STEPHENVILLE (March 28, 2018) — A team from Tarleton State University will make a pitch touting the commercial viability of activities originating in the Lab for Wellness and Motor Behavior (LWMB) in the Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition at TCU April 6 and 7.
The unique annual competition allows undergraduate students from around the world to pitch plans for businesses, products or services that make a profit while also benefiting the environment, the community or a specific population.
An estimated 50 teams will vie for cash and in-kind prizes at the annual event.
“We have collaborated with a plan to commercialize the lab under the name of Grand Slam Wellness,” said Dr. Joe Priest, Tarleton kinesiology professor and lab director.
The LWMB specializes in helping people who have been released from conventional healthcare and usually have had a stroke or injury that has left them paralyzed. The rehabilitation in this laboratory is under the supervision of Tarleton’s kinesiology students.
The theme of the Tarleton presentation centers around baseball metaphors.
“The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics were behind 8-0 in the 7th inning,” Priest said, “but came back to win the largest comeback in World Series history. Whether on the world stage . . . or in an exercise lab, coming back from an apparently hopeless situation is thrilling and timeless. We intend to add the spark that starts the comeback in folks who have been given little hope.”
Business graduate student Rachel Burkhart and Walker Lloyd, who holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, will present Tarleton’s business entry on stage at TCU.
“It’s giving me some real-world experience,” said Lloyd, who served as an intern in the lab as an undergraduate. “It’s humbling, working on a business plan like this that could really affect the lives of people who may not have anywhere else to go for this type of treatment.”
Eligible business plans must include aspects of added value to people and communities.
“We think our business plan is workable and replicable in communities across the state and nation, effectively extending the value of American health care to people ‘after everybody else gave up,’” Priest said.
Teams will present proposals in the preliminary round of the competition. Ten units will advance to deliver their plans to judges and an audience featuring Fortune 500 executives to identify prospective business ideas. Winners will be announced at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
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