Brandon Resident Helps Win U.S. Enactus National Championship

Jonathan Veltri of Brandon is a member of the Flagler College Enactus team that won the U.S. Enactus National Championship on May 23. The team will now represent the nation at the Enactus World Cup in Cancun, Mexico, on Sept. 29.

Flagler in St. Augustine beat out teams from Brigham-Young University-Hawaii, Drury University and Blue Ridge Community College in the final four of the 2013 Enactus USA National Exposition (formerly SIFE) on May 23 in Kansas City, Mo. To get there, Flagler had to first win opening and semi-final rounds of the competition that included more than 150 schools from across the country.

The competition was judged by top executives from major U.S. corporations who evaluated their year-long community outreach efforts and how successful they were at using business concepts to improve the quality of life and standard of living for those in need.

Flagler Enactus also won the national title in 2004 and 2009.

The Flagler Enactus team won several individual awards including an Emerging Leader Award for Julian Naranjo. The award recognizes a student who has demonstrated proven leadership abilities through their participation on an Enactus team. Shelby Ptacek was also awarded a Jules & Gwen Knapp Enactus Ambassador Scholarship, which recognizes leadership, teamwork and communication skills developed in Enactus students.

The team worked on several projects this year including helping St. Augustine's St. Francis House with Passport Pretzels, a hybrid job-training program aimed at homeless men and women that will teach its participants culinary skills, as well as working with St. Augustine Youth Services to create Soapy Tales, a company that develops, creates and sells all-natural soap.

Schools competing included Arizona State University, University of Alabama, University of Florida, Oregon State University, University of Virginia, Oral Roberts University and University of North Carolina-Charlotte. To get to the National Competition, teams had to move on from 12 regional competitions this spring.

The Enactus National Exposition brings together the top student, academic and business leaders from around the country. Beyond the experience of the competition, the event is complete with additional opportunities for these leaders to connect. Enactus donor companies have the opportunity to recruit future talent through the career fair. Special events, such as the Enactus Executive Reception and Dinner and Top to Future-Top Forum provide unique opportunities for networking, mentorship and idea exchange.

Enactus is an international nonprofit organization active on more than 1,500 university campuses in 39 countries. Enactus teams create economic opportunities in their communities be organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, personal financial skills and business ethics. Enactus teaches students the positive power of businesses through service learning. For more information, visit www.enactusunitedstates.org/events/national_exposition