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WHEELING – A sporting goods maker, an artist, a learning center and one of Wheeling's oldest businesses will compete next month to see which entrepreneur will get a sizeable financial boost.
Wheeling Heritage has announced the next four contestants in its regular Show of Hands event. The next event will take place Monday, April 17, at the Wheeling Artisan Center. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Show of Hands allows attendees to vote for the person or business they feel most deserving of the cash prize offered that night. A $5 admission gets each attendee one vote. Not only does the winner receive money from sponsor donations, but also takes home the money collected at the door.
The winner of the last Show of Hands, Rica Dabney and Just Me & More Salon, took home more than $6,000.
Cassie Minder, Wheeling Heritage's communications and development manager, said previous winners have come back to the organization and described how important those victories were to the growth of their businesses.
"They talk about just how much of an impact that Show of Hands has made," she said, "not only financially for them, but the press that they get and the videos that we make for them that they can turn around and use for advertising or to promote their business on their own platforms.
"And that’s really what we hope to do," Minder continued, "and they come back and tell us about how many people they’ve reached with the videos or how far their money has gotten, and how they’ve been able to help the community through winning Show of Hands and increase their business and in turn help their clients or other people that they serve."
The following businesses will vie for the prize in April, according to information provided by Wheeling Heritage:
Opossum Pouch Soft Goods: Owner Jay Hercules is an artisanal soft goods manufacturer specializing in outdoor sporting goods. The prize money would help toward purchasing machines that would bring nearly 90% of his production in-house. That would lower costs, allow him to hire help and have direct control over quality control.
WildHeart by Mindy: Mindi Yarbrough is a local artist and graphic designer known for her murals found throughout Wheeling. She wants to grow her business, in part, by bringing more creative options to the community through a gallery space, classes and public art. With a Show of Hands win, Yarbrough wants to jumpstart her plans to open a physical gallery, art lounge and studio space to sell, show and teach art.
The IDEA Center: Helen Bradley's space on Warwood Avenue offers one-on-one, group and remote tutoring to students of all ages throughout the Ohio Valley. It also offers summer programs in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) learning. Bradley would use funding from Show of Hands to enhance the center's STEAM program, including buying a GlowForge 3D printer so students could develop projects to market and sell.
Wheeling Coffee and Spice: General manager Shelly Smedley oversees a company that was established in 1896. It not only is a longtime retail outlet but also is home to Paramount Coffee and the oldest operating Burn coffee roasters in North America. Those roasters were built by Blaw-Knox in 1884. Smedley would use Show of Hands funding to invest in a new espresso machine, furniture and paint to help freshen up the coffee shop.
Each group of finalists is chosen by a committee, Minder said. Those committee members are given a set of criteria and a scorecard for each applicant. Minder said it was tough to pick four finalists from a large group of contenders who applied this time around.
"This was a very diverse group of businesses," Minder said. "It wasn’t a lot of the same. We had a ton of people apply, which was really great. So it was really hard to choose this around, because a lot of people scored really, really well."
There will be an online voting component for this event, Minder said. People can stream the presentations at wheelingheritage.org/vote. After the four presentations are done, there will be a link in the notes to refresh the webpage. They can then vote at the bottom for $10.