future, in our youth?” She noted that the next question to then answer was, “How can we create a safe space within the Edison Awards that inspires young minds to create, develop and grow innovative ideas?” She pointed out that 2022 was the first full year that included applicants. “We had over 60 applicants from 10 nations and 13 U.S. states.”

Ashley Kennedy, a Young Edison Challenge medalist, shared, “I was urged to apply for this award by my entrepreneurship instructor.” She continued, “Not only is it an amazing opportunity but it is also a good platform for a young person’s product and an amazing resource to have! It’s also kind of a built-in network for you and your company.” as the catalyst that opened up opportunities for us to get involved in several other youth-focused innovation development programs.”

This includes the announcement on behalf of the Charlotte Community Foundation at last year’s Edison Awards that the first Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) High School in the State of Florida will be at Babcock Ranch, supported by Black & Veatch. CAPS, which is headquartered in Kansas, currently has more than 100 affiliate partners in 30 states. This project has taken years of collaborative work and Maher shared that they are hoping to roll out the CAPS program, which revolutionizes how we look at education and how it feeds the local economy, at Babcock High School this fall.

Clint Robinson of Black & Veatch and a founding board member of the CAPS program, explains, “Fundamentally, the CAPS program gives students ‘real world’ learning opportunities.” He continued, “Moreover, with the involvement of the local business community, the program can be customized to meet the workforce needs of each specific local community.”

Maher pointed out, “Shannon Treece, Executive Director at Babcock Schools, reached out to us for participation in both the Edison Awards and the CAPS program.” Not every high school that applies for participation is accepted by CAPS, she added, so for BHS to be accepted is quite an accomplishment.

Treece notes, “I love learning and serving in the field of education. I believe in educational reform and innovative learning experiences daily for the students entrusted to my care.” munity, which provide both leadership and a strong foundation for the development of this program. It will be amazing to see what happens!”

The final event of the day, also encouraging youth innovation, is the Student Pitch Panel. Danny Aguirre, of Blue Waters Development Group, is returning this year as a panel judge. BWDG is behind many development projects in the local area, including Island Pearl, a commercial site positioned at the gateway entrance to the nature island communities of Matlacha Island and Pine Island, and Victory Park, an innovative 140-acre master-planned development located in the northeast region of Cape Coral.

Aguirre shared, “As a local company, we saw the many benefits to our region of supporting an event like this with a well-established and stellar international reputation. On top of that, this event supports education, innovation and entrepreneurship—which are all points we want to support here locally whenever we can.”

When asked how he became involved with Edison Awards Student Pitch judging, he replied, “Our company is heavily involved in supporting education in this region’s community, so it was a natural fit for me, and our company, to get involved.”

He continued, “Working with these students, and helping them to develop their innovative ideas into solid business plans, is key to our future success as a community.

(CAPS) High School Program

The Center for Advanced Professional Studies

Maher continued, “For the foundation, getting involved with the Young Edison Challenge served

Maher stated, “CCF, which provided the start-up costs for the program at BHS, is very fortunate to have these relationships with the teams at CAPS and Babcock High School, and our local business com-

So now is the time for our local business community to become involved in events such as this one— to collaborate and focus on developing our future workforce.” Aguirre concluded, “It is our local involvement in international and impactful programs like these that will shape our future pipeline for the local workforce.”